Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the opposition I say to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister that the opposition has no disagreement with the idea that the Prime Minister is entitled to have people visit and attend the prime ministerial residences. We do take issue with the fact that there are two residences—unlike what other Prime Ministers have seen fit to do—at extraordinary cost to the taxpayer. We have a problem with the undermining of the very principles of disclosure in the Commonwealth Electoral Act and the use of the national estate for fundraising purposes by the Liberal Party. That clearly is what has occurred with these events. With the 2005 and 2007 invitations, the program outlined four business observers. In 2005 it makes it clear that the fee of $7,500 is a conditional amount to attend the fundraising function at the Lodge. In 2007 it is $8,250 at Kirribilli House.

It is clear that, unless there is payment made for the hire of the venue, the concern is that having such a fundraiser at Kirribilli House saves the Liberal Party money—compared to if they had to hire a private venue—and therefore increases the amount of money made from that fundraising activity. The reason that disclosure of gifts is there is to stop people donating and not disclosing through the normal processes. It is quite clear that the figures, which go to $9 a head for food and some $6 a head for drinks, for the Kirribilli House fundraising function—which has become known as the cash-for-canapes affair—are simply totally inadequate. Anyone who knows anything about Sydney prices knows that. The Prime Minister was given the example in the parliament of the restaurant Guillaume at Bennelong, just across the harbour. The starting price there is $60 per head, and that excludes alcohol and venue hire.

The concern here, as I think Australians know, is that to get food and drinks for that price they would have had to have caught the fish out of the harbour themselves—and perhaps hopped the fence and shucked a few oysters themselves. That simply is not the case. That is why we are asking for the real costs of that event. We reiterate that to the parliamentary secretary. I am surprised that he has not had a single answer prepared on any of this—this has been a prominent issue for nine days now and yet the representative of the Prime Minister, before this session of the Main Committee, has not been able to provide a single figure. So I ask again: what were the real costs of the 1 June cash-for-canapes function held at Kirribilli House to raise funds for the Liberal Party?

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