Senator O'BRIEN (2:00 PM) —My question is to Senator Ian Campbell, the Minister representing the Minister for Transport and Regional Services. Can the minister confirm that the Regional Partnerships Strategic Opportunities Notional Allocation, or SONA, guidelines were not advertised and applications for consideration under SONA arrangements could not be sought? Can the minister also confirm that the SONA guidelines provide that projects may originate from representations made to the minister, the parliamentary secretary or other members of parliament? Why did the minister fail to advise the parliament and the public that these secret rules were in operation and why, indeed, were these rules kept secret?

Senator IAN CAMPBELL (Minister for the Environment and Heritage) —Another day, Mr President, of the Labor Party beating up on regional Australia—very unsurprising. Here we have projects that have been through a diligent process of assessment under two different programs—given the tick by both of them, approved—that on delivery will see employment increase in the Gunnedah region by something of the order of 50 permanent jobs.

Senator O'Brien —I didn't ask about Gunnedah.

Senator IAN CAMPBELL —This is a project approved under the guidelines that the senator has asked the question about. This is a project that Labor want to drag down. They want to attack any coalition initiative which delivers jobs, employment growth, good environmental outcomes and community building attributes to regional Australia. What I would like Senator O'Brien to do when he gets up to ask his entirely inevitable supplementary question is to articulate which of the projects Labor will put in their costings to scrap. Will it be the R.M. Williams centre; will it be the equine centre; will it be the project in Gunnedah to produce ethanol?

Senator O'Brien —Mr President, I raise a point of order on the question of relevancy. My question was not about a particular project; it was about particular guidelines, guidelines which have been revealed only this week by the government. I ask you to draw the minister's attention to the subject of the question and ask him to refrain from dealing with matters which do not relate to the subject matter of the question.

Senator IAN CAMPBELL —Mr President, on the point of order: the question related to a set of guidelines. Yesterday Senator Carr, one of the left-wing comrades of Senator O'Brien, raised these guidelines and this is the project that has been raised under the guidelines. So it is absolutely germane to the question and it describes how important these guidelines are and how they have been abided by.

The PRESIDENT —There is no point of order, but I would remind the minister of the question and that he has two minutes and 50 seconds to complete his answer.

Senator IAN CAMPBELL —Mr President, I need no reminding—although I appreciate your doing that—because the question was entirely predictable. The same attack on regional programs has been made by the Labor Party day in, day out. I think Mr Lindsay Tanner makes it quite clear that one of the great failings of the Labor Party's questions committee as a tactical political organisation is that you can absolutely and entirely predict what Labor are going to ask. I was not surprised by the question at all. The answer is one that the Labor Party do not like because the answer shows that the Labor Party will do whatever they can—they will set up parliamentary committees, they will ask parliamentary questions and they will denigrate any regional program that the coalition government puts together.

The guidelines that Senator O'Brien has referred to are guidelines that were instrumental in approving a project that will deliver 50 new jobs in the regions and 350 indirect jobs. It will provide a new source of demand for agricultural products in that district and more security for farmers in that district who are suffering structural consequences of water reform. It is therefore a good program for the district, delivering environmental outcomes in delivering alternative fuels but also delivering an environmental outcome in underpinning the structural adjustment that is required for a community that is going to go through a process of structural adjustment caused by the need for water reform. So it is an incredible win for the environment, an incredible win for the community in that area, a great win for the Australian economy and, as I have said, a win for the environment.

Where it is a loser is for the Australian Labor Party. What I suggest to the Australian Labor Party is, rather than whinging, whining, carping, being oppositionist and returning to that mentality that has so defeated them over the past years, let us get positive about regional Australia. There is a great opportunity for senators like Senator Carr and Senator O'Brien, rather than whinging, whining, carping, being oppositionist and trying to drag down these regional communities, to actually get out there and engage with the community. Get out there over the summer recess and look at some of these great projects, such as the R.M. Williams project, the equine centre project at Tamworth and the ethanol projects that are being supported by the government through a number of programs—all of these projects which lead to a sustainable and secure future for both the economy and the environment.

Senator O'BRIEN —Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I again ask the minister to address the questions about the SONA guidelines which he failed to address—that is, why they were not advertised and drawn to the attention of the public and why they were kept secret. Can the minister confirm that on 26 June last year the Minister for Transport and Regional Services issued a statement advising that:

Can the minister also confirm the claim that the Regional Partnerships program operates under one set of guidelines that is still published on the web site of the Department of Transport and Regional Services? Why has the government misled the parliament and the public on the rules that govern the allocation of funding under the Regional Partnerships program?

Senator IAN CAMPBELL (Minister for the Environment and Heritage) —It is quite clear that the Labor Party do understand these guidelines—guidelines that make it clear that where a project is in the national interest and there is a benefit to the nation then we approve it. What the Australian people do not understand, and what Labor do not understand, is that Labor have their own, hidden guidelines. Senator Abetz and I would like to know what the guidelines were that Senator O'Brien used when he approved the turtle interpretation centre. What were the guidelines that he used when he went up to Cairns to that absolutely devastatingly appalling launch of a facility in Cairns done at an Aboriginal-run institution? By the time he and, I think, Senator Kate Lundy left they had the members up there in Cairns—

Senator O'Brien —Mr President, on a point of order: this cannot be relevant to the question.

The PRESIDENT —I cannot direct a minister how to answer the question. He has 17 seconds left, and I remind him of your supplementary question.

Senator IAN CAMPBELL —I think the Australian people do indeed want to know, Mr President. Senator Kerry O'Brien went around announcing regional programs in marginal seats throughout the election. He is having a go at us about guidelines that have actually been abided by. I think that, if he wants to be taken as credible and not hypocritical, he should say what his guidelines were when he announced the turtle interpretation centre and the $10 million for the national museum indigenous— (Time expired)