Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

You may wish to quibble about this. I will address some of your 19 questions. The Ministerial Support Unit is to be established on 1 July. The unit has been advertised nationally and it will be on an officer SES band 2. It is not a new resource. It brings together existing functions of the department such as ministerial correspondence and briefing and the official establishments. We have recommended an independent audit of the department by former ombudsman Rob Maclean with respect to this issue.

With respect to the COAG Reform Council, there are set-up costs of $2 million for IT and office fit-out. The Commonwealth contributes 50 per cent to the CRC in conjunction with the states. With respect to the Strategic Policy Unit, there is $38 million for additional staffing, $1 million for IT and desktop equipment, and an office fit-out of $495,000 for staff. With respect to the question about the cabinet committee, there are six additional staff positions in the cabinet office.

With respect to the other member’s question about the Prime Minister’s use of special aircraft, the RAAF manages the fleet in accordance with the principles governing the use of special purpose aircraft circulated to all senators and members in September 2002. The fleet of special purpose aircraft is available for use in various circumstances by other office holders, including the Governor-General, the Minister for Defence, ministers of state and parliamentary secretaries, the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, leaders of the other parties represented in the Senate and presiding officers, some parliamentary committees and delegations, other members of parliament where special circumstances apply, the Chief of the Defence Force and service chiefs, comparable persons visiting Australia representing their nations, state governors and the administrator of the Northern Territory and other persons where the Minister for Defence or the Prime Minister considers it just.

The use of the SPA fleet is totally transparent, with the Department of Defence tabling in parliament twice yearly the scheduled special purpose flights. The schedule for the period January to June 2007 was tabled on 11 March 2008, and we will—

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