Hockey a hypocrite on bank tax: Bowen

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says Treasurer Joe Hockey will be a hypocrite if he proceeds with a bank tax.

Federal Labor says if Treasurer Joe Hockey goes ahead with a flagged bank tax it will show he stands for nothing.

The government is now considering the tax, which it labelled a "cash grab" when it was first proposed by Labor when it was in power.

"More than all his other mistakes, more than everything else he's done, this underlines that Joe Hockey stands for nothing," shadow treasurer Chris Bowen told reporters in Sydney.