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Monday, 12 September 2011
Page: 9796

Mr TEHAN (Wannon) (18:43): It is terrific to see you again in the chair, Mr Deputy Speaker Adams, and I hope you are well. I rise tonight to speak in the debate on the Charter of Budget Honesty Amendment Bill 2011, which has been put forward by the shadow Treasurer. I commend the shadow Treasurer and I commend the cooperation on the coalition's side that has led to this legislation being put forward. The government should think again next time when it says that the opposition is all about saying no, no, no, because this bill to establish a Parliamentary Budget Office is leading the way on reform and on how policy costings should be looked at with regard to government, moving it away from the executive and placing the power back with the parliament.

The idea was first put forward in May 2009 by the member for Wentworth, Malcolm Turnbull, when he was opposition leader. He was incredibly worried about the expenditure that we were seeing from the Rudd government which has now become the Gillard government. He was incredibly concerned by the level of spending and the way we were racking up debt for this country. He thought that the best way to provide analysis of fiscal policy would be the establishment of an independent Parliamentary Budget Office which could provide confidential advice. It was then supported, in June 2010, by the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott. We picked up on this very good idea from the member for Wentworth and it became a coalition commitment—a very good one—which was taken to the last election. It has fallen to the shadow Treasurer to implement this policy, and he has done so.

It is rather sad to see how it is the opposition setting the agenda in the country today, because it was only after the shadow Treasurer put forward his bill calling for the establishment of a parliamentary budget office that the Treasurer decided that he needed to act as well. It is a bit like 'Wayne's world' at the moment—the Treasurer seems to operate in an area where he does not seem to have too many clues about what is happening in the country.

This was an idea put forward by the coalition in 2008. It was a coalition commitment taken to the 2010 election. We put forward a bill to establish the Parliamentary Budget Office last month. Then we saw the Treasurer finally deciding that this was an area that he needed to engage in. But, when he engaged, he missed the two key components that a parliamentary budget office needs. A parliamentary budget office needs to have confidentiality and it needs to have independence. Yet the Treasurer, with his bill, really set up a sub-branch of the Treasury and of the Department of Finance and Deregulation. It is a sub-branch that, if it were to do its work, would need to negotiate a memorandum of understanding with the department of finance and with the Treasury. This is somewhat of a joke, but it does not surprise me, when it comes to the Treasurer, that what he is proposing is somewhat of a joke.

The shadow Treasurer has put forward a model which is based on the US congress's Congressional Budget Office. All members who have visited the United States congress would know that that is a model which works. It works because it is independent and it is confidential. The Greens and Independents have made much of the need for us to set up a parliamentary budget office. I hope they have the common sense to realise that, if we are going to do this, if we are going to spend $24.9 million over four years to establish this office, we must set up an office which has teeth, which puts the power with the parliament, which enables the parliament to scrutinise the executive. These are all key components of a parliamentary budget office. This is what the shadow Treasurer has proposed. That is why the coalition's bill is far, far superior to what the Treasurer has put forward. I look forward to seeing the Independents and the Greens doing the right thing and supporting our motion.

Debate adjourned.