Mr BEAZLEY (2:44 PM) —My question is to the Prime Minister. He would be aware, of course, that Premier Carr suggested it was the federal government's responsibility and that of the employers to provide the scheme. Are you aware, Prime Minister—

Mr SPEAKER —The Leader of the Opposition knows that was defying the standing orders. Out of deference to his office, I allow him to continue. Will he please ask his question.

Mr BEAZLEY —Are you aware, Prime Minister, that New South Wales has put $2 million on the table to pay the workers at National Textiles right now—he has made that amply clear—without any link—

Honourable members interjecting—

Mr BEAZLEY —It is true.

Mr SPEAKER —The Leader of the Opposition is entitled—

Mr BEAZLEY —He is heckling me.

Mr SPEAKER —The Leader of the Opposition will allow the chair, at least, to complete his sentence. The Leader of the Opposition, I was about to say, is entitled to ask his question without interruption.

Mr BEAZLEY —I apologise.

Mr SPEAKER —The Leader of the Opposition.

Mr BEAZLEY —Without any link to the settlement of a deed of arrangement? Is he aware that Mr Carr, the Premier of New South Wales, made that amply clear an hour ago? Without any link to a settlement of a deed of arrangement, will you do the same and join Premier Carr in paying these workers immediately so that they can meet their urgent requirements to feed their families?

Mr REITH (Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business) —Let me make some initial comments, and I think the PM may supplement them. I have not seen those particular remarks of Mr Carr's, but the fact of the matter is that, as the cabinet sat down to make this decision, the advice we had from the administrator was that, if there was a liquidation, there would be $600,000 and, if the deed of arrangement was proceeded with, there would be $7 million. You do not need to be an accountant to work out that, if there is $7 million in the kitty, that is a much stronger position for the employees. The total amount outstanding was $11 million. There was $7 million coming in under that scheme, leaving a balance of $4 million, and we were prepared to put up a net amount of $4 million. In fact, we were prepared to put up on a fifty-fifty basis. With New South Wales, we are prepared to put in more than that so that, up-front, the workers would get their entitlements and then, as the funds came back in, there would be a reimbursement to the scheme to make sure that not only were they provided with their entitlements but they had some money up-front and the security that went with that.

Mr SPEAKER —If the member for Prospect is anxious to ask a question, she might like to consult the whip. The minister has the call.

Mr REITH —The only other advice I can give the House on the matter specifically is that this week I received a letter from Mr Carr seeking further details on the actuality of the arrangements. As I understand it, my department and his department have been having some discussions. The truth of the matter is that, as displayed by Mr Carr's comments, he was prepared to put his hand in his pocket and do the right thing when he thought there was a vote in it, but when it comes to the Scone workers he walks away from them.

Mr SPEAKER —Before I recognise the Leader of the Opposition, I am assuming that the question has been fully answered.

Mr Howard —I was going to answer it. I thought he was taking another point of order.

Mr SPEAKER —No, the Leader of the Opposition is seeking leave. I do not know for what purpose—that is not necessary. I was merely indicating that I need to know whether or not the question is fully answered.

Mr HOWARD (Prime Minister) —I wanted to add to the answer given by the Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business to make the obvious point that it really has to be the gimmick to end all gimmicks for the Leader of the Opposition to alternately demand that we support the workers and then attack my integrity for doing that. He is now a co-conspirator with the New South Wales Labor government in not helping the workers in the meat factory. I make the very obvious point that, if these workers are to get their full entitlement, and if we shed the hypocrisy and put aside the point scoring and are serious about these fellows getting $11 million, the only way the men and women can get $11 million is through a combination of two circumstances: the money from the New South Wales and the federal governments and the $7½ million coming from the deed of arrangement.

Mr Crean —That's not right.

Mr HOWARD —The Deputy Leader of the Opposition says that is not right. I will simply rely on the words of the administrator: `There is at the end of the day in my opinion only one effective option and that is approval of the proposed deed of arrangement.' He then goes on to say this: `On a liquidation basis, it is estimated that there would be only $645,336 available for distribution to employees, excluding the liquidator's costs involved with any investigation issues.'

Our commitment to these workers is genuine. We have demonstrated that—we have endured a lot of hypocritical criticism along the way—and this cheap gimmick by the New South Wales Premier and the Leader of the Opposition will be seen by the workers for what it is. If you want the $11 million, you have got to have the combination of the deed of arrangement and the contributions of the two governments. As for this continuing suggestion being made by the Leader of the Opposition and some people in the media that you really want a liquidation if you really want to chase the directors of the company, I would make the simple point that the administrator says in his report that there would be no funds in a liquidation to pay the costs of pursuing any possible action. So on that score also, if you really want to hold the directors accountable, the best way of doing that is to have an ASIC investigation, backed by $140 million a year of resources to conduct the investigation. If you allowed the company to go into liquidation, not only would you dud the workers but you would deny the liquidator the resources to pursue the directors if that were appropriate.

Mr Beazley —I seek leave to table an excerpt from Premier Bob Carr's conference where he says, `Our $2 million is there on the table for the workers of National Textiles now. It is not conditional on any deed of arrangement. I make this offer'—

Mr SPEAKER —Leave has been granted. The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat.