State Govt admits “proactive disclosure” falls short
The Weatherill Government has admitted its “proactive disclosure” regime has not been as transparent as it should have been, conceding it was not “explicit” about declaring ministerial travel and accommodation within South Australia.
It comes after a new controversy involving Tourism Minister Leon Bignell, who paid back $185 after the Opposition revealed he had stayed overnight at the Intercontinental Hotel rather than returning to his McLaren Vale home.
Bignell had returned from a trip to Port Lincoln and Brisbane, and had spoken at the SA Tourism Awards in the city on the night in question. He was due to attend the Christmas Pageant in an official capacity the following day.
Bignell’s expenses were not published on his ministerial website, but were obtained via an Opposition Freedom of Information request. InDaily asked the Premier’s office whether this represented a loophole in Jay Weatherill’s commitment to “open government” through “proactive disclosure”.
“The Government has been working on a uniform model of proactive disclosure that will include an increase in scope of what is captured,” the Premier responded in a statement.
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“While the previous rules around proactive disclosure captured interstate and international travel, it was not explicit for CBD accommodation or regional travel… this will be rectified and the new policy will be administered soon.”
This suggests that ministers will have to report such overnight stays – booked by their departments via a third party booking agent – on their ministerial websites.
Despite immediately repaying the cost of the hotel when it was publicised in The Advertiser last week, Bignell today remained bullish about the expense, telling ABC891: “I paid it back because I didn’t want it to distract from what we’re doing as a Government.”
“You know, once a year when you knock the driver off seven and a half hours early so that you can be in town and sort of… it made sense,” he said.
“I’ve done it, I think, probably five, six times in the three years that I’ve been a minister [but] no more.”
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