Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian Labor Party see conspiracy wherever they look. If my department had said in response to the FOI request that there were exchanges of letters before the budget, the Labor Party would have said, 'Aha, conspiracy.' If there isn't correspondence beforehand, they say, 'Aha, conspiracy.' This is a straightforward matter that was determined in the context of the budget. As is the case when it comes to these announcements, there's a decision taken in the budget, there's a grant to be made before money is handed across and there is a funding deed, with requirements and milestones, that is put into place. This is standard practice and that will happen.