Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move a censure motion.

Leave not granted.

I move:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition moving forthwith:That this House censures the Prime Minister for:

(1)

misusing the official residences for party political fundraisers in breach of the Prime Minister’s own “Guide on Key Elements of Ministerial Responsibility”;

(2)

misleading the House about the misuse of these official residences;

(3)

placing the Commonwealth in a position of non-compliance with the Commonwealth Electoral Act by making a “gift” of the use of the official residences to the Liberal Party of Australia; and

(4)

undermining the independence of the Australian Electoral Commission.

It is remarkable indeed that on a day like this the government will not even take a censure on something as serious as the misuse of the Australian national estate for party political fundraising purposes by the Liberal Party. What we have on display for the nation and for the parliament is a government which has become arrogant in office, a government and a Prime Minister which have now lost touch with the Australian people, a government and a Prime Minister which believe that the taxpayers’ assets, the public assets, the people’s assets, are now the personal property of the Liberal Party of Australia. Their belief is that those instruments, those resources and those fundraising opportunities are now all political playthings available for their collective use in order to use to advance the partisan interests of their party.

This is a pattern of behaviour. It is a pattern of behaviour that we have seen unfolding again in recent weeks in this parliament. The Prime Minister sat there over recent weeks as he took question after question from us on what was happening with the government rolling its hand down into the pocket of the taxpayer to pull out wads of cash in order to fund party political advertising and to fund it straight from the taxpayer. We spent day in, day out trying to extract the truth from this Prime Minister on why and to what extent his government was using taxpayers’ dollars to prop up the political interests of the Liberal Party and the television ads which they had planned—which everyone knew they had planned, but which they did not have the courage or the honesty to admit at the dispatch box were then in process. This pattern of behaviour continues. It is not just reaching in and grabbing the taxpayers’ dollars for party political ads. It now goes to core parts of our national estate. Kirribilli and the Lodge are the official residences of the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia in Sydney and in Canberra.

Since these matters opened up some five days ago following the coverage in the Sunday newspapers, we have had the government ducking and weaving around one simple proposition: was this a fundraising event or was it not? It is remarkable that here we are on a sitting Thursday and the Prime Minister still cannot bring himself to admit this fundamental fact. If you go to the text of the document itself, it is remarkable what it says. Let me read to you from the document of 2005—this was when they had fun down at the Lodge. The 2005 Liberal Party of Australia’s federal council document which was sent out to business observers says, ‘Registration form, Business observers: Please note, registration forms will not be processed until payment is received.’ That is the first point. Under ‘Attendance’, it says, ‘Registration fee: $7,500.’ And it goes to say: ‘The business observers registration fee includes all meals, including the council gala dinner, admittance to the business observers program and council material.’ It then says: ‘Numbers for some functions are limited. Please register and pay early to avoid disappointment.’ It also says, ‘To assist in administration and catering, please indicate your attendance at each of the following functions.’

So let us get the sequence right here. There is a $7,500 registration fee to gain acceptance and admission to the business observers program. Then you are asked on the selfsame form to tick the box as to which of the elements of this business observers program you are going to attend in response to the amount of money that you have paid. And what do we find on this list? On Friday, 24 June, you get morning tea with chiefs of staff. Then there is an economic luncheon with the Treasurer, the Hon. Peter Costello. Additional tickets were $150 for that. There is the health luncheon, with the Hon. Tony Abbott. It was $150 for that. It would be interesting to see who went to what and who got the best numbers. And then there is this amazing little box: ‘Welcome reception’. It does not say where. It does not say whose welcome reception. But we now know it is the Prime Minister’s welcome reception. What we have been told by members of the business community is that when they are at their federal council meeting—

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