Wilson Tuckey (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to his GROCERYchoice website, which he said will help to bring down the price of groceries for all Australian consumers. Does the Prime Minister expect a shopper in Port Hedland to drive 500 kilometres to Paraburdoo to get the best deal on a block of cheese? Does the Prime Minister also propose that person go to the Fuelwatch website to get the cheapest fuel for the thousand-kilometre round trip?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What we have always said is that we stand for any measure which gives consumers some more power. That means enabling consumers across the country to have access to information online which tells them which of the individual chains—Coles, Woolies, Aldi or others—offer the best deal over time against a given set of baskets of goods. There are, from memory, some 62 different regions sampling some 600 supermarkets on a regular basis and, again from memory, there are about six or seven baskets of goods. All this is designed to do is to provide a bit extra by way of consumer power and a bit more by way of consumer choice.

On the question that the honourable member raises about bringing down grocery prices, those opposite will well recall the ridicule heaped on the Labor Party, the Treasurer and I while in opposition by the member for Higgins when he specifically refused to provide such undertakings. They ridiculed us in opposition, and of course they have forgotten now that the tables have changed because it suits their political purpose to verbal us in a different direction. But if there is one key theme emerging from all of this—and I think the Minister for Health and Ageing got it absolutely right before—whether it is with the big pharmaceutical companies, whether it is with the very big private health insurance companies, whether it is with the big oil companies or whether it is with the big supermarket chains, we always know who is going to line up on behalf of the consumers and who is going to line up on behalf of big business. The Liberals cannot shake their age-old habit of lining up with big business, for which they stand.

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

Order! The Prime Minister will resume his seat. Has the Prime Minister concluded?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Finance, Competition Policy and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It’s just more spin, Mr Speaker.

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

The member for Dickson will remove himself from the chamber for one hour.

The member for Dickson then left the chamber.

An incident having occurred in the gallery—

The gallery will come to order!

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You’re a dud, Rudd!

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

The member for Fadden will remove himself from the chamber for one hour.

The member for Fadden then left the chamber.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Families, Community Services, Indigenous Affairs and the Voluntary Sector) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on a point of order: the other day in this place you admitted that the word ‘dud’ was not unparliamentary—

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

No. The member for Warringah—

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Families, Community Services, Indigenous Affairs and the Voluntary Sector) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and I put it to you that it should not be described as unparliamentary just because ‘dud’ rhymes with ‘Rudd’. Just because ‘dud’ rhymes with ‘Rudd’ is no reason for it to become unparliamentary.

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

The member for Warringah will first resume his seat, but he is going to—regrettably for my statistics—get punishment for that outburst. It was nothing to do with the word that was used. It was just the blatant interjection and disruptive behaviour by the member for Fadden that he was invited to leave. On the basis that the member for Warringah has actually abused his opportunity in the way that he could give a sensible point of order, I also invite him to leave the chamber for one hour.

The member for Warringah then left the chamber.

An incident having occurred in the gallery—

The gallery will come to order. The member for Kingston will resume her seat. The general warning to the galleries is that, for the privilege of being here, we expect them to remain silent, even though from time to time that is difficult because of the behaviour that they are observing. The member for Kingston has the call.