Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer and Acting Prime Minister. As part of the government’s intention to consider nuclear power in Australia, will it nominate the proposed sites of its nuclear reactors and their associated high-level nuclear waste dumps?

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On this side of the House, we welcome a debate about the nuclear industry. On this side of the House, we have no hang-up at all about exploiting Australia’s resources to gain export income for this country. It is the Labor Party that says, ‘It’s okay to mine uranium in three places, but wrong to mine it in a fourth or a fifth.’ I have no higher authority for the inconsistency of Labor’s policy than the next Labor leader, Bill Shorten, who said—listen to this—

Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The point of order is on relevance. We have no problems with this, but we do want to know where the reactors—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. I call the Acting Prime Minister. He is answering the question.

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The day will come when he will be unable to silence Bill Shorten any further. Let us hear Bill Shorten’s views now.

Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In raising my point of order, I wish to quote one of your predecessors when he said:

… I propose to apply a commonsense approach to these issues. I expect questions to be specific, and answers to be relevant.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Chief Opposition Whip will come to his point of order.

Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am rising under standing order 104, which says:

An answer must be relevant to the question.

That is, not connected to the question, not partially relevant, but relevant.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Chief Opposition Whip will resume his seat. He is well aware that I have already ruled on that point of order, and I call the Acting Prime Minister.

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This government has no hang-ups about exploiting Australia’s natural resources—

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms King interjecting

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and exporting to countries that comply with—

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms King interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Ballarat is warned!

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

nuclear safeguards. As Bill Shorten has said:

Federal Labor has a three mines uranium policy and the way which we get around that is we call every new mine part of an existing mine.

You can only have three, but they can have multiple subbranches all over Australia. It sounds like a Labor Party branch stack to me! Three branches with multiple subbranches all over Australia.

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

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order under standing order 104. They wanted a debate; we are giving them one. Where are the reactors going to be?

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat.

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

Where are the dumps going to be? It is a very specific question.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat. In response to the member for Grayndler, I am listening carefully to the Acting Prime Minister.

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We welcome this debate. We think it is in Australia’s national interest, and we will take great pleasure in seeing Bill Shorten lead the Labor Party again in relation to this very important issue.

Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Public Accountability and Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You didn’t give us a word about nuclear reactors!

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Public Accountability and Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Kelvin Thomson interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Wills is warned.