Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party, Chairman of the Scrutiny of Government Waste Committee) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Last Sunday week, the Prime Minister attended a function in the Adelaide Hills in my electorate but gave no indication to the local residents that she would build a detention centre in the area. The next day, 1,300 kilometres away in Canberra, the Prime Minister announced a detention centre to be built at Inverbrackie. Why wasn’t the Prime Minister upfront with Adelaide Hills residents when she was there, and why did no Labor representative attend the community protest meeting last Thursday night?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. I did visit his electorate for an important event for emergency services, and particularly some funding that we made available to them from the NBN regional initiative to enable them to have online training of volunteers—something that will be absolutely turbocharged by the NBN. Given that, I would have thought the member might be thinking about his attitudes to the NBN and the attitudes of the opposition to the NBN.

On the question of the announcement about the detention centre, that announcement was made the same day the decision was made. The decision was made by cabinet that morning and then announced, obviously in accordance with a proper system of cabinet government. Cabinet made the decision and it was announced. On consultation processes, the consultation processes the government is using are the same consultation processes that have been used for a very long period of time when they relate to the use of Commonwealth land and Commonwealth facilities, which is what is under discussion here—Commonwealth land and Commonwealth facilities. As the department goes about the appropriate consultations—as they have been done for a very long period of time by this government and by other government when it comes to the use of Commonwealth facilities—I understand that community members have raised a set of concerns. Of course, the Commonwealth will be making sure community members get the full information because, clearly, whilst the member might think it is his job to fearmonger, I would actually think it is his job to get accurate information to people. So, on the question of accurate information, of course appropriate security arrangements will be made. On the question of accurate information, of course the federal government will fund and provide the necessary services so that people in the local community do not need to fear that somehow the services they rely on will then be taken away from them. That is not true. The Commonwealth will make the necessary investment to fund the required services. Of course, working with local schools and other community organisations, the Commonwealth will do what it has done in the past—which is meet the costs of education of the children involved.

I would say to the member—and it comes back fundamentally to a policy choice for the opposition—at some point the opposition need to make some policy choices about what is a complex question. We have outlined—

Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party, Chairman of the Scrutiny of Government Waste Committee) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order which goes to relevance. The second part of the question was: ‘Why was there no Labor representative there on Thursday night?’

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order! The Prime Minister has the call. The earlier parts of her answer were directly relevant to the question. She should not digress with any other matters.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ultimately, members in this parliament face a choice on a policy question that is complex. The government has outlined a long-term strategy. It has outlined a series of arrangements about children. We are still waiting to hear from the opposition whether they endorse those series of changes about children or not. We are working through complex questions relating to a regional protection framework and regional processing centre. I say again: what we will never do is have a three-word slogan and pretend that that is an answer. We will leave that kind of cheap politics to the Leader of the Opposition.