Minister for Human Services, Shares

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (14:41): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Human Services regarding a conflict of interest.

Leave granted.

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE: Yesterday, the minister was asked a series of questions about her shares and interests, whether she disposed of those shares correctly and whether those shares and interest caused a conflict of interest for the minister. The minister refused to answer those questions.

Just before parliament rose yesterday, the minister returned to the chamber to make a personal explanation about the true nature of her shareholdings. My questions to the minister are: given the error the minister has made in her register of interests, will she now publicly release all details of her shareholdings and transactions in an effort to restore her integrity? When did the minister first become aware of the mistake on her register of interests and did the minister in fact correct the record when she was first available to do so?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:42): I thank the honourable member for her question. I am, of course, grateful that the Labor Party has alerted me to the fact that there was an omission on my register. I have not done that yet. I have not exactly had a lot of white space in my diary. I will correct that as soon as possible, but I have alerted the parliament to the fact that the IRESS shares should not have been omitted from my register. The requirement under the parliamentary act is to place on the register all interests over a 12-month period, or any interests that have been an interest within that 12-month period. My intention is to correct the record so that I comply with that requirement.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Bourke, a supplementary.