Senator Joyce today said, “I am disturbed by revelations over the weekend that our Prime Minister, Mr Kevin Rudd, has started using the President of the United States as a trampoline for media grabs.”

“To add insult to injury, when you consider that Mr Rudd’s diplomatic relations skills have long been touted as his forte, he has also broken confidence in his discussions with the Chinese Government in his recent public disclosures.”

“The approach that this executive has adopted to global problems appears unerringly consistent – when a problem presents itself, the Government strives to create an impact on the telly and in the paper, with lesser consideration to the stringent homework required for a solution.”

“When it came to the expenditure of our nation’s surplus, our Government abandoned the Treasury and decided they would use the depth of their personal economic experience to determine the numbers,” Senator Joyce said.

“While the Labor Party created a package for bank guarantees, the National Party pointed out from a very early stage the inadequacies of this plan. Senator John Williams and I raised concerns over the consequential impacts of this plan including the potential for differentiation in the market place and a run on certain deposit taking institutions. These words are now echoed from other sectors, but they come too late.”

“In a Matter of Public Importance, not two weeks ago, I spoke of the Government’s mismanagement of the economy and the confronting manner in which the surplus, established by the previous Government through fiscally responsible practices, is being spent. I also spoke of this Government’s inexperience, harshly reflected in their plan to underwrite banks without consideration of the ultimate costs of such action.”

Senator Joyce went on to say, “The stringency of the Labor Party’s approach to the economy has become arbitrary and haphazard, with ill planned and undesired multibillion dollar ramifications apparent.”

“Now Mr Rudd has shown another fatal flaw in failing to understand the American psyche which says if they have issues with their President, they remain American issues with an American President. Should Mr Rudd wish to rely on their President for help he must do so with the utmost respect. Such behaviour is certainly not reflected when the confidence of private conversations is broken.”

Senator Joyce said, “With his actions, Mr Rudd has created the potential for the underlying U.S. form of partisan patriotism to reverberate against the issues of Australia. We can only hope that the U.S. overlooks Mr Rudd’s inept faux pas, otherwise it will harm our nation’s interests.”

“This move by Mr Rudd was terribly foolish.”

Ends