*Pic: Pre-Budget … and Treasurer Joe and Assistant Treasurer Mathias Cormann enjoy a good cigar chomp …
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has accused Treasurer Joe Hockey of being an “arrogant”, “cigar-chomping” politician over his remarks that poor people will not be affected by the increase to the fuel excise because they “don’t have cars”.
Mr Hockey yesterday defended the budget measure to reinstate a biannual increase to the excise by saying that high income earners will be hit hardest.
“The people that actually pay the most are higher income people, with an increase in fuel excise and yet, the Labor Party and the Greens are opposing it,” he told 612 ABC Brisbane.
“They say you’ve got to have wealthier people or middle-income people pay more.
“Well, change to the fuel excise does exactly that; the poorest people either don’t have cars or actually don’t drive very far in many cases.”
Mr Shorten has seized on the comments as evidence the Government is out of touch and “remarkably arrogant”.
“Joe Hockey just doesn’t get how rotten his budget is,” he said.
“Are you serious Joe Hockey? Are you really the cigar-chomping, Foghorn Leghorn of Australian politics where you’re saying that poor people don’t drive cars?
“It is almost though as if the Treasurer believes that poor people should be sleeping in their cars, not driving their cars.”
• Daily Mail: He doesn’t believe poor people drive – but they’re still paying for him to: Joe Hockey’s road travel expenses cost taxpayers more than $200,000 over past the four years • Treasurer Joe Hockey claimed more than $200K in the past four years • Expenses come from his Commonwealth car, private car and Cabcharge • These have come to light following comment ‘poor people don’t drive cars’ • Mr Hockey’s personal wealth has also been revealed • His property portfolio is worth an estimated $10 million • His comments came as the government looks to reintroduce a twice-yearly indexation increases on petrol • Welfare groups have hit back at him saying he is out of touch with people
• Arena: Abbottville by Boris Frankel Visions of society and democracy in the Abbott/Hockey budget
• Daily Telegraph: Taxpayers footing bill on Treasurer Joe Hockey’s $1.5 million Canberra house
