Budget reply: 'I can't believe what I'm hearing ... '

St Kevin's 'Budget Reply Speech' was the most remarkable of all those that I have listened to (unfortunately, I have listened to a fair few). And not remarkable in a good way.

I remember John Hewson's 1992 reply, where he tore strips off John Dawkins for producing a horror budget. The sense that there would be a change of government within a year was overwhelming, such was the incisiveness of Hewson's attack.

I remember Kim Beazley's blustering - I would sit there, urging Kimbo to say something memorable, attacking, worthy of support, but be disappointed every time by his lack of substance and inability to go beyond the ALP's narrow worldview.

And then we have St Kevin.

Last night's reply wasn't about the budget. It looked more like St Kevin's strategy of appearing as Alt-PM. So he didn't address the Treasurer's manifesto at all. Rather, he sounded on many occasions as though he were introducing his own budget into the house.

Unfortunately, this tactic is beginning to fall flat. It means that St Kevin is missing golden opportunities to attack the government. Missing the opportunity to lay into the government for its laziness and stupid ideas. And it is exposing the threadbare nature of the opposition's policy platform.

There was very little substance in St Kevin's speech - which was heavily padded with cliches - and what substance there was, was for the most part not new.

What was new was trivial, in a political sense - such as the promise to plug the leaks in the nation's water pipes.

Can you remember ever having heard this light up the talkback radio switchboards?

We won't critically appraise the speech for you - it would simply be wasting our and your time.

Our judgement is that the St Kevin bandwagon is beginning to run out of puff. The election campaign is a marathon, and St Kevin looks as though he is flagging, just as the PM and Treasurer are beginning to hit their stride.