Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. Will the minister update the House on the findings of the recently released Australian National Audit Office report into the management of the Regional Development Australia Fund?

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There will be silence on my left and right!

Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I thank the member for Parkes for what is a very important question. Last Thursday afternoon, in the midst of unimaginable sadness, with the news about Phillip Hughes, there was an Auditor-General's report tabled in this parliament, which was startling in its nature. It revealed a Labor Party in government which, knowingly, went out of their way to abuse taxpayers' money for their own political benefit. It was probably the worst ANAO report that many of the officials in my department have seen. It is a report that highlights just how desperate the former government got in their dying days. It was a government that created a process. Former minister Simon Crean, who is a good man, created a process. He appointed a committee and the former Labor member for McMillan, Christian Zara, to head that committee. They asked the committee to make recommendations about which projects under the RDAF rounds 3 and 4 should be funded and then they completely ignored it. They overturned nearly all of the decisions. In fact, out of 42 decisions that were made, 34 of them were overturned by the minister.

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order: on relevance. Two-thirds of those projects were in non-Labor-held seats.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order; please resume your seat. The member for Franklin knows that a point of order is not to stand and debate the question. If you wish to debate it, do it in some other form of the House.

Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Out of 42 recommendations made by her own hand-picked committee, she overturned 34 of them. Of those that the former minister overturned, 80 per cent of them were in coalition seats and 60 per cent were in Labor seats. This is a total and utter abuse of taxpayers' money in a desperate attempt to hold up Labor seats. It was a king's ransom for the Labor Party. And it was not the usual suspects. It was not the member for Grayndler, it was not the member for Sydney; it was the member for Ballarat, who has been totally and utterly silent—

Ms Collins interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Franklin will desist.

Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

since this report was released—totally and utterly silent. Unlike the member for Grayndler, who puts out a press release when he turns up to parliament, the member for Ballarat has not said a word. She has not apologised, she has not explained herself, and she should. And if this Leader of the Opposition had any heart he would tell her to apologise. He would tell her to explain. He would tell her to tell the Australian people why it was that the former government, under the Prime Minister he used to support, Julia Gillard, did this to Australian taxpayers' money. It was a rort, it is a shame, and you should be disgusted with your own former minister's behaviour. She should apologise.