Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.

Peter Slipper (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the honourable member claimed to have been misrepresented?

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do, Mr Speaker.

Peter Slipper (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The honourable member may proceed.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit released a letter from the Auditor-General alleging that I had contravened the Commonwealth's grant guidelines by failing to notify the Minister for Finance and Deregulation that I had approved 10 grants to organisations in my electorate. These claims were also reported in today's media.

One of these was to the Children's Protection Society, a child welfare organisation that provides support and counselling to children in crisis and their families.

Opposition members interjecting—

Peter Slipper (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will be heard in silence. She must direct her attention to where she is personally misrepresented, and I am listening carefully.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the time I made the decision on this grant my department overlooked its reporting to the finance minister—

Opposition members interjecting—

Peter Slipper (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I have just said that the minister will be heard in silence. She will be as expeditious as possible.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The oversight was reported as soon as it was realised, in July last year. The other nine grants referred to in the report relate—

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

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. For the minister's personal explanation to be in order, she needs to be showing how the Auditor-General's report has misrepresented her, and she has not even addressed the Auditor-General's report.

Peter Slipper (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have listened carefully to the minister. She will continue her personal explanation and she will show where she has been personally misrepresented.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said in my opening remarks, the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit released a letter from the Auditor-General alleging that I had contravened the Commonwealth grant guidelines and this was reported in the media as well. As I was going on to say, the other nine grants referred to in the report relate to emergency relief funding which is provided to community organisations to help families in crisis. At least one of the organisations listed is not even in my electorate. In relation to the others, I was not the decision maker in making these grants; that responsibility was delegated to the relevant state manager of my department. Therefore I did not approve the funding. There is no requirement to report to the minister for finance. Any suggestion otherwise is entirely inaccurate.

The Department of Finance and Deregulation has confirmed—

Opposition members interjecting—

These are serious allegations which I am refuting.

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

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. Personal explanations are designed to be brief, to show where a person has been personally misrepresented and then take their seat. If she wants to make a ministerial statement, we will give her leave to do so.

Peter Slipper (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister is entirely in order. When a number of allegations have been made they have to be dealt with one by one. The minister has the call, but she will be as expeditious as possible.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The department of finance has confirmed with my department today that, given that I was not the decision maker in this instance, I was not required to report to the minister for finance. I have written to the Auditor-General today following the release of his report asking for these inaccuracies to be reviewed and corrected.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.

Peter Slipper (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the honourable member claimed to have been misrepresented?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do.

Peter Slipper (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The honourable member may proceed.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the same Auditor-General's report that was just referred to by the minister for community services, there was a claim that I made grants specific to my own electorate. There are two grants, one of which was made jointly by myself and Minister Garrett. The other was made by myself alone. The one that was made jointly by myself and Minister Garrett was a grant to the Sydney Metropolitan Catchment Management Authority, which actually covers all 26 electorates in Sydney and affects my electorate to the extent that my electorate is contained within Sydney, and no further.

The second grant, which is one which I made personally, is a grant which was when as agriculture minister I established 56 regional Landcare facilitators—

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

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. The minister is clearly debating the issue. He is now debating the matter. The Auditor-General gave a finding. It was that these ministers were in breach. Each time a minister approves a grant in respect of their own electorate—

Peter Slipper (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will address where he has personally been misrepresented.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

With the second grant I go specifically to the point of the extent to which this is a grant specific to my own electorate. The 56 natural resource management regions cover the entirety of Australia. Australia is divided up into 56 regions. Every one of these regions received a facilitator and that facilitator was funded. There was an advantage to my electorate to the extent that my electorate is contained within Australia, and no more.