Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, , 8:14:25 to 8:17:00
Senator McKenzie inquires about the selection and assessment of projects in the Ballarat electorate, focusing on conflict of interest declarations by Minister King and the role of the Labor Party in determining funding amounts.
Topics: Infrastructure, Integrity
Speakers: Hon Bridget McKenzie, Lisa Rauter, Jacinta McDonald, Unknown Speaker, Mr. Jim Betts
>> There is. Um, just uh questions. Since the 2025 uh election, on how many occasions has Minister King or her office raised the progress of the four ballerad electorate projects with the
Uh, we provide the office with an update on the progress of all election commitment programs uh projects on a week-by-eek basis,
>> including the four in her own electorate.
>> Uh, we give total numbers. We don't do a
project by project, right? Project by project. On how many occasions has Minister King or her office raised the progress of the four Bellerat electorate projects with the department?
>> I'm not aware of any. Senator,
>> I'm not aware of any times either.
>> What involvement did Minister King's electorate office have in the selection of the projects?
>> I couldn't answer that.
>> Selection? Do you mean during the
Does the department hold documents from Minister King's office in relation to the four projects that received funding?
>> All we have is the application and the
>> Um, did the department assess Bellerat projects before they announced? No. >> Who determined the original funding
amounts? That would have been determined by the Labor Party in their own process.
Has Minister King declared potential conflicts of interest arising from projects in her electorate?
>> As part of our uh briefing to her to approve applications. Yes. >> Yes. Which is why they were then given to Minister Burke.
>> And on what date um did Minister King sign the brief where you advised her um of her conflicts?
>> Uh we'd have to take that on notice. I don't have that with Miss. Was the
Minister for Finance notified of any approvals in Minister King's electorate where required?
>> It was not required as she didn't approve any of the projects in her own
>> Were any ballerat projects assessed below the 60% threshold by the department? >> Does the department know whether the four ballerat projects were part of regional or local government plans? you know how local governments have
>> we would only have that information if it was included as part of the
>> Well, with respect to these four projects,
>> we could take that on notice. I don't
have >> that level of detail part of the application.
>> Yeah, we'd have to take that on notice.