Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to an Audit Office report into the Volunteer Small Equipment Grants program which found that the department’s grants recommendations were overruled by the then minister, Larry Anthony. Is the Prime Minister aware that the Audit Office found:

The only factor that had a statistically significant and independent influence on the minister’s decision to increase the number of VSEG 2004 Round One grants provided to an electorate was whether the electorate was held by the National Party.

Does the Prime Minister agree with the Audit Office’s conclusion?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do agree with the Audit Office’s conclusions because it found that ministers accepted 99 per cent of departmental recommendations and varied the decision in only one per cent of cases—in other words, the minister changed 120 out of 6,818 recommendations.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

120 rorts!

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

The member for Jagajaga!

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The ANAO found that overall for these programs the political party holding an electorate did not have a statistically significant independent impact on either average grant size or the success rate of applications in electorates. Indeed, the Local Answers program funding actually favoured ALP electorates.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just ignore the National Party.

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

The member for Jagajaga is warned!

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So I am very happy to accept the conclusions of the report and I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question.