House debates
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Personal Explanations
3:57 pm
Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) 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?
Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I do, Mr Speaker, and most grievously.
Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
In question time today and on numerous previous occasions, members opposite have claimed that I—and I am quoting more or less what they say—‘ripped a billion dollars out of hospital funding’. I seek to make two points. First of all, rather trivially, I was not the relevant minister at the time of the 2003 budget. Secondly, and more importantly, I am now reading from page 179 of Budget Paper No. 2 of 2003-04, which states:
The funding for 2003-04 to 2007-08—
this is the health care agreement, public hospital funding—
represents an increase of $10 billion over the last agreements.
This demonstrates that the claims repeatedly made opposite are simply not true. They are lies.
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The Leader of the Opposition has completed his personal explanation.
3:59 pm
Wilson Tuckey (O'Connor, Liberal Party) 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?
Wilson Tuckey (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
In question time today, the member for Rankin misrepresented my comments at this morning’s doorstop as a criticism of the coalition’s parental leave policy. What I said this morning was that, by comparison, the ETS is a tax that is paid even if you are going broke and that the parental leave levy is no different in terms of tax administration and approximate rate than the Medicare levy, except that its threshold is $5 million of taxable income and as an income tax it does not front-end prices.
4:00 pm
Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
For the benefit of the House, I table the page that the Leader of the Opposition referred to in his personal explanation, which clearly shows that the government in 2003 reduced funding—
Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
a billion dollars less than even—
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The minister has tabled the document. The minister will resume her seat.
Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
No, I am not—
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! At this point in time, I think we have moved on from the minister’s ability to add to an answer.
Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I am also tabling a second document, which I am, as a minister, allowed to do.
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The minister can table the documents but she cannot really debate the tabling.
Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
No, but I need to tell you what the document is that I am tabling.
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
No. The minister has tabled one document, and the minister is about to table another document—
Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Yes. I am tabling a second document, which shows the Leader of the Opposition’s own words admitting to this.
Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order.
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The minister will resume her seat. The member for Cowper will resume his seat. I take it that the minister is approaching the dispatch box to table a document. She can table the document, but she cannot debate the document.
Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I have tabled the two documents.
Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Albanese interjecting
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Usually you are of more assistance, Leader of the House. But the dogs have barked and the caravan has moved on!
Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I have a question for you in relation to the document tabled.
Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The point of order is: is it within the standing orders for the minister to table a document which is a half-ripped piece of paper, a transcript? This is not a Treasury document.
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The member for Dickson will resume his seat. A document, having been tabled, is available for members to look at and make any assessment about that they like.