Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I inform the House that the Prime Minister will be absent from question time today until Wednesday, as she is representing Australia at the NATO summit in Chicago. The Minister for Defence will be absent from question time today until Wednesday, as he is with the Prime Minister at NATO in Chicago. I will answer questions on behalf of the Prime Minister, and the Minister for Defence Materiel will answer questions on behalf of the Minister for Defence. The Minister for Trade and Competitiveness will be absent from question time for the next sitting fortnight to attend APEC trade ministers meetings in Russia and OECD meetings in Paris. He will also be attending Expo in Korea and will hold bilateral talks in Japan, China and Malaysia. The Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development, Local Government and the Arts will be acting as Minister for Trade and Competitiveness during this time and will answer questions on his behalf. The minister will also answer questions on behalf of the foreign minister.