"It is particularly disappointing to see the Opposition engaging in a persistent pattern of vicious personal attacks on the key regulators in Australia's financial architecture.

Several weeks ago we had the attack on the Reserve Bank governor [Glenn Stevens], clearly suggesting the bank's decisions were driven by political bias. [Then] we had the Secretary of the Treasury [Ken Henry] accused by the Leader of the Opposition of lying, then the following day accused in the Senate of lying.

In both cases there was not a skerrick of evidence, not one hint of any substantiation. Then yesterday a senior frontbencher [Andrew Robb] was sent out to allege [Henry] and the Treasury had cooked the books. Again, there was not one shred of evidence.

Subsequently, we had Senator [Helen] Coonan, another senior frontbencher, saying the Treasury figures seemed 'suspicious'.

"Why is this happening?

"Why do we suddenly get this pattern of orchestrated attacks on Australia's economic regulators? Most Australians think it important to have strict rules and fair dinkum, impartial, tough regulators.

But the sharks and the shonks and the spivs that inevitably populate the nether regions of the financial world do not like regulators or tough rules. Unfortunately they've taken over the Liberal Party. And fast money has taken over.”

http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/calm-amid-the-shonks-spivs-and-sharks/2008/11/28/1227491828094.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2