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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-10-16 Daily Xml
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MINISTERIAL TRAVEL

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:39): I want to refer to minister Bignell's love of taxpayer-funded overseas travel and the Tour de France. On 12 October, the headline in The Australian reads 'MP's $30,000 cycling trip' and the article notes:

Stays in a French mansion and five-star hotels, $1000 in car hire and a black-tie international cricket function were features of a 14-day overseas trip by South Australia's tourism minister and an adviser that cost nearly $30,000.

The article and another article also refers to the fact that the trip also covered the Tour de France and there is a photo of the minister with Australian cyclist Stuart O'Grady. Minister Bignell has form in relation to taxpayer-funded overseas travel and the Tour de France, and I referred to this issue previously, before Mr Bignell became a minister, on 14 September 2011.

I want to refer to two emails dated 22 February 2005 from Ms Sharon Curtis in PIRSA to Mr Leon Bignell, who was then a staffer to minister Conlon. It says:

Leon

I refer to your overseas trips back in June and July 2003—

I note there were two overseas trips—

where you received a travel advance from PIRSA to travel with Minister Conlon—

and an unnamed officer—

on the first trip and the second trip was on your own (where you spent the unspent travellers cheques from your first trip).

You advised me some time ago that you didn't have any receipts for your second overseas trip however you were going to send me through your itinerary and as much information as possible about the trip.

I have been asked by PIRSA's accounts section to have this finalised as soon as possible as it refers to a previous financial year.

Can you please either call me or send me an email with the appropriate information from your second overseas trip in July 2003 at your earliest convenience.

That was February 2005 and Leon Bignell responded on 22 February:

Hi Sharon,

Thanks for the email.

I did have receipts for the second trip and forwarded them through our office manager. My understanding was the amount of the unspent travellers cheques (from the June trip) was deducted from the amount I was reimbursed.

We'll chase it up this end to clarify the situation.

Thanks again, Leon

Follow-up FOIs that I conducted in 2004 and certainly for the duration of 2003 indicate that there is no further reference to any follow-up, at least in the FOI information provided to the Liberal Party in relation to this particular issue.

Other information indicates that this second trip was dated from 21 July to 12 August. It is clear from the documentation that a ministerial adviser, Mr Bignell, was travelling alone overseas at least for the first week or so. It does not appear that minister Conlon arrived on the scene until 30 July, some nine or so days later after Mr Bignell left.

The FOI information indicates that on 21 July, Mr Bignell flew out from Perth to Paris. On the 22nd he went from Paris to Pau, and fortuitously, the Tour de France just happened to be in the city of Pau on that particular day. It would appear he then followed the tour to Biarritz, and on 23 July he then flew from Biarritz to Barcelona. As I said, minister Conlon does not appear to have joined the trip until 30 July—more than a week later.

The Tour de France in that period was from 5 July to 27 July. I note that whilst Mr Bignell was minister Conlon's ministerial adviser, minister Conlon was not the minister for recreation and sport and he was not the minister for tourism at the time. He is listed as being minister for energy, infrastructure and emergency services.

The questions that minister Bignell must now answer to not only the constituents of Mawson but also to the people of South Australia as a minister are:

1. Why was he travelling alone for at least nine days as a ministerial adviser and what approvals did he have for that travel?

2. Why did he attend the Tour de France, and what business or work was he undertaking on behalf of the taxpayers of South Australia for that period?

3. What was his itinerary, and did he submit the itinerary as required to PIRSA and any further information?

4. What receipts (if any) did he submit to PIRSA for the expenditure incurred from taxpayers for his trip to the Tour de France and then subsequently to Barcelona; and if he submitted receipts, when did he submit them?

If minister Bignell continues to refuse to answer these questions, the electors in Mawson will be suspicious that Mr Bignell has something to hide about overseas travel rorts.

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