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

There are indeed many examples of wasted spending in the Regional Partnerships program that were identified in the report done by the National Audit Office—or, as I like to call it, ‘the Nationals Audit Office’. These examples include wasting money on ethanol plants that did not exist, cheese factories that closed down, rail lines that burnt down and pet food factories that never opened. That is why I was most intrigued this morning when the shadow Treasurer did a doorstop about reckless spending. This is what the shadow Treasurer said: ‘Every program and any program that is inefficient or is not delivering value for money should be changed, revised, removed.’ That is a very clear commitment from those opposite that stands in stark contrast to the way that they presided over the ‘regional rorts’ program during their period in office. When I saw these comments I wondered what the shadow Treasurer would have to say about the case of Coonawarra Gold.

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