Maxine McKew (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Early Childhood Education and Child Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.

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

Does the honourable member claim to have been misrepresented?

Maxine McKew (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Early Childhood Education and Child Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do.

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

Please proceed.

Maxine McKew (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Early Childhood Education and Child Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian newspaper, on page 2 of today’s edition, includes an article by Patricia Karvelas and Dennis Shanahan. In that article I was quoted as saying:

They may have to look at capping places so that we have a balanced set of providers out there, both independent and community, and we don’t have a dominance of one group.

I did not provide any comment to Ms Karvelas or Mr Shanahan on this matter and did not make the comment attributed to me, so my office has contacted Ms Karvelas, pointing out this error and requesting that it be corrected. I understand that the Australian has undertaken to make this correction.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.

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

Does the honourable member claim to have been misrepresented?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, I do.

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

Please proceed.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier on in question time today the Deputy Prime Minister indicated that somehow I was complicit in the downfall of ABC Learning, which is of course ridiculous and laughable. She also made the point that I have a commercial arrangement in relation to a property which is leased to ABC Childcare, which has been noted in my pecuniary interest register from the time I entered this parliament. It seems my sin is that prior to coming into parliament we operated a childcare centre and when I came into parliament I took the decision to dispose of the business, selling it to ABC. We are now in a commercial rent arrangement. To clarify the facts as they are, we entered into a commercial arrangement with ABC Childcare at the time. The rent that is paid by ABC to us is set at a market rate. It was set at the time by an independent valuer. It is indexed to CPI movements each year. It has a market review after five years and it is not linked in any way to profits or occupancy of the centre. It is a perfectly legitimate, normal commercial arrangement. I wanted to place that on the record.

The second point is in relation to the suggestion by the Deputy Prime Minister that Mr Groves is a friend and supporter of mine. Of course, he is a friend and supporter of people on both sides of politics. As I understand it, he sponsored the ALP state conference in June of this year.