Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to his claim that he can repay the nation’s $315 billion debt by 2022. I also refer to the statements from the Treasurer’s office last night confirming that contrary to what was said in the House yesterday these claims are not supported by the budget papers but rather by Treasury modelling. Will the Prime Minister now release the Treasury modelling or are Australian taxpayers just to be left with a debt repayment promise that does not add up?

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

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. The government’s strategy for returning the budget to surplus and for repaying the government borrowing is outlined clearly in the budget papers. Furthermore, what I would say to the Leader of the Opposition, as his question goes to the point of numbers, is as follows. We had the clear articulation of the opposition strategy on debt and deficit on display at the doors today. The Leader of the Opposition was asked the following question, given we are all about specificity on budget numbers: ‘What does the coalition regard as an acceptable level of debt?’ The answer from Mr Turnbull was: ‘The level of debt should be no more than is absolutely necessary.’ Then the journalist asked this question: ‘What’s that, then?’ Mr Turnbull’s answer: ‘Well, it’s not a question of a number.’

We have had a two-week strategy from the opposition which is all about numbers, specificity and drilling down, and then when asked a simple question on the doors today—’Come on, Malcolm, what is it?’—the answer was, ‘Well, it’s not a question of a number.’ Can I just say: this is the ultimate bookending of what began with the Hockey doctrine two weeks ago, which confirmed that the Liberal strategy on deficit and debt is equal to the government strategy on deficit and debt, equal—

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Not true!

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

Oh! ‘$25 billion less,’ they say and then they refuse to back $22 billion worth of savings. So Joe’s position is this. You have a $275 billion Liberal deficit and debt strategy, add $22 billion worth of savings forgone and that equals a $300 billion debt and deficit strategy. That is the Hockey doctrine of two weeks ago. The Turnbull doctrine today says it is not about a specific number. Is it any wonder that nobody actually attaches any credibility whatsoever to this scare campaign on debt and deficit? The opposition have one single objective in mind. The government is building the economy up; the Liberals are seeking to talk the economy down.

Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, how is the Australian government building out of recession through its nation building for recovery program?

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

I thank the honourable member for Page for her question. I note that under the Australian government’s nation building for recovery plan there are over 157 projects underway in the member’s electorate. And there will be an investment of $43.8 million in the member’s electorate. There will be 121 projects under the largest school modernisation program in Australia’s history. Twenty social housing units will be built in the member’s electorate, and there will be 16 projects under the government’s black spots and boom gates program, including $950,000 towards the accident prone area of the Kyogle Road at Lismore. There will be $10.9 billion for five local councils under the Community Infrastructure Program, including a $3.4 million investment in the Evans Head Aquatic Centre. These are practical projects aimed at building the infrastructure her community needs tomorrow while supporting jobs, business and apprenticeships today. That is the government’s overall strategy in response to the global economic recession, which is ripping the heart out of economies across the world.

Secondly, I would like to confirm today to the House that the government through its strategy is providing funding for infrastructure for every one of Australia’s 9,540 schools—every one of them. I would like to confirm to the House that under the National School Pride program we will be delivering $1.3 billion to 9,490 schools for 13,176 projects. I also confirm to the House that works on 8,863 projects at 5,994 schools are due to commence this month. On top of that, on 7 May the government allocated $2.8 billion of funding to 2,010 major projects like school halls, gymnasiums and multipurpose centres across nearly 1,500 Australian primary schools. That is the government’s strategy on nation building.

Yesterday we had some interesting exchanges with those opposite on their responses to nation building in their electorates. I draw the attention of the House to one of our favourite members opposite, the member for Canning—a person given to enormous generosity of spirit. He said at the time when this stimulus package supporting these projects was put through the House:

… I am saying tonight, as the Leader of the Opposition has said, that we will not be a part of this.

That is what the member for Canning said in February. What did the member for Canning have to say last night? He said this:

I support whatever taxpayer funds or funds borrowed on behalf of taxpayers are going into my electorate.

What a distance it is—

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Energy and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order: for the Prime Minister to be relevant he must be accurate and the issue was—

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

Order! The member for Canning will resume his seat.

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

How they squirm and turn when presented with the facts. That was a bit like the member for Fadden yesterday: ‘Will I, won’t I, put my hand up? Put it half up? Put it down? What day is it? Are they watching back home? Are they watching on TV? Are they listening to the broadcast?’ It is called being transparent and honest with your community. Either you vote for it or you do not. And those opposite know nothing whatsoever about transparency.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

I always love Joe’s interventions. It is called the Joe Hockey bellow factor—the louder you bellow, the lesser the amount of content lying behind the bellowing. Let’s go to our good friend opposite. We will pass by the member for Fadden—he made a notable contribution to the House yesterday, as well, on this. Let’s go to the member for Wentworth, who we know as the Leader of the Opposition has a keen interest in local infrastructure as well. We know, when the minister for infrastructure showed up to announce an investment in the Waverley Park pavilion, the Leader of the Opposition had the following to say:

Could I just say that I’m delighted that the Government’s spending this money on the Pavilion here.

