Andrew Robb (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to his answers to questions yesterday regarding his travel to Sudan, China, the USA and the UK in 2006, fully funded by Beijing AustChina Technology. I ask the Prime Minister: will he release all emails, correspondence, cables or other memorandums from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that relate to this trip?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On this visit: as I said yesterday, it was to deal with the matters that the honourable member raised. First of all, in the case of Sudan, it was about the crisis in western Darfur. The itinerary I had for that visit has the following: arriving Khartoum 5.35 in the morning; head off to the United Nations mission; then off to the United States embassy; call on the Charge d’Affaires,Cameron Hume; depart the United States embassy for the National Assembly; call on key National Assembly figures, including the Speaker; then head off to the World Food Program compound; then head off to an informal dinner with representatives of the Australian Defence Force and the Australian Federal Police. There are about 20 of them on deployment there, in an important continuing peacekeeping operation. That was the first day. The following day, I have here: meeting with World Vision project officer. Then I had dinner with the then visiting Irish Ambassador, Richard O’Brien, who had recently been appointed here in Canberra. Then there was a visit—and I do not have the page for that—to western Darfur itself. The host organisation was World Vision. In fact I mentioned it briefly in my discussion with Tim Costello today. This is completely normal and, as I said before, if the then government seriously have reservations about the sponsorship from this company, why does the now opposition contain within its ranks the National Party, who received $100,000 worth of funding?

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Prime Minister was asked to release all Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade correspondence relating to this trip where he was accompanied by a member of the department. It was specifically about that.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member has repeated the question.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If the now opposition and then government have reservations about sponsorship from this particular company, why is it that the now opposition and then government, including the National Party within that government, were perfectly happy to receive $100,000 worth of political donations?

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order going to relevance. He was asked about documentation. He has not spoken about that documentation at all. Will he release it or not?

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Has the Prime Minister finished?

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I ask that the Prime Minister table the itinerary from which he was reading.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Was the Prime Minister reading from a document? Is the document confidential?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The document is confidential.