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

If you want the emails to be tabled, we can go through that process. In terms of the processes, we know that they were simply unacceptable. We took the responsible decision of closing Regional Partnerships down. It is clear, from our discussions with communities, that many were led to believe that funding had been finalised with the previous government. Lake Ellen playground in Bundaberg was one of those: $215,000 was approved to buy playground equipment—including equipment for children with disabilities. Now, without a contract, Lake Ellen was given a sign saying the project was funded by the Australian government. We think it is pretty reasonable that they considered—seeing there was a sign there saying that it was funded by the Australian government—that they had funding secured. That is why we have stepped in to provide a common-sense approach—one that has been opposed by those opposite. This process, of allowing projects which were near completion to proceed, has been opposed by those opposite. The overwhelming majority of them are in coalition held seats. But that has not stopped them opposing 55 of the projects.

Today I had a question from the member for McEwen. In her question the member for McEwen suggested, as she did on Thursday, 15 May 2008: ‘Last year, I secured $564,000 to help construct a carer respite house for families in our Macedon Ranges region from the Regional Partnerships program. We celebrated with the project applicant, Golden City Support Services, as well as local volunteers, who have all worked long and hard for this worthy project.’

I understand from the advice that I have had from the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services that this is indeed a worthy project. When he spoke to the member for McEwen and said, ‘This is a health and disability issue. Why was it going through Regional Partnerships?’ the member for McEwen said, ‘We could not get funding from anywhere else.’ This was a minister in the government.

This is the fact of the matter: on 24 October a letter was sent to Ian McLean, the CEO of Golden City Support Services, from Simon Ash, principal adviser of Regional Partnerships, and it said: ‘The application that you submitted for Macedon Ranges Respite Service seeking funding under Regional Partnerships is currently under assessment. As you are aware, the Prime Minister announced that a federal election will be held on 24 November 2007. As a result of the announcement, the parliament was dissolved on 17 October 2007, and the government has assumed a caretaker role. In line with these conventions, no decisions on funding requests under the Regional Partner-ships program will be made until a new government is formed.’ I table the letter.

That is an outrage. It is an outrage to mislead this community organisation and to say, as a local member, that funding has been secured when you know that that is not the case—when you are a minister in the government. How mean-spirited and callous. And that is what this mob did. Someone in my electorate who I have a great deal of respect for said to me, ‘We got funded. What is happening with our project?’ And I said, ‘I cannot talk to you about it. I am the minister. That is not appropriate. Talk to the department. The department will give me advice. The departmental officer will contact you.’ After budget night, I spoke to this person. They were given an assurance of over half a million dollars from the chief of staff to the former minister for roads.

They went out on that basis and took action with a local community group. This is someone who deals with homeless people and kids in education. It is just an outrageous way to treat people—treating money like it was a National Party plaything and treating people so appallingly. The member for McEwen should apologise before this House for misleading the parliament in her question.

We make no apologies for shutting this rorted program down. We also make no apologies for making sure that in doing so we will look after community groups, who are victims of the maladministration and the misleading by those opposite. We make no apologies for delivering our election commitments, through proper processes. That is why we are making sure that the Better Regions guidelines are consistent with the National Audit Office guidelines. We have sought legal advice to make sure that no-one will be in the situation of getting money in an inappropriate fashion. We do not believe in writing blank cheques.

That is why we have established a Regional and Local Community Infrastructure program. We have given a reference to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, which is chaired by the member for Ballarat and has the member for Hinkler—someone I have respect for—as its deputy chair. We have seconded the member for New England, an independent man of integrity, to make sure that we get the guidelines and processes right for the program, which will commence in 2009.

We believe, very clearly, that regional Australia was the real victim of the previous government because, by rorting the program, they undermined the integrity of funding in regional Australia. That is why you have such extraordinary hypocrisy. The leader of the National Party raised the matter of an article today in the Australian which said that out of the 34 grants:

Only one went to a safe Liberal seat. The other 33 went to marginal seats being targeted by Labor ...

So there are 34 grants which they are saying are a problem. Thirty-three of them are in Liberal and National Party held seats, but somehow that is us pork-barrelling. Somehow that is inappropriate during an election campaign. It is absolutely extraordinary, because they say one thing in here and they say another thing in their electorates.

It is just like the Tree of Knowledge, the other issue that has been raised by those opposite. Let me tell you, I visited it with Vaughan Johnson, the National Party state member, with the National Party local mayor, and with the member for Flynn. They all support that project, as the member for Maranoa did on radio just this week. So they cannot even hold the line from their own dwindling group of nine members in the House of Representatives. They say they care about regional development. Well, there is a shadow minister for regional development and I say to those listening that, if anyone can ring my office in the next five mintues and name him, they will win a prize—I will send them something. It is absolutely extraordinary. I will send them the three volumes of the Audit Office’s report.

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