BRADBURY:
Earlier today, Mr Hockey fumbled and bumbled his way through a radio interview where he finally had to concede that he was not aware of what the cash rate is. Now this of course is an offence that his predecessor Julie Bishop once committed, and in fact, she lost her job over it. I wonder whether Mr Hockey will stand down as a consequence of his latest gaffe.
But I think what this really points to is the negativity of the Coalition in constantly talking the Australian economy down. We see there are no depths to which they will stoop in order to talk the Australian economy down, so it's no wonder Mr Hockey can't remember some of the key economic statistics that reflect the underlying strength of the Australian economy.
Mr Hockey may also have some trouble recalling the fact that the cash rate is almost half as low today as it was when he was last in Government. And that means that a family paying off a mortgage of $300,000, on that $300,000 mortgage they are now paying about $4,000 a year less in repayments.
These are figures that most Australians are well aware of because of the impact that they have on them, but unfortunately when it comes to the economic truth, Mr Hockey fumbled and bumbled his way but wasn't able to come up with the facts.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible)
BRADBURY:
No, what it points to is the negativity of the Coalition and the negativity of Mr Hockey. Mr Hockey is holding himself up as being the alternative Treasurer, yet when it came to remembering the cash rate, he wasn't able to do that, and that's because when it comes to the economic facts the only things he can remember is the bad news. He's out there talking down the economy, talking about bad news in the economy. This is the bloke that yesterday, when we had the lowest inflation figures we've seen in a very long time come out and say it was bad news. He's the same person who said it was bad news when we recorded very strong growth figures. No one wants to see bad economic news quite so much as the Coalition, and if there's bad economic news, Mr Hockey's the first to know the figures, but otherwise he's caught short.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible)
BRADBURY:
I think what this really does emphasise is that when it comes to the economy, Mr Hockey's focus is on talking the economy down. He will be the first to tell you one indicator if it's bad economic news, but when it comes to the facts he's been caught short. He fumbled and bumbled his way through the interview and in the end he made the same mistake his predecessor Julie Bishop made and she lost her job over it.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible)
BRADBURY:
I think that most Australians would be concerned to see that we continue to have a number of boat arrivals coming onto our shores. I think most Australians really do want their Federal politicians to come together and to reach an agreement to resolve this issue.
JOURNALIST:
Has this been raised with you by those you represent?
BRADBURY:
Absolutely, this is an issue that continues to be one that many Australians hold some real and legitimate concerns about. The point here is we have a proposition in the form of the Malaysian arrangement that will make a difference, will put in place a disincentive that will stop people making that dangerous journey across the high seas. Instead, what we have from Mr Abbott is a desire to not resolve this issue. He wants to keep the issue alive to give people the impression the only way it can be solved is with a change of government, and we've seen how crazy his policies are when it comes to turning boats around on the high seas and we know how dangerous those policies are.
JOURNALIST:
Just one final question, when it comes to Harry Jenkins, he's obviously (inaudible) long-serving Member, are you (inaudible).
BRADBURY:
Look, Harry has had a wonderful career in politics, he's been a great servant of the Labor Party and the Australian people. I think I was in primary school when Harry commenced his journey as a Federal politician. He's given great service, he was an outstanding Speaker of the House. He's given tremendous service to his community and to the country and I recognise him for those efforts. I think, as with all of my colleagues, I wish Harry all the best for his future in retirement.
JOURNALIST:
So his retirement has nothing to do with deals being done (inaudible)?
BRADBURY:
I think Harry's been a great servant of the Australian Labor Party and the Australian people and he's contributed a lifetime towards serving the people of his community and this country, and he's now made the decision to move on and I wish him all the best in the future. He's made a great contribution and he deserves to have the best of health and happiness in his retirement.