Gary Nairn (Eden-Monaro, Liberal Party, Special Minister of State) Share this | Hansard source

We have a lease on behalf of the government, but effectively the taxpayer is currently paying $1,100 to $1,200 a square metre, and that does not include outgoings. By 2008, it will be $1,300 a square metre, which is more than what is paid in New York, London or Paris; it is more than the highest rents that you would find in the most expensive cities in the world. If you look at the market rate, you will see that the Australian Labor Party will have had a windfall—and this is over and above the actual market rent—of $42 million over that period of time. This is over and above what should have been paid for fair market rent. It is an average building in Canberra but $42 million was paid for it.

The lease will finally run out in 2008 because the Labor Party were embarrassed and sold off the building for a profit, which they obviously put into their campaign funds. They were very happy to disclose those campaign funds, I guess, coming from the taxpayer. A new lease starting in 2008 has been negotiated and it is for $385 a square metre. So the taxpayer will be paying $1,300 a square metre one week and the next week they will be paying $385 a square metre. It is a disgrace. This week we have had lectures from the Labor Party about contracts and morality. It is total hypocrisy on behalf of the Labor Party. They are the ones who have been immoral—

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