CORP) Corporate Services Topic: Staffing Arrangements Proof Hansard Page: 8 (24/02/2014)
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Rural & Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON NOTICE Additional Budget Estimates February 2014 Infrastructure and Regional Development Question no.: 1 Program: n/a Division/Agency: (CORP) Corporate Services Topic: Staffing Arrangements Proof Hansard Page: 8 (24/02/2014) Senator O’Sullivan asked: Senator O'SULLIVAN: My opening questions relate to staffing arrangements. Could you tell the committee how many officers were recruited by the department directly from ministerial offices during the last parliament, whether on a temporary or an ongoing basis? Mr Mrdak: I will check, but I do not believe the department recruited any staff from ministerial offices. We had a number of staff such as departmental liaison officers working in ministerial offices who returned to the department, but we did not recruit any ministerial staff to the department. Senator O'SULLIVAN: Perhaps you could supply the number of those who converted back to the department after being on secondment to the minister's office. Mr Mrdak: Certainly, I can do that. All of the departmental liaison officers reverted back to the department through the tenure of the government, or following the election. Senator O'SULLIVAN: If I am to understand your answer, during the entire term of the last parliament there were no ministerial officers who left employment with ministers and took up employment with the department? Mr Mrdak: Not that I am aware of. I will take it on notice and check it. I think there were officers employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act, but they were departmental officers on leave from the department. There were no non-APS officers recruited by the department during the term of the former government. Answer: 1. Nil 2. Two 3. That is correct. Rural & Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON NOTICE Additional Budget Estimates February 2014 Infrastructure and Regional Development Question no.: 2 Program: n/a Division/Agency: (CORP) Corporate Services Topic: Grants Proof Hansard Pages: 8-9 (24/02/2014) Senator O’Sullivan asked: Senator O'SULLIVAN: During the caretaker period, or on the cusp of the caretaker period, did your agency issue any correspondence containing offers or proposals of grants? Mr Mrdak: Not during the caretaker period. Once the caretaker period had commenced with the proroguing of the parliament, the department did not issue any offers for any grants from that period. CHAIR: Were there offers two or 10 days before that? Mr Mrdak: I would have to check how many. There would have been contract offers going out in the period before 5 pm, I think it was, on the day the parliament was prorogued. I can take on notice the question of how many were issued. But I am not aware that any were issued during the caretaker period, in accordance with the convention. Senator O'SULLIVAN: I think the chair's question is to the heart of this. We are looking for those contracts that may have been issued as you approached the caretaker period? Mr Mrdak: I will take that on notice. If offers were made in the lead-up to the caretaker period they were then not continued on with during the caretaker period. Senator O'SULLIVAN: Please clarify that. Mr Mrdak: If their offers or draft contracts were sent out they were not signed or completed during the caretaker period. So, if someone, say, had received a draft funding agreement for signature we did not conclude any of those agreements during the caretaker period. … Senator O'SULLIVAN: My question needs to extend, then, to offers made that were not adopted, and offers made that were adopted. Let's pick a period say of three months prior to the caretaker government coming into place. Mr Mrdak: I will take that on notice. There would have been a large number of regional grants being processed at that time. I will find out for you on notice how many exactly were made. Are you specifically targeting regional grants or are you looking across the whole portfolio? Senator O'SULLIVAN: I am looking across the whole portfolio. Whilst there may be—and you will need to ignore my ignorance for a moment on this question—seasonal fluctuations in when you issue contracts or offers over the year, I would be interested to see a comparison of offers made in that 12-week period versus the balance of the calendar year before. Answer: A list of grants that were offered and adopted by the Department in the 12 weeks prior to the caretaker period can be found at Attachment A. This list includes grants offered and adopted by the former Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sports