Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister, and I refer to his previous answer. Prime Minister, was the matter considered by the governance committee or was there any advice received from PM&C?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As you'd expect, we don't talk about cabinet deliberations and the Leader of the Opposition knows that that's the case, that it's actually impossible for me to answer a question about a cabinet—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting. She's been constantly interjecting—

The minister for climate change is not helping.

Opposition members interjecting—

And neither are those on my left. I call the Leader of the Opposition.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was a very tight and specific question. It didn't go to the deliberations; it didn't go to anything other than—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Resume your seat. The Prime Minister is answering the question.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It did go to the operations of a cabinet and a cabinet committee, which—we do not answer those questions in this chamber. You actually wait and you'll get that—

Opposition members interjecting—

So apparently the Westminster system—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting. The Leader of the Opposition has asked his question. He was heard in silence. I ensured that. The Prime Minister will be heard in silence.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Mr Speaker. Apparently the Westminster system is alien to those opposite.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Transparency!

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

But that's not surprising. I'll tell you the way that the Westminster system operates and has operated here since Federation: you have a cabinet, then you have cabinet committees. But those opposite, of course, had a cabinet committee of one—with one member—so that they could avoid transparency and so that they could have discussions and say it was a meeting of the cabinet committee, with people co-opted onto it. But then we know opposite: when it comes to transparency and the functioning of government, we had the former Minister for Home Affairs who didn't know that he was the co-minister; we had the Minister for Health who didn't know that there was another one; we had the Minister for Industry, Science and Energy who didn't know there was another one; and we had programs set up to fund industry and manufacturing, where the final decision-maker wasn't actually the minister—it was the Prime Minister.

I'll tell you what is occurring now and what those opposite mightn't recognise: we have a proper cabinet government that has cohort comments from ministers, that doesn't have PowerPoint presentations from Crosby Textor, and that has proper deliberations that result in outcomes that are then released through legislation. They are the processes that we have. They are in place. For those opposite: when the minister raised a very clear statement about what occurred, the minister transferred the shares that she owned to her husband—

Seriously?

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order. The Prime Minister's time has concluded. I give the call to the member for Hasluck.