PM steers away from dealer favour claims

Kevin Rudd has angrily rebuffed opposition claims he gave special favours to a
Brisbane car dealership in exchange for a free ute.
On a day when the prime minister had to accept the resignation of Defence Minister
Joel Fitzgibbon, Mr Rudd was trying to steer his own way out of other trouble after
John Grant Motors gave him a free ute, paying for registration and insurance.
Although the vehicle has been declared on the prime minister's register of pecuniary
interests, the opposition appeared to grab some political traction as it emerged the
business in question was seeking help from the government's proposed financing
scheme for car dealerships.
Under the OzCar scheme, car dealerships would have access to taxpayer financing to
buy floor stock amid the global financial turmoil.
When asked by Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull if he was aware of representations
made by John Grant Motors about OzCar, Mr Rudd told parliament he was "unaware of
that" but he would add anything further if new information emerged.
Mr Rudd later said neither he, nor his office, had made representations on Mr
Grant's behalf and turned the attack back on the opposition, accusing them of
engaging in "fear and smear".
"If there were further to add to it, I would provide it to the honourable member
rather than simply having the honourable member stand at the dispatch box and make
insinuations," he said.
The prime minister, who drives a petrol-electric Toyota Prius when he is in
Canberra, said he had properly declared the ute which he uses in his Brisbane
electorate.
"In terms of the vehicle supplied by Mr Grant, it is a ute for the purpose of mobile
offices, it has on the side Kevin Rudd's mobile office. I've used it for a number of
years," the prime minister said.
It emerged in a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday that Mr Rudd's office made
representations to Treasury on behalf of some car dealerships aiming to get a line
of credit from the OzCar debt facility.
The proposed OzCar program will be capped at $850 million, and expire at the end of
June 2010.
Treasurer Wayne Swan said his office had referred John Grant to the Treasury-run
program, but did not discuss the issue with Mr Rudd.
But it was revealed in the Senate estimates hearing that the offices of both Mr Rudd
and Mr Swan had made representations to Treasury on behalf of different car
dealerships aiming to get financing from the OzCar scheme.
Treasury's principal adviser in its financial services division, Godwin Grech, told
the hearing that MPs from both the government and opposition had made
representations on behalf their constituents who happen to be car dealers.
He was asked by Liberal frontbencher Eric Abetz if either Mr Rudd or Mr Swan had
made representations in relation to the scheme on behalf of car dealerships.
"Yes, I have had representations from the prime minister's office and from the
treasurer's office who have simply been seeking to refer dealership cases that they
have become aware of and have simply referred to me to try and help them," he said.
The Rudd government flagged the special purpose OzCar program after dealer
financiers GE Money and GMAC withdrew from the market in December.
The coalition opposed a larger-scale financing program for property developers, but
it backed the government's car dealer financing guarantee bill in the lower house in
May.
In question time on Thursday, Mr Rudd was asked whether he received an electorate
car, to which he is entitled, or took $19,000 extra salary in lieu, which he may
also do.
"My office advise that I do not claim money in lieu of a vehicle. I have an
electorate car, it's a Toyota Prius, it's in Canberra as per the entitlement because
that's where I happen to live," he said.
Mr Turnbull followed up by asking whether it was appropriate in the present economic
circumstances.
"I ask the prime minister, does he really expect the Australian people to believe
it's appropriate for a prime minister who receives from the taxpayer free of charge:
two houses, several cars, chauffeur driven Comcars, travel on airforce jets to also
receive another free car from a car dealer who is seeking finance from a
taxpayer-funded finance company," he said.