Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, , 8:33:56 to 8:39:09
The department clarifies the level of reporting provided to Minister McBain regarding projects in her electorate and addresses whether projects met value-for-money assessment criteria.
Topics: Infrastructure, Integrity
Speakers: Hon Bridget McKenzie, Lisa Rauter, Jacinta McDonald, Unknown Speaker, Senator Glenn Sterle
>> Senator, we've got some answers to some of your questions from earlier.
>> Great.
>> So,
>> so responsive.
>> Minister King's leave dates were the 4th to the 17th of July.
>> Yep. Thank you.
uh the Berkeley Veil project. You asked what advice we were waiting on to finalize the assessment. We're awaiting further advice from the relevant council on the scope to finalize the assessment and then Minister King agreed. She declared her conflict of interest for the projects in her electorate on the 15th of August.
>> 15th of August 2025.
And Senator, you also asked who announced the Blue Gum project and that was Sam Lim MP.
>> Dolphins.
>> Me, I tell you.
>> Sly Dolphins.
>> Yep. Lovely. Wonderful man. Policeman of the year.
>> All right. Save it for the election.
>> I've got a crush on Sam. just thought I'd share it with everyone. I'm sure it's
>> hope. Since the 2025 election, on how many occasions has Minister McBain or her office raised the progress of these projects uh with the department? Uh as I
said before, Senator with the office weekly updates as to how at a total numbers level each of the projects is progressing, which ones are still in assessment, which ones are in but we don't do it project by project. We only give total numbers.
So they don't get this sort of project >> table where we do have state project name location LGA Australian government funding project status.
>> So I've just been advised that actually do we do attach that as well.
>> Yeah. Great. So Minister King and Minister McBain are advised very regularly about the projects in their office because they get this updated
table. Yes, Minister King.
>> Minister King gets the table.
>> Well, my question was about Minister McBain. Does Minister McBain get a noting brief on this grants program?
>> No, she she doesn't get these reports.
Okay. Um, what role did Minister McBain or her electctorate office play in nominating these projects?
>> Not privy to that.
>> Who approve prop approved the proposed >> Were all applications supported by council endorsed priorities?
I couldn't tell you that. Well, given
you've executed funding agreements for all bar one of them. My understanding is you would have had to have had a range of documentation were the and there a lot of the proponents are councils themselves. was some of that um supporting documentation the fact that these projects have been on their lurky list or what have you know their council priority list
>> I'd have to take on notice the detail that's provided in the applications but >> I'd really appreciate it >> it's not likely that that would be included but I would take that it's not
that's what I would have thought but
I'll take it on
>> not particularly if councils are
councils are the proponents But they're also where they're not the proponent, they would be the sponsor of that project. So one would think that they would be supported.
>> And if and and I'm not saying it should be it's not a criteria of your decision making because the decision's already been made somewhere else. Yeah. were any Edid Monero projects assessed as poor value for money by the
department? No. To date, all of the projects that have been assessed have met the minimum of 60% mark for each of
the criteria. What about the Kuma pump track mountain bike trails? Is that one of the issues with executing the funding agreement that it doesn't quite stack up?
just checking that for >> It's under negotiation, which means it's been approved, which means it did meet the 60% minimum.
>> Okay. did the department raise any reservations about any of these uh projects in Eden Monero?
>> Uh, not that I'm aware of. Uh, we do go to and fro with the proponents sometimes during the assessment process to gather more information or to get clarifications. So, any concerns would have been addressed during proponents,
[clears throat] but no concerns raised with minister's offices. >> About projects. Um, and has Minister McBain declared any conflicts of interest in relation to these projects? I know she's not the decision maker.
>> Not to the department. No.
>> Publicly,