Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to associate myself with the remarks of Senator Moore—although I am not sure that Senator Moore will want to associate herself with the remarks I am about to make on a matter which is entirely different. It is well known there were certain features of the last election which were completely unprecedented in Australian history. One of course was the massive amounts of trade union money that was poured into election—$30 million, according to some figures I have seen. This was in fact more than the amount of money that was spent by either the Labor Party or the Liberal-National parties We have never seen this type of funding from a private group before, and we need to think very hard about what that means for the future of this country.

Less well known is the amount of pork-barrelling that the Labor Party did, particularly in marginal electorates during the campaign. I congratulate my colleague Senator Bernardi for his very keen interest in this matter and the work that he is doing. As a previous sports minister I too have taken particular interest in this matter and I want to put a few issues on the table in this chamber today. The first thing I think we should draw to the attention of the Senate is the massive scale of pork-barrelling which occurred in the last election by the Labor Party. Minister Ellis has admitted—I admit under some pressure—that there are over 100 projects which have been funded in the sport and recreational area and are valued at over $100 million. Why do I say this is unprecedented? From the figures I have seen, the infamous Ros Kelly sports rorts was $30 million, and we all know what happened in that area—$30 million versus $100 million that was pork-barrelled by the Labor Party in the last election.

The second issue I want to draw to the Senate’s attention is that not only did the Labor Party conduct itself in this fashion but there has been a huge effort to cover up what those election promises are. Those who can hark back to the 2004 election know that Senator Lundy was very active and quite critical of the previous government because, she alleged, they spent $2 million on some 30 projects in marginal seats. Again, you contrast those sorts of figures with the over 100 projects valued at over $100 million which apparently the Rudd Labor government promised in the last election.

It is very curious because, quite in line with the mandate of this Senate and with past practice, a great attempt has been made to ask the Labor Party to tell us what those election commitments are; what were the specific commitments that they made to particular groups. Each time we have tried do this we have been stymied. If I have got time I will go through the efforts the Labor Party has taken to ensure that these figures and these projects are not put on the public record. Senator Bernardi and I have been referred to: ‘All our election promises are on the public record.’ So you go to the public record. You go to the ALP website. It does not list these particular sporting grants. You go into the websites of some Labor members of parliament—I do not want to sound too suspicious about this—and there are some remarkable gaps, which relate to the last election. In the context where a government is trying to cover up an issue, people naturally become suspicious.

I have asked my office to go through and see whether we can identify these sports and recreational grants which were promised by the Labor Party in the last election. With a great deal of work, I now have a table prepared, which lists close to 100 grants valued at close to $100 million, from memory. I seek leave to incorporate this table in Hansard.

Leave not granted.

What a curious thing! Why wouldn’t leave be granted to incorporate a list of Labor Party election promises? I would have thought that the Labor Party would be proud of these promises. It does seem very strange that they are not prepared to have this list incorporated.

I am now going to have the list shown to the minister at the table, Minister Wong, and see whether we can persuade her, in the cause of transparency and open government, to have this table included in Hansard. Obviously, we can read it into the record tonight during the adjournment debate. And obviously we will provide the table to any journalists who would want such a table. I would point out to the minister that this is simply a list of election commitments that have been made by the Labor Party in the course of the last election campaign. We do not claim it to be a comprehensive list. In fact, because it has been taken from a variety of sources—things like Labor Party newsletters, speeches by Labor Party MPs and, of course, in some cases, tips from members of the public—we would not think that this would be a fully comprehensive list, and there may well be some errors in it. But, as the Labor Party has failed to provide a clear list of its commitments in the election, it seems to me that we must do so. And, since they have encouraged Senator Bernardi and me to go to the public record, that is precisely what we have done—we have gone to the public record, as far as we were able to go. Again, I seek leave—now that the minister at the table has seen the table—to incorporate the table inHansard.

Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is leave granted?

Ruth Webber (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Now that we have finally seen the document that Senator Kemp is talking about, we will grant leave, on the condition that it is actually acknowledged in this document that it was prepared by you, Senator Kemp, or by your office.

Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is precisely what I said; the table—

Ruth Webber (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want it marked on the document, please, Senator Kemp.

Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Webber, if you would like to say, ‘Prepared by Senator Kemp’s office’, I am more than happy for you to do that and to have that incorporated in the table.

The Acting Deputy President:

Senator Kemp, you know the document that needs to be incorporated, and you have that document?

Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have that document.

