Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance and Responsibility) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Minchin, the Minister for Finance and Administration. Can the minister confirm that his department was only told about the Prime Minister’s $10 billion water package late on the afternoon of 22 January, fewer than three days before the package was announced? Isn’t it true that Finance is only ever asked, in departmental secretary Ian Watt’s words, to ‘run an eye lightly over the costings’ of a package that has already been determined by the Prime Minister’s department? Isn’t it also the case that Treasury was not even asked to assess the economic impact or do any detailed costing of the package? Isn’t it also the case that cabinet was not even consulted on the package? How can the minister for finance possibly justify a process that commits $10 billion of taxpayers’ money without any detailed costing by Finance, Treasury or even a consideration by cabinet?