I reject entirely the assertions in today's Herald Sun and Daily Telegraph regarding the disclosure of hospitality I received in the form of two tickets to a recent Barbra Streisand concert.
The articles are wrong to assert that under the Ministerial Code of Conduct sponsored travel or hospitality worth more than $200 must be independently valued and the recipient required to pay the difference if they want to keep it.
The Code provides for the disclosure of sponsored travel and hospitality. It appears that the journalists have applied the rules in relation to gifts, an entirely separate category, to travel and hospitality.
The journalists are also in error to assert that I should have provided such a valuation when I disclosed the hospitality in relation to the Streisand concert to the Registrar of Members Interests. Members are required to disclose any sponsored travel or hospitality received but, unlike gifts, there is no requirement for valuation.
I am advised by my Department that they are not aware of any cases in the past under previous governments where attendance at a function has been valued and treated as a gift (and the recipient required to pay the difference in valuation above the set limits). Moreover, in the specific case of the Barbra Streisand concert, I sought prior advice from my Department who advised that attendance was within the Guidelines.
30 October 2000