The Acting Deputy President:

The table officer will collect the document.

Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Okay.

Leave granted.

The document read as follows:

ALP ELECTION PROMISES SPORT AND RECREATION FACILITIES

This list has been prepared from a variety of sources as Rudd Labor has repeatedly refused to table a complete list of the promises it made in electorates during the 2007 election.

This list is certainly incomplete. There are doubtless many more promises that need to be identified.

Natasha Stott Despoja (SA, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I did not know it was a case where Senator Kemp could grant leave!

Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, that is what we expect: the Democrats have—

Natasha Stott Despoja (SA, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Stott Despoja interjecting—

Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Stott Despoja, we did not even know you were there, you were so quiet! But, one thing I know you have always wanted to do over the years is to be transparent and open, and for governments to be accountable. To be quite frank, I took the liberty of not thinking that you would have any problems with this at all, Senator Stott Despoja.

So here we have, as I said, at least a draft list of election promises that have been made by the Labor Party. I stress: I suspect, because of the variety of sources that we have had to use to gather this list, that there may well be some errors in that list. But this will at least get the process going so we can hear from the government and from Minister Ellis whether these promises are ones which the Labor Party has made and intends to keep.

The curious thing with all this is: they say that, in politics, the big problems in the end are the cover-ups. It is one thing to take the heat on the actual issue involved—and this issue is the massive amount of money that was pork-barrelled by the Labor Party into marginal electorates. And, of course, remember: I am only speaking about the sport and recreation grants; I am not speaking about the huge number of other programs which the Labor Party used to pork-barrel its way to winning votes in these marginal seats.

Why—you would have to ask—would the Labor Party want to cover this up? The first element clearly is that, having attacked the former government by accusing it of indulging itself in pork-barrelling, it would be rather astonishing to find that the Labor Party not only did precisely the same thing but did it by a factor of two, three, four or five times. That itself, I would suggest, would be a very interesting story. I suspect the second issue is the sheer quality of these grants. Now, it is quite possible that many of the projects which have been listed are entirely worthy projects. They may well be projects in which the money will be well used. I regret to say that the inquiries that I have made certainly reveal stories of grants and promises which seem to be very poorly based indeed. Again, if we have some time I may mention those. The third element is that this Labor Party government—unlike the previous government, which constantly increased sports funding—on coming in, said that they had to be fiscally responsible and cut sports funding extensively—

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong interjecting—

Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

but did not say that they had pork-barrelled very extensively in the marginal electorates, Senator Wong. You see, that is the problem, Senator Wong. If you come in and say, ‘We have to cut sports funding because we are concerned about being fiscally responsible,’ and then we suddenly discover that $100 million-plus is being spent elsewhere, not unnaturally the sporting community will ask whether this government is fair dinkum.

Of course, we know that Minister Ellis—who, I know, is a conscientious minister and seeks to work hard in her portfolio—has been asked to involve herself in this cover-up by people in the PM’s office. No-one is saying that Minister Ellis is responsible for all these grants; Minister Ellis was not in the portfolio at that time. But Minister Ellis has been drawn into this, because she is being asked to take part in the cover-up. I would urge the minister to do what I did as minister: when Senator Lundy wanted a full list of the grants—

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong interjecting—

Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How cutting, Penny Wong!

Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Kemp has the call.

Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister for raffles and storming Parliament House has got upset. Oh, dear, Penny Wong!

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong interjecting—

Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister for raffles and storming Parliament House! Well, Minister Wong, what I am actually trying to do is to put on record something which is relevant, I might say, to the sporting community. If you do not think that is important, I have to say that shows one of the big gaps in your own armoury, Senator.

I would say to Minister Ellis that no-one is accusing her of making these grants. These were all done by the machine men in the Labor Party. We know that Labor Party candidates in some marginal seats were given a bucket of money and were asked to go around and spend it. We are just a trifle suspicious, Senator Wong, that some of these grants may have been given on a basis which could not be justified to anyone, including the Auditor-General. So what I suspect is going to happen, and I know that my colleague Senator Bernardi is going to pursue this matter with enormous vigour, is that at one stage the Auditor-General will come into this—there is no question of that—and he will be looking carefully at the sorts of grants that were made. For example, when now Prime Minister Rudd went out to a Macedonian sports club outside Perth and promised a million dollars, what was the paperwork like? What was the proposal like? Was there a proposal which was actually there or was this just a desire to create another— (Time expired)