Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

It went into receivership about six weeks after you gave them that money, so it is dead. It is not happening. Half a million dollars went nowhere. That is because due diligence was not undertaken. That is why we are undertaking due diligence now. It is a good and sensible process to go through and one that Senator Bernardi is determined not to understand. There will therefore be a rolling schedule of public statements as the due diligence process continues and subsequent formal announcements are made by the government. The government has absolutely nothing to hide and certainly nothing to fear. While we are proud of funding over 100 local sports facilities projects in the budget, we are also pleased to ensure there is an appropriate process in place before formally announcing project funding after the budget.

While we are happy to clear up any confusion, Senator Bernardi might reflect upon the fact that the coalition did not follow such due process when administering their now famous Regional Partnerships program and Sustainable Regions program. The fact that the opposition got the process so wrong has reaffirmed the government’s resolve to get this process right. As I said earlier, Senator Bernardi thinks he has a story that he can trot around to the papers. Senator Bernardi does not bother listening to the very sensible answers that the minister provided in a statement to the Senate yesterday and that I hope I have been able to provide today. This is good government, good practice, making sure that we do not end up doing things like your government did—that is, throwing money around wildly without undertaking any due diligence on the process.

If I had some more time, and had had a little more time to prepare, I could have gone through the many projects that started the whole inquiry into the Regional Partnerships program and the Sustainable Regions program. Have you read the Australian National Audit Office’s report that, one by one, goes through the lack of process that was undertaken by the previous government and as a result the abject waste of taxpayers’ money? We do not have time to do that now. This government has learned from the previous government’s mistakes and we intend to ensure that taxpayers’ money allocated to good sporting projects and good facilities projects will turn benefits for those small communities. We do not want to be throwing money where it is not going to turn into an outcome.

Senator Bernardi, I hope I have been able to provide some clarity in answer to your questions but I do fear that your desire for a headline means that you will not bother thinking through what this government is doing—that is, being wise with taxpayers’ money so that we get an outcome for children and for users of sporting facilities around Australia. I think my fears are right—I think Senator Bernardi is still seeking that headline and not bothering to listen to the answer.

Question agreed to.