Andrew Robb (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. I refer to the Treasurer’s disclosure of two trips totalling eight days in 2006 and 2007 paid for by Beijing AustChina Technology. Given the failure of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to provide key information to the House, will the Treasurer advise the House of the circumstances in which the sponsorship arose, the Treasurer’s understanding of the reasons for Beijing AustChina Technology providing this sponsorship, what meetings were held, who attended and the subject matters discussed?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for the question. I have travelled overseas, both in my capacity as a member of parliament and as shadow Treasurer, on numerous occasions in the three years leading up to now. As the member is very well aware, the moneys available to shadow ministers for international travel are not great; we just have the basic entitlement that every member of parliament has for one three-year period. So if you want to do your job as a shadow minister, if you want to get out there in the big, wide world—whether it is going to the United States, whether it is going to China or whether it is going to Britain—then you have to have some assistance.

I met this company some time ago. They did sponsor some of my travel. All of that has been disclosed. When I was travelling I was doing my job both as a member of parliament and as a shadow minister. Given the importance of China to the economy of this country, that is what I should have been doing. All of those matters have been disclosed. If the member has some allegation to make, let him make it and let him come clean on all the sponsored travel on the other side of the House.