Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

It is all in the ‘National’s Audit Office’ report. There was $1.05 million—this is a beauty—paid to the Gunnedah ethanol plant. As regional development minister, I might want to go and have a look at this plant, but it is pretty hard because, although $1.05 million of the $1.2 million grant which was agreed in August 2004 has been paid, nothing has happened. There is no plant there. Over $1 million of taxpayers’ funds have been paid—and an application supported by the chief of staff to the then Leader of the National Party, even though he was not the relevant minister at the time. It goes on. There is example after example. In the interests of brevity we might roll them out two or three at a time, because this is very interesting reading and I recommend it to every member on both sides of the parliament. A Rudd Labor government is committed to proper funding for regional development programs—proper funding on the basis of proper consideration, not on the basis of short-term partisan political fixes by the National Party.

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