Is this Joe Hockey's Kevin Rudd moment?
In an attempt to evade questions about his split with Prime Minister Tony Abbott over whether the GST should be imposed on tampons, the Treasurer instead chose to mock the appearance of two male journalists.
Labor has accused Mr Hockey of "insulting" the men and behaving unprofessionally.
The bizarre media appearance occurred on Wednesday evening when Sky News journalist James O'Doherty and the ABC journalist Matt Doran attempted to "doorstop" Mr Hockey as he was leaving the Radio National studios in the Parliament House press gallery.
When Doran attempted a "quick [question] on the GST", Mr Hockey deflected and focused on the journalist's appearance.
"God you guys, look how young you are, are you eighteen?" Mr Hockey asked.
"Both of you? Are you? Seriously? Get a look at his face, look at this, look at this," Mr Hockey said, urging the cameras to focus on Doran's face.
"I'm 24," Doran responded.
"Are you? I was about to ask [for] your ID," Mr Hockey said.
O'Doherty persisted with questions about whether Mr Hockey was considering removing the GST from nappies.
"What's going on? What's going on? I don't know what you guys are up to," Mr Hockey replied.
"Maybe I'm getting old…I mean I'm taking you seriously," the Treasurer continued before darting down a set of stairs.
The incident has parallels to Mr Rudd's infamous response to this journalist's question in 2010, the week before he was rolled as prime minister.
When asked why his leadership was in crisis, Mr Rudd deflected attention and commented on the clothing the journalist was wearing.
His response was seen as a further sign of his loosening grip on the prime ministership.
Joe Hockey, once seen as a potential Liberal leader, has been under pressure since his first budget last year. While his second budget has been better received, Mr Hockey's surprise decision to push for the removal of the GST from tampons has opened a rift between him and Mr Abbott.
Labor treasury spokesman Chris Bowen said Mr Hockey's response to the journalists was insulting.
"[We saw] the Treasurer last night refusing to answer, walking through the press gallery, insulting journalists, insulting their intelligence and their professionalism," Mr Bowen said.
"This is just underlining more inconsistency and chaos on this issue."
O'Dohery tweeted on Thursday he was not offended by Mr Hockey's observations.
Doran also said he "wasn't offended by the Treasurer's observations".
"I enjoy it - it means I don't have to moisturise," he tweeted.
