Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:

(1) The Department of Defence does not provide departmental credit cards to their portfolio Minister’s or Ministerial staff employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984.

(2) (a) The table below provides details of the number of mobile devices that were allocated to the Minister’s and their Ministerial Staff as at 29 November 2010:

(2) (b) The Department does not at this stage have any expenditure details for the cost of mobile devices for the current portfolio Ministers for the period 14 September to 29 November 2010.

(3) The employment of staff under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 is administered by the Department of Finance and Deregulation. On 19 October 2010, the Department of Finance and Deregulation tabled with the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee, Government Personnel Positions as at 1 October 2010.

The table below provides details of the number of departmental officers employed in the Ministerial offices for the period 14 September to 29 November 2010:

* One ADC is shared between the offices of the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel and the Minister for Defence Materiel.

Under the relief staffing arrangements portfolio departments are responsible for providing relief staff for periods of up to 12 weeks. As at 29 November 2010, the Department had the following relief staffing arrangements in place in the various offices:

The Department did not provide any relief staff to the office of the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel.

(4) and (5) The costs of official travel by Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and accompanying staff employed under the Members of Parliament Staff (Act) 1984 are largely paid by the Department of Finance and Deregulation. As such, with the exception of those costs listed below, the information sought will be tabled by the Special Minister of State in the last sitting week of June 2011 in his six-monthly report on Parliamentarians Travel Paid by the Department of Finance and Deregulation.

The table below provides details of the total departmental costs (GST exclusive) of short-term transport for each Minister, which includes the use of self-drive short-term hire cars, taxis and COMCAR usage for the period from 14 September to 29 November 2010:

The table below provides details of the total cost of travel (GST exclusive) undertaken by departmental staff employed in each Ministerial office for the period from 14 September to 29 November 2010. Departmental staff includes departmental liaison officers, Aides-de-Camps and departmental officers employed under the relief staffing arrangements: