19th Sep 2011 – Representatives Bills — Parliamentary Service Amendment (Parliamentary Budget Officer) Bill 2011; Consideration in Detail

Joe Hockey

This will be the path to surplus! My second point, in summary, is that the parliamentary secretary has admitted that now there will be no additional access to information out of the Treasury or the department of finance or any other department without a memorandum of understanding. It will be a memorandum of understanding that this Parliamentary Budget Office is going to have signed with 30 different departments by the next election-yeah, right! They are going to have unfettered access under those MOUs, but that is the subject of another of my amendments.

The first of my amendments seeks, after all these hours of debate, to prove the case that this government, in partnership with the Independents, is just not serious about having a fully independent parliamentary budget office. By the words of the parliamentary secretary and the admissions in the very drafting of this bill, it is now clear that the government itself, in partnership with the Independents, is de-fanging the Parliamentary Budget Office. In the words of the parliamentary secretary himself: 'It is a lesser parliamentary budget office than that which exists in some other jurisdictions.' Question put:

That the amendment (Mr Hockey's) be agreed to.

The House divided. [18:03]

(The Speaker-Mr Harry Jenkins)

Question negatived.

Debate adjourned.