Senator BOLKUS —My question is to the Minister for Justice and Customs. I refer the minister to her trumpeting of a new funding package for the Australian Federal Police during question time on Monday. Can the minister confirm that, out of the $155 million supposedly new funding package, $100 million is to pay off the existing accrued AFP Adjustment Scheme liability and $50 million is actually part of the $115 million package announced in 1998 and not new funding at all? Does this not mean that, out of Monday's funding package, the actual new money going to the Australian Federal Police is only $5 million, not the $155 million so loudly trumpeted by the minister?

Senator VANSTONE (Justice and Customs) —I thank Senator Bolkus for the opportunity to display, yet again, how wrong Labor has got it. The bottom line, Senator, as I am advised, is that the full $155 million is new money.

Senator Schacht —As advised!

Senator VANSTONE —I do not see why you see a problem with that. It is new money. Mr Kerr has got it completely wrong. He is simply confused between the AFP reform money, which was the Ayers review money, and this new capital injection into the AFP. Senator, I am happy to give you or Mr Kerr a briefing on it, if you would like. It is clearly what you need, but the best thing you probably could do is go to the remarks made by Commissioner Palmer, who presumably you will accept does understand AFP funding. He said on radio the other day in Canberra:

This organisation has never enjoyed a higher reputation, has never enjoyed better funding. It is coming out of a number of years of tight fiscal constraint. It has never been more strongly supported by any government in its history. It's never been better funded and has never had a brighter future . . .

So your answer, in short, is Mr Kerr is wrong. Sorry.

Senator BOLKUS —Madam Deputy President, I ask a supplementary question. I know that the minister has not even tried to answer the specifics of the question, and offering a brief is something that she always does when she cannot answer the question. Minister, will you now admit that the 1998 package not only failed to fund the AFP to the level suggested by the Ayers report but also put completely unreasonable expectations on the AFP to find $50 million by making cuts within that agency, expectations which obviously have not been met? Minister, when will the Howard government, finally and properly, adequately resource the AFP?

Senator VANSTONE (Justice and Customs) —I thank Senator Bolkus for another opportunity to outline how ill informed that side of this chamber is. No, the AFP was not improperly funded in the Ayers review. You simply do not understand, Senator Bolkus, what this new money is for. It is to buy out the most stupid thing you ever did—that is, set up an incentive for federal police officers to leave. You know what you did. You got all of the AFP signed up on 10-year contracts and you said, `You can have an incentive to leave at the end of 10 years.' That is now coming home to roost, so we have decided to fix the problem that you stupidly created in 1991.

Senator Hill —Madam Deputy President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper .