Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is again to the Prime Minister. Why has the PM repeatedly told the parliament and the Australian people the decision on the sports rorts project was made on 4 April when the Audit Office has found the lists of sports rorts projects attached to that brief kept changing until hours after the election was called on 11 April? Isn't it absurd to claim a decision was made on 4 April when the list determining which projects were funded and which missed out was still changing a week later?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member has raised comments and statements I've made in this House regarding this specific matter regarding 4 April. Let me say what I have said in this House. The evidence provided today was that Sport Australia advised the committee this morning that they received a brief from Senator McKenzie dated 4 April 2019. That was the evidence. That's what I said. From a later question: the authority approving those projects was signed, dated 4 April 2019. The testimony today from Sport Australia—another response—was that they received a brief from Senator McKenzie dated 4 April 2019. It was authorised by the minister 4 April 2019. That's when the approval was given. I've been very clear in this House about when that authority was provided for that brief, which was on 4 April. I don't think it can be any clearer.

The Leader of the Opposition seeks to come to the dispatch box and treat question time as smear time, to treat question time as baseless assertion time. The Australian people can see through a Leader of the Opposition who is so desperate that he has to resort to smears and assertions when the real issues that Australians are facing today—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition on a point of order?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, Mr Speaker. The quotes are from the Audit Office, and in order to be—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point of order is?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

relevant he needs to talk about the Audit Office. Relevance.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister has the call. He's being relevant to the question. I was listening to—

Opposition members interjecting—

I'm not going to have commentary reflecting on the chair. The Prime Minister is being relevant to the question asked that included a preamble. The Prime Minister has the call.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, more than a preamble, I dealt specifically with the reference to 4 April 2019, which was the specific question which was put to me about that matter.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just say to the Prime Minister: I was actually agreeing that you'd been relevant.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Very good; thank you, Mr Speaker. I appreciate that.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Whether it's good or bad, I said you were relevant!

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That's fair enough! What we're seeing from the Leader of the Opposition today is that they haven't come into this place and addressed the big issues for Australian people. Yesterday in this House members on this side came into this chamber and wanted to know what the government's response was to address the very serious issue of coronavirus in this country. There was not one question from the opposition about that.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Point of order. The Prime Minister is not abiding by your earlier ruling on relevance.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No. I want to make it clear. I said that the Prime Minister 'was' being relevant.

Opposition members interjecting—

Those behind the Manager of Opposition Business: whatever they interject, I can assure you he doesn't hear it or take any account of it, and I'm trying to listen to him.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You gave an earlier ruling saying precisely why at that point the Prime Minister was being relevant. What he's going to now are issues entirely outside of that ruling that you gave.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister is entitled to compare and contrast, which he's doing. And, as I said earlier, the question had some preamble in it. It also had what I'd call an element of character attack, for a better term, and that's not uncommon. I'm not going to try and make question time something that it's not. But I'm going to keep hearing from the Prime Minister in response to the question.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our government are going to keep focusing on the issues that seriously matter to the Australian people. Whether it's the coronavirus, whether it's responding to the bushfire crisis, whether it's dealing with the drought, we're prepared for the budget. We're getting skills into Australian employees so they can grow our economy and we bounce back strongly—whether it's the plastic summit or getting emissions down or providing certainty in our electricity system around the country. Those opposite want to come in here and engage in political smears. I know they're used to doing that in their own caucus against each other, but if they're not interested in the serious issues confronting the Australian people there is no wonder why the Australian people have no confidence in the opposition or this Leader of the Opposition.