Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Would the minister outline further evidence of wasted spending in the Regional Partnerships program?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to 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.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I do not recall the minister being asked for alternative views in the question.

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

It was a waste of spending.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat. The minister is in order. It is not about alternative policies; it is about reckless spending.

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

They have been asking for evidence all day, Mr Speaker. I am about to give them some and they might like to listen.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will answer the question.

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

Coonawarra Gold was a grape seed oil company in South Australia. On 20 June 2005 the former government approved $433,000 of taxpayers’ funds for this company. It was to put odour control filters into the company—a worthy objective to assist with the odour that would otherwise go out to the local community. As part of my duties as a diligent regional development minister I visited Coonawarra in January this year and I looked for the Coonawarra Gold factory. I could not find it anywhere.

I began to think that the only odour that was around was the stench from the Regional Partnerships program. Indeed, that was the only odour that was around because it turns out that the company went bust on 11 November 2005. But just one month earlier, they got $433,000 of taxpayers’ funds even though they were going bust. You might think that perhaps the National-Liberal Party did not know about this company going bust—you cannot expect them to know every company that exists in their electorate. But the general manager of Coonawarra Gold was Mr Pat Trainor—he is known to those opposite. He was the Liberal Party candidate for the seat of Florey in the state election that was held at that very time. That is the stench that comes out of this program.

The opposition are not interested in producing results for regional Australia; they are interested in producing votes in regional Australia. But this is not the only cruel hoax being played on regional Australia because, on the one hand, you have taxpayers’ funds going to organisations that do not exist but, on the other hand, you have pledges of taxpayers’ money that are never realised. For example, $1 million was approved way back in January 2004 for a program and, four years later, there was no contract, not a single dollar. I have yet another example: the Dalby Wambo Event Centre in the electorate of Maranoa put in an application in May 2005, three years ago, for $2 million. It was approved in March 2006 but there was no contract and no money—just a cruel hoax.

Regional Partnerships was a program designed by the National Party to secure votes so that they could run around prior to election campaigns and say, ‘Everything is fine; the cheque’s in the mail.’ But it did not actually get delivered. They do deliver money where nothing exists, but they do not deliver on their commitments. The same opposition today cannot be believed when you hear the comments of the shadow Treasurer and compare them to how they acted in government with their wasteful expenditure and their wasteful pork-barrelling.