Ministerial Travel

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:44): Over recent months, there has been considerable community concern about the issue of MPs and travel entitlements. As members would be aware, Premier Weatherill has introduced a package of what he refers to as 'integrity measures', which will ultimately be debated in this chamber, as in another chamber as well.

The concern in South Australia's circumstances has been best encapsulated by a continuing series of issues raised about minister Leon Bignell's travel and travel entitlements. As you will know, there are many Labor MPs walking the corridors of Parliament House openly critical of minister Bignell and what those Labor MPs and many others are saying has been his abuse of the system, and what is clearly seen by many people as being unreasonable use of travel entitlements.

Can I say at the outset, the Liberal Party's position has been, and continues to be, that we support reasonable travel by ministers and members of parliament and reasonable use of travel expenses for such overseas trips. But clearly minister Bignell has breached the expectations in relation to travel on many occasions.

In yesterday's TheAustralian, Michael Owen, with his exclusive story about Premier Weatherill's then impending package quotes one Labor MP and stated:

One government MP yesterday told The Australian that caucus was resigned to the fact 'something had to be done (about members of parliament' entitlements) and they accepted it'.

'Bronwyn Bishop didn't do us any favours, and Leon (Bignell) hasn't helped us much either'…

That was a Labor MP speaking to a journalist, openly critical of Leon Bignell. Premier Weatherill is quoted in today's The Australian where he said:

This package of MP integrity reforms is about building trust in our political process—trust that has been damaged over the years by limited transparency and the perceived abuse of entitlements.

Whilst the Premier has not referred by name to Mr Bignell, clearly, all of the recent publicity in South Australia has related to minister Bignell and his use of entitlements.

There are many unanswered questions still in relation to minister Bignell's use of travel entitlements. For example, he has still not answered the question why, if he and his ministerial adviser were going to Glasgow to the Commonwealth Games, they had to stop over for a weekend in Frankfurt on the way to Glasgow, and what government business did they undertake together in Frankfurt for that particular weekend? Why are there still no invoices revealed for the costs of two nights' accommodation in Glasgow in July 2014? Why are there no invoices revealed for the costs of three nights' accommodation when the minister and his then Chief of Staff went to Hong Kong in March 2015?

More recently, there have been further concerns in relation to the minister's political adviser's use of the ministerial credit card. As you would be aware, Treasurer's Instruction 13 made it quite clear in 2013 and 2014 that ministerial staff were not allowed to use government-issued credit cards to pay for ministerial travel expenses within South Australia. They were entitled to use it, firstly, overseas and then interstate but, upon return to Adelaide, section 13.9 of the Treasurer's Instruction says, 'The purchase card must be surrendered immediately on return to Adelaide.'

There are a number of invoices which indicate that Mr Bignell's ministerial staffer, Kerry Treuel, paid for a series of ministerial expenses on 10 July 2014 in the South-East for $1,101. Again, on the same day in the South-East at Sole projects, $881, and a series of other claims in the South-East and in the Mid North, clearly in contravention of the Treasurer's Instruction.

Quietly, in January of this year, Treasurer Koutsantonis changed the Treasurer's Instruction to allow use of the credit card by ministerial staffers within South Australia. These questions have been raised publicly and there has been no response from minister Bignell and the issues have now been raised with the Auditor-General in relation to the claims of abuse of the Treasurer's Instructions in relation to, clearly, minister Bignell not wanting to pay for the expenses himself but asking his ministerial adviser, Ms Treuel, to pay for the expenses, when it clearly was in contravention to the Treasurer's instruction.