Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-02-12 Daily Xml

Contents

Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (15:25): Supplementary: can the Treasurer absolutely guarantee that he in no way proactively released those pieces of information about the royal commission expenses but, indeed, all were in response to requests for that information from the media?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:25): Certainly, from my viewpoint, I responded to requests for information, but even if I hadn't, there is nothing that is wrong in principle with a treasurer of a state or a federal government releasing factual information in relation to the expenditure of taxpayers' money. My recollection, is in relation to these particular circumstances, I was asked the question and I answered it. As I said, even if that wasn't the circumstance, there is nothing wrong, unlawful or improper in any way in terms of providing factual information about the expenditure of what was going to be somewhere between $5 million and $8 million of taxpayers' money.