Mr NEVILLE —My question is addressed to the Treasurer. Is the Treasurer aware of the strengthening push for the Leader of the Opposition to drop his opposition for opposition's sake to the government's tax reform package?

Mr COSTELLO (Treasurer) —I thank the honourable member for Hinkler for his question. Obviously, support is growing amongst supporters—former supporters—of Mr Beazley for him to pass the government's tax reform package. I inform the House that the former national secretary of the ALP, Mr Bob Hogg, wrote in the Melbourne Age on 24 March 1999:

On the policy front, Beazley needs to do two things—firstly, he should declare support for the government's GST and, secondly, he should declare support for the full privatisation of Telstra.

Mr Bevis —You gave that answer last week.

Mr COSTELLO —As somebody interjects, I gave that answer last week, but last week I hadn't seen an article in the Melbourne Age on 26 March 1999 by Mr Neil O'Keefe, who said this:

Now we have the GST saga—

Opposition members interjecting—

Mr COSTELLO —Listen carefully, because he is one of the backbenchers breathing down your necks:

Now we have the GST saga. Put aside your view of the policy and whether it should be passed by the Senate. Even if it does get through, it is 14 years since a consumption tax was first seriously proposed by the federal Treasurer in 1985.

We remember who the federal Treasurer was in 1985. We remember who supported him in the cabinet—none other than the current Leader of the Opposition. Then Mr O'Keefe went on to say this:

Australia doesn't for much longer have the luxury of this sort of procrastination in major policy and infrastructure decisions.

Quite right. Rather than going around and attacking Mr O'Keefe after question time, the front bench ought to be going around for a bit of instruction from Mr O'Keefe.

We can tell from the questions that have been asked already today that the Labor Party has a high opinion of Mr Bob Carr—Mr Bob Carr, the recently re-elected New South Wales Premier, somebody who has experience of government. What does Mr Carr say on the issue? Mr Carr said on Stateline on 9 October 1998:

My view is that a government with a majority in any lower house ought to be able to implement its program not subject to frustration by an upper house, state or federal, and be judged by the people three or four years down the track.

Well might we recommend Mr Carr to the Leader of the Opposition.

Mr Beazley interjecting—

Mr COSTELLO —We have the Leader of the Opposition interjecting right now. He would be well advised to read Glenn Milne's column today, which said this:

`Kim's bogged down in the marshes on the GST', says one ALP strategist. `They think they're making headway but they're becoming obsessed with minutiae.' Elements of the New South Wales Right now want Beazley to do the same with GST—admit that Labor lost the battle—

Opposition members interjecting—

Mr COSTELLO —These are the great figures of the New South Wales Right, Mr Speaker.

Opposition members —Name one!

Mr COSTELLO —The member for Kingsford-Smith, for starters, I will name. The column continues:

. . . admit that Labor lost the battle to stop the tax and offer Howard a compromise in order to make the final package fairer.

So we've got the national secretary of the ALP, we've got one of your own backbenchers, we've got the New South Wales Premier and we've got the strategists from the New South Wales ALP. But the one I like the best was a former federal minister who served with the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Gary—

Mr Martin —Gary Johns.

Mr COSTELLO —Yes, it was Mr Gary Johns, actually.

Mr SPEAKER —Order! Member for Cunningham!

Mr COSTELLO —Yes, it was Mr Gary Johns, who wrote a piece called `Stumbling block':

In threatening Senate obstruction, the Opposition had better get used to the idea they are not running the country.

Mr Gary Johns had this to say, and I think it is probably the best comment I have heard on the Leader of the Opposition:

Beazley's statement after the election that Howard had no mandate other than for good government was unbecoming an aspirant for PM. It smacked of the sore loser—accepted practice in the Asian sham democracies, but not here.

You've got Bob Hawke, you've got Gary Johns, you've got the New South Wales thinkers of the Right, you've got Bob Carr and you've got Neil O'Keefe. We know precisely what is going on here. The Labor Party is desperately hoping that tax reform will go through so that they can take advantage of it. If this was a Labor Party that was serious about defeating tax reform, the Leader of the Opposition would be giving a pledge now that if this tax reform went through the Senate he would repeal it. That is what he would be doing. But he doesn't say that—oh no. He says, `We'll fight it to the death—and then as soon as it is passed we will take every advantage of it.' It may be acceptable in a sham Asian democracy, but not here.