Who can be trusted when it comes to information from television campaigns by the major parties? For the Government to inform the Australian people that the possible next treasurer Wayne Swan has been a union man and is anti-business is a blatant lie and with all the information the Government has told us about terrorism and the war on it with our commitments to an ongoing fight with such must now be in doubt.
7.30 Report Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 22/10/2007
Reporter: Michael Brissenden
KERRY O'BRIEN: The worm last night showed an audience response apparently agreeing about Mr Howard's comments about trade union domination in a Rudd Government. Without getting hung up on exactly how many former trade union officials there really are in a Rudd Cabinet, you'd know more than most as a factional player, that Labor's factional system has served up an increasingly narrow range of new MPs. So, that if a lack of diversity in Labor's parliamentary ranks does count against you in this election it's true isn't it, that you'll only have yourselves to blame?
WAYNE SWAN: Kerry, I don't agree with that analysis. The first person in that ad that's included in the 70 per cent is myself, and I have never worked for a trade union. Never worked for a trade union. I have spent a decade or so as an academic. I spent a short time working for the party, and I've spent the rest of the time in Parliament since 1993. There's plenty of people in those bogus figures that fit that category.
KERRY O'BRIEN: But as Mr Costello himself pointed out when that was put to him yesterday, well if it's not 70 per cent of trade union officials in a Rudd Cabinet, what is it? 60 per cent? It's still inordinately high comparative to the broader community.
WAYNE SWAN: Look, look, look at their definitions. Yesterday, he was stretching the definition to include people that might have been members of unions. I mean, Peter Costello was once a social democrat and he mixed with the Labor Party. I mean, he was of the reds under the beds. So, they've got a very elastic, a very elastic definition here. We've got people of great diversity on our frontbench and great talent. I knew most of the people that were ministers in the first Hawke Government and I reckon we've got a frontbench that's the equal of that.
