Sorry to disappoint,but this is the real dealSwan 'waging war'...

Sorry to disappoint,but this is the real deal

Swan 'waging war' on middle Australia
774 ABC Melbourne
By chief political correspondent Emma Griffiths

Updated March 05, 2012 18:10:03


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The Opposition has rejected Wayne Swan's accusation that it has been bought by powerful vested interests as "insulting".

They say the Treasurer is trying to distract attention from the increasing cost of living for ordinary Australians.

In his battle with some of the country's richest people, Mr Swan turned his sights on the Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, accusing him of "singing for his supper".

Mr Swan told the National Press Club that Mr Abbott's opposition to the mining tax and a carbon price "is about more than his reflex for negativity".

"He is of course singing for his supper - we can see that in the donations from the likes of Clive Palmer that have flooded into the Coalition's coffers in recent years," he said.

"In choosing to kneel down at the feet of the vested interests, rather than stand up for the interests of Australian workers, Mr Abbott has encouraged them at every turn."

The attack has been dismissed by shadow treasurer Joe Hockey.

"I find it rather insulting he should suggest so," he told ABC News 24.

"As far as I'm aware, most of the people that Wayne Swan has named don't even donate to the Liberal Party."

Mr Hockey says Mr Swan's comments are a "distraction".



"What Wayne Swan is doing is he's declaring war on billionaires, but in fact he's waging war on middle Australia," he said.

"He's attempting to engage in an argument about billionaires, but at the same time he is increasing the cost of living for everyday Australians."

Mr Swan fired the first shot with his essay in The Monthly in which he accused "vested interests" - including mining magnates Clive Palmer, Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart - of threatening Australia's democracy.

The Australian Electoral Commission's latest financial disclosure returns show that Mr Palmer's Mineralogy gave the Coalition parties, at federal and state levels, nearly $500,000 last financial year.

His Queensland Nickel gave another $500,000 to the Queensland LNP.

But Mr Hockey says the Labor Party is the one beholden to outside interests.

"If any political party in Australia is being bought by someone, it's the Labor Party being bought by the faceless men and the union bosses who fund their campaigns," he said.

"This is about their base political interests; they're going to the bottom of the tool box and pulling out the old 1950s Labor Party class war."



Mr Swan says he is proud of the ALP's links to the trade union movement.

"They are working Australians who are bringing up families, go to work every day, and because they join a trade union they lobby collectively for their rights," he told the NPC.

"They just don't have the resources that some of these vested interests are using to try to manipulate outcomes."

Mr Swan says the Opposition's reaction has proved his point.

"There they are, rushing out to defend the vested interests - and that proves my point about who we represent and who they do," he said.

Earlier today, Mr Palmer said the Treasurer's attack on the rich was "rubbish".



Mr Palmer, who is also a member of the National Party and was granted national living treasure status at the weekend, says the Treasurer doesn't know how the economy works.

"Everything I've done, Gina Rinehart's done and Mr Forrest has done is in accordance with the laws of Australia. We're not evil people."

Mr Forrest's company Fortescue Metals Group has taken out full-page advertisements in today's major newspapers condemning Mr Swan for an "irrational outburst" and "an act of cynical hypocrisy".

Mr Swan says his essay has been "wrongly described" as an attack on the rich.

"When you stand up to the vested interests, you're invariably accused of being anti-business or engaging in the politics of envy - these are the convenient phrases used by the champions of privilege," he said.

Instead, he says he is attacking "an imbalance in influence and opportunity".