Senator MASON (2:17 PM) —My question is to the Special Minister of State, Senator Abetz. Given the Howard government's proven commitment to the prudent expenditure of taxpayers' money, are there any Commonwealth leases which do not represent value for money?

Senator ABETZ (Special Minister of State) —I thank Senator Mason for his interest in this matter and, yes, Senator Mason would be interested to know that there is one lease in particular which does not represent value for the taxpayers' dollar. Today marks the ninth anniversary of Labor's infamous Centenary House lease. I commend Senator Ian Campbell and Senator Brandis for their longstanding interest in this matter and in particular I commend Senator Brandis for his sterling performance on the Insiders program yesterday.

Senators will remember that, in 1993, the then Labor government arranged for the lease to the Audit Office of a Canberra property called Century House, owned by Labor. The lease was for 15 years, considerably longer than the usual Commonwealth lease of around five years. To make matters worse, Labor claimed a rental increase of nine per cent per annum or the increase in market rents, whichever was the greater. Today that ratchet kicks in again. The annual rent will rise by $439,536 to an obscene level of $5,323,269.50, more than $5 million for one year ripped out of the pockets of hardworking Australians and stuffed into Labor coffers. Hardworking Australians will be paying $845.36 per square metre for its office space at Labor headquarters. Just down the road there is A-grade office space available for $320 per square metre, or less than half. Over the life of the lease, Australian taxpayers will have been ripped off to the tune of $36 million. That is the amount above market rates that taxpayers will have to pay over the 15 years of the lease.

I note that Mr McMullan, Mr McClelland and Senator Conroy were all reported in the papers as supporting the return of unreasonable payments when it came to companies and their bosses. Mr McMullan and Mr McClelland went even further by saying that the laws should be retrospective. I ask the Senate and the people of Australia: is there anything more unreasonable than using your power as the government of the day to provide your party's company with a $36 million windfall at taxpayers' expense? Who are the bosses that get the benefit of this deal? None other than Mr Crean, Mr McMullan, Mr McClelland, Senator Conroy and all the Labor parliamentarians. If Labor were serious about fixing rorts retrospectively, they would be cleaning up their own house. They would not only renegotiate the lease, but also return the excess money they have already gouged out of the pockets of Australian taxpayers. Mr Crean could earn credibility by saying that he repudiates the Keating era's sleazy dealmaking and by telling Labor to stop the rort and renegotiate the shameful lease. All it would take—

Senator ABETZ —You are quite right, Senator Ferguson, all it would take is one simple phone call—and I still have that 50c piece that I offered one year ago. But Mr Crean will not show any leadership, as his predecessor would not. Mr Crean will not do what he knows is right and proper, because he does not have the ticker to stand-up to the Labor Party bosses. Mr Crean is unfit to run his own party, let alone the country.