MR PALLAS (Treasurer) — I thank the member for Malvern for his question. Might I say that like Macbeth, he will be haunted by the ghost of his treachery while ever he stays in public life.

Honourable members interjecting.

The SPEAKER — Order! I apologise to the Treasurer, but the Chair is unable to hear the Treasurer when the Treasurer looks in the opposite direction, away from the Chair. I request that the Treasurer speak somewhat into the microphone.

MR PALLAS— Thank you for the opportunity, Speaker. The member for Malvern will be haunted by the ghost of his treachery, like Macbeth, while ever he stays in public life — just in case he did not hear it the first time. I do not know where the member for Malvern studied law. I understand he is a lawyer, an eminent lawyer I am told, but I too am a lawyer.

Let me tell you, Speaker, when you renegotiate a contract, when the parties reach mutually acceptable terms, that ain’t ripping up a contract. That is Contracts 101.

Honourable members interjecting.

The SPEAKER — Order! The Treasurer, to continue, in silence.

MR PALLAS— Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to give a lecture on law to the eminent member for Malvern. Let us be very clear about this. Who backed the truck up? Who forced in an obscene rush the compromise of the interests of the people of Victoria? His was the hand that signed the letter. This was a man afraid of the Victorian people, who compromised the interests of this state for his short-term political opportunism and who was afraid of the people of Victoria making a judgement on this issue.

Hundreds of millions of dollars went out the door before this government came into office. What did this government do? It acted responsibly. It reached an agreement. It did not need to rip up contracts. We honoured the processes of adequate engagement, and we got to an adequate and acceptable outcome. Might I say, one that would have been a heck of a lot more adequate and acceptable if they had — —

Honourable members interjecting.

The SPEAKER — Order! The Treasurer will resume his seat. The Treasurer will continue, in silence. The Chair will, from now on, begin to warn members and, if necessary, request members to leave the house. That level of excitement is not acceptable, not even on a Tuesday. The Treasurer, to continue.

MR PALLAS— There is nothing more forlorn than a bunch of born-to-rules who could not even run a lemonade stand. Let us be very clear: we honoured the contractual terms because we reached agreement about how those terms would be adequately acquitted. Let me say the people of Victoria were saved a fortune. What did the Auditor-General say? It was $22 billion of liability. That is what those opposite signed Victorians up to, a loss-making proposition, with 45 cents back in every dollar. Let us talk about real business cases and real projects.

Honourable members interjecting.

The SPEAKER — Order! Government members and opposition members, including the Leader of the Opposition, should allow the member for Malvern to ask a supplementary question in silence. The member for Malvern has the floor, and I require the Leader of the Opposition and government members to be silent.