Mr BAILEY - 1997-06-17
Under the Freedom of Information Bill she has on the Notice Paper, will Territorians be able to see how ministers are spending taxpayers' money when they travel overseas? Is this information currently readily available to Territorians?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I will answer the second part of the question first. It is not easy to find out how ministers spend money. This is something we will be pursuing vigorously during these sittings. The Country Liberal Party is embarrassed about the amount of money spent on overseas travel. Last year, during the appropriation debate, the Chief Minister refused to break down those expenditures. I hope that, this year, he will have the intestinal fortitude to do so because ministerial travel information should be made available to the public within a reasonable period after that travel occurs.
Mr Stone: Is that including your travel?
Mrs HICKEY: Yes, including mine. All travel should be open for public scrutiny and public explanation. The Country Liberal Party has the most travelled bunch of freeloaders that the Northern Territory has ever seen. My Freedom of Information Bill will open up the books. Information on ministerial travel will be available, together with other information that is currently hidden from Territorians by the Country Liberal Party. This is a point of particular and increasing interest to Territorians.
Mr Stone: They will be interested in your travel.
Mrs HICKEY: I have nothing to hide.
The petition that is circulating currently in the Territory, demanding freedom of information, is gathering signatures by the day. People are increasingly concerned about this. Not only will there be freedom of information under Labor, but I give a guarantee to Territorians that, under a Labor government, an account will be provided quarterly, to tell Territorians all the details of ministerial travel. We will open up the books voluntarily every 3 months and publicly release a breakdown of expenditure, including all the details of such travel itineraries and, most importantly, the benefits for the Territory. I challenge the Chief Minister to support my Freedom of Information Bill and to match my pledge to open up the books every 3 months if he is proud of what he is doing. I am proud of what I do in terms of travel, and I have no difficulty at all with telling Territorians how I am spending their taxpayers' dollars. I challenge the Chief Minister to make the same pledge to Territorians, and open up the books to allow Territorians to see where their ministers are travelling, how often, what it is costing them and what they are obtaining in return.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I will answer the second part of the question first. It is not easy to find out how ministers spend money. This is something we will be pursuing vigorously during these sittings. The Country Liberal Party is embarrassed about the amount of money spent on overseas travel. Last year, during the appropriation debate, the Chief Minister refused to break down those expenditures. I hope that, this year, he will have the intestinal fortitude to do so because ministerial travel information should be made available to the public within a reasonable period after that travel occurs.
Mr Stone: Is that including your travel?
Mrs HICKEY: Yes, including mine. All travel should be open for public scrutiny and public explanation. The Country Liberal Party has the most travelled bunch of freeloaders that the Northern Territory has ever seen. My Freedom of Information Bill will open up the books. Information on ministerial travel will be available, together with other information that is currently hidden from Territorians by the Country Liberal Party. This is a point of particular and increasing interest to Territorians.
Mr Stone: They will be interested in your travel.
Mrs HICKEY: I have nothing to hide.
The petition that is circulating currently in the Territory, demanding freedom of information, is gathering signatures by the day. People are increasingly concerned about this. Not only will there be freedom of information under Labor, but I give a guarantee to Territorians that, under a Labor government, an account will be provided quarterly, to tell Territorians all the details of ministerial travel. We will open up the books voluntarily every 3 months and publicly release a breakdown of expenditure, including all the details of such travel itineraries and, most importantly, the benefits for the Territory. I challenge the Chief Minister to support my Freedom of Information Bill and to match my pledge to open up the books every 3 months if he is proud of what he is doing. I am proud of what I do in terms of travel, and I have no difficulty at all with telling Territorians how I am spending their taxpayers' dollars. I challenge the Chief Minister to make the same pledge to Territorians, and open up the books to allow Territorians to see where their ministers are travelling, how often, what it is costing them and what they are obtaining in return.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016