where the function has transferred to the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. A list of grants that were proposed and not adopted by the Department in the 12 weeks prior to the caretaker period can be found at Attachment B. This list includes grants proposed and not adopted by the former Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sports where the function has transferred to the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. Rural & Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON NOTICE Additional Budget Estimates February 2014 Infrastructure and Regional Development A list of Grants that the Department entered into in the calendar year before (2012) can be found on the Departments website. This list includes grants entered into by the former Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sports where the function has transferred to the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. 2 – Attachments A and B Rural & Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON NOTICE Additional Budget Estimates February 2014 Infrastructure and Regional Development ATTACHMENT A Grants Adopted Date Contract Grant Name Recipient Amount ($) Location Electorate Date Approved Date Offered Signed Horsham Theatre and Art 25-Feb-13 3-Jun-13 14-Jun-13 Horsham Rural City Council 2,500,000 VIC Mallee Gallery Strengthening the relationship between the Northern Territory 154,000 GST Northern Lingiari 24-Apr-13 19-Jun-13 24-Jun-13 Australian and Indonesian Cattlemen’s Association inclusive Territory Cattle Industries Margaret Olley Centre at 2-May-13 4-Jun-13 26-Jun-13 Margaret Hannah Olley Trust 1,000,000 NSW Richmond Tweed River Art Gallery 2-May-13 14-Jun-14 19-Jun-14 Moorooka Community Hub Brisbane City Council 3,000,000 QLD Moreton Construction Norfolk Island Waste Norfolk Island 200,000 Norfolk Island N/A 8-May-13 8-May-13 8-May-13 Management Facility Administration Lake Macquarie Interchange - Lake Macquarie City 9-May-13 26-Jul-13 26-Jul-13 5,450,192 NSW Charlton Stage 2 Council Narromine Aviation Museum, 9-May-13 1-Aug-13 16-Aug-13 Narromine Shire Council 210,000 NSW Calare Stage 2 Infrastructure Edward Lloyd Park Upgrade Mackay Regional Council 499,703 QLD Dawson 9-May-13 17-Jul-13 24-Jul-13 Rural & Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON NOTICE Additional Budget Estimates February 2014 Infrastructure and Regional Development ATTACHMENT B Grants Not Adopted Grant Name Recipient Amount Location Electorate Date Approved Date Offered Current Status Water Infrastructure In Golden Golden Plains Shire Transferred to the Community Plains Food Production and $4,170,000 VIC Corangamite 9-May-13 Not offered Council Development Grants Programme Employment Precinct Regional Physical Activity & Transferred to the Community Education Centre at Cockburn City of Cockburn $10,000,000 WA Fremantle 9-May-13 Not offered Development Grants Programme Central West Norfolk Island Port Facilities Administration of Transferred to the Community $13,000,000 ACT Canberra 9-May-13 Not offered Upgrade - Stage 2 Norfolk Island Development Grants Programme Port MacDonnell Marine District Council of Transferred to the Community $726,127 SA Barker 9-May-13 Not offered Infrastructure Development Grant Development Grants Programme Parkes Regional Airport Transferred to the Community Parkes Shire Council $1,500,000 NSW Calare 9-May-13 Not offered Redevelopment Development Grants Programme Greater Shepparton Regional Greater Shepparton Transferred to the Community $7,190,000 VIC Murray 9-May-13 Not offered Sports Precinct City Council Development Grants Programme Great Southern Centennial Transferred to the Community City of Albany $8,250,000 WA O Connor 9-May-13 Not offered Park Development Grants Programme Construction of Orange Transferred to the Community Regional Museum and Cultural Orange City Council $4,000,000 NSW Calare 9-May-13 Not offered Development Grants Programme Square Rural & Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON NOTICE Additional Budget Estimates February 2014 Infrastructure and Regional Development Surf Life Saving NSW Port Transferred to the Community Macquarie Operations and Surf Life Saving NSW $1,051,243 NSW Lyne 9-May-13 Not offered Development Grants Programme Training Centre Geelong Centre for Emerging Transferred to the Community Infectious Diseases - City of Greater Geelong $3,000,000 VIC Corio 9-May-13 Not offered Development Grants Programme construction of research hub Toowoomba and Region Community for Community Lifeline Darling Downs Transferred to the Community (C4C) Flexi-School & South West $793,000 QLD Groom 9-May-13 Not offered Development Grants Programