Opposition treasury spokesman Malcolm Turnbull says his counterpart Wayne Swan has shown himself to be ignorant of a basic economic concept.

During Question Time Mr Turnbull asked Mr Swan a technical economic question on the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment and the Treasurer struggled to answer it.

A string of Opposition MPs, including frontbencher Joe Hockey jumped to their feet to point out that Mr Swan was not answering the specific question.

Mr Turnbull says Mr Swan was clearly unfamiliar with a basic economic concept relating to the level of inflation and unemployment in Australia .

Mr Swan was not the most confident of the new ministers in Question time last week and today Mr Turnbull sought to add to the pressure by pointing out Mr Swan's struggle to answer the technical point.

"I've asked the Treasurer about a very important and very well-known economic term, the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment....

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Gus: In my view, there is a good chance that Malcolm just discovered the term "non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment" while reading an omni-portant finance magazine on the dunny... "Non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment" looks like a term barely dry from the new press of economist bluffers who use a tortuous jargon of some sort to justify their existence to the mere mortals... No science there, just an art of spruiking something that sounds important but could be totally meaningless should one decides to have an ice-cream instead..

Wayne Swan would have to know the relationship of all the economic basics plus all the explosive mixtures that these can lead too... He's no dummy.

Swan suspects leaks in deposit guarantee consultation

The Federal Government says someone it has been consulting about the bank deposits guarantee has been leaking to the Opposition.

Several times in recent months, Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull, has appeared to know what the Government has been planning before it is announced.

In the latest example, Mr Turnbull has been calling on the Government to bring in a bill to back up its wholesale term funding guarantee and this afternoon Treasurer Wayne Swan did so.

Mr Swan says there have been leaks.

"Obviously the consultative approach we've taken to these matters means information can leak out from time to time, including to the Opposition," he said.

"This is inconvenient but the Government won't ever stop consulting on such important matters whatever the political cost we incur.

"The national interest is more important than the political interest of anyone in this house, something that those opposite could do well to remind themselves of."

see toon at top.