Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Minchin, the Minister representing the Prime Minister. I refer the minister to his answer yesterday where he said that the Liberal Party paid $2,128.50 for food and $1,476.52 for drinks for the fundraiser held at Kirribilli House on 1 June 2007. Does the minister know of anywhere else in Australia where you can entertain 225 people and feed them oysters, prawns, so-called posh soup and other gourmet food for $9.50 a head and give them all the fine wine they can drink for $6.50 a head? Can the minister explain why the Prime Minister thinks the Liberal Party is entitled to such a good deal? Why should ordinary Australian taxpayers subsidise a Liberal Party fundraiser?

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McEwen seems to be reading from a press release of Senator Wong’s on this subject. Senator Wong issued a press release saying, ‘There’s something fishy about Howard’s oysters’—very droll, Senator Wong! What I think is actually fishy, through you, Mr President, to Senator McEwen, is the behaviour of the South Australian Labor Party in dumping Senator Wong to the No. 2 position and dumping Senator Kirk right off the ticket to put a union hack called Don Farrell, a failed Labor candidate from 1988, into the No. 1 position on the Senate ticket. That is what is very fishy, Senator McEwen. As to your question about—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Senate will come to order!

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I am no expert on catering costs, but apparently Senator McEwen and Senator Wong are. They can assert that the $5,186.69 charged to the Liberal Party for the function at Kirribilli House was apparently not the right amount to charge. Now, I do not know what information or what expertise they have in commercial catering costs. All I can do is report to the Senate, as I did yesterday, that this was the cost of the food and the beverages for the supply of Liberal Party delegates and observers at Kirribilli House. That is what was charged to Kirribilli House and that is what has been on-costed to the Liberal Party, and the Liberal Party has paid the amount in full.

Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Is the minister aware that a one-hour canape package at the Guillaume restaurant, which shares harbour views across from Kirribilli House, costs $30 per person, with drinks extra, and $6,000 for room hire, and the minimum spend is $30,000? Instead of paying anything remotely close to market rates, why does the Prime Minister think that the taxpayers of Australia should subsidise a Liberal Party fundraiser?

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, it is a really big day in the Senate when the first question is about the price of prawns! In future, I will make sure the Prime Minister goes to Senator McEwen and asks her for a quote first!

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When the Senate comes to order, we will continue with question time.