‘Delighted’. He said:

… I’m delighted to be here to welcome that investment, it’s a very good investment in infrastructure.

I have a few problems with this. How does that reconcile itself with the huff and puff and bluster we have heard here for the last two weeks? But I can also go on to the question of schools in the honourable member’s electorate. Let’s just look at a few of these schools. We have St Anthony’s school. Does the Leader of the Opposition support the refurbishment of the playground and classrooms and the installation of broadband at St Anthony’s school in his electorate? Does he support the refurbishment of classrooms and roofing at St Clare’s College in Waverley? What about that one?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. We have raised before this business of the Prime Minister posing questions to the opposition. If he wants us to respond, if he wants us to respond to the way he is using billions of borrowed money to blackmail members of parliament—

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

Order! The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Turnbull interjecting

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

The Leader of the Opposition is warned.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Order! The use of these rhetorical questions highlights a need for the House to consider the amount of debate that is allowed in the answers to questions. I remind honourable members that a lot of the angst that is expressed relates to the fact that the standing orders have several restrictions on questions and those restrictions do not apply to answers.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I direct you to standing order 98(b), which is a very specific standing order. It says:

During Question Time, a Member may orally ask a question of a Minister (but not a Parliamentary Secretary*), without notice and for immediate response.

Contrary to the commentary made to the House—

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

The member for Sturt will resume his seat.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have not finished my—

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

The member for Sturt will resume his seat. I thank him for supporting my case.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am entitled to—

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

The member for Sturt will resume his seat. I call the Prime Minister in response to the question.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, under standing order 86 I am entitled to take a point of order. The point of order that I am taking is that, indeed, you pointed to the standing orders as inhibiting your capacity to make the Prime Minister conform with the standing orders. Standing order 98 specifically prohibits a question being asked of a member of the opposition—

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

The member for Sturt will resume his seat. Again, I thank him for supporting the point that I am making. There is no way, then, that the Leader of the Opposition can get up to answer a question because there is no question. The Prime Minister is responding to the question.

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

The degree of discomfort on the part of those opposite is transparent to the nation. We then come to the question of the Galilee Catholic Primary School, and we would be interested to know whether the honourable member supports the refurbishment—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Order! The Prime Minister has made his point.

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

or reconstruction of the covered learning area at that school or the upgrading of floors, roofs and sewerage at the Woollahra Public School. It looks like a nice school, but I am sure they could deal with the upgrading of the floors, roofs and sewerage.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Who has paid for all these photos?

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I refer to your own ruling of this week in which you said that props should be incidental to an answer and to previous speakers’ rulings—rulings of Speaker Andrew and Speaker Jenkins Senior—on numerous occasions that props were out of order or were not to be encouraged. For the bulk of the Prime Minister’s answer he has been waving embarrassingly pathetic photographs around, and I ask you to rule them out of order. Otherwise, props will become the major aspect of answers and questions—which I am sure you do not want to happen, Mr Speaker.

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

Order! I am not sure about the generational reference but I will check that. It will probably amuse me on the weekend. The House of Representatives Practice says that the use of props is tolerated but not encouraged—that is correct. I read a ruling from the previous Parliament into the record again yesterday—and there are several similar rulings. I also made the point that this illustrates to me that, yet again, this is something we may not be able to approach with maturity. I remind honourable members on my left that, when the member for North Sydney decided to take an action that would give his question more vibrancy, it was allowed—and at least one media agency gave him the outcome that I assume he was after.

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

I noticed that one of the interventions on the part of those opposite referred to ‘embarrassment’. Can I just say that what is singularly embarrassing for those opposite is to have to stand before their local communities and say that they voted against each one of these investments in their local schools. That is why they are embarrassed—except for the good old member for Canning, who yesterday in the parliament did a complete backflip with reverse pike and twist. So we have the Kincoppal-Rose Bay School of the Sacred Heart multipurpose hall and performing arts centre—to show that our program is directed to non-government schools as well—the St Francis of Assisi School; the St Catherine’s School; and the installation of wireless broadband at St Charles’ Catholic Primary School—a very nice school as well. Those opposite said that these questions have been posed to them in a manner inconsistent with the standing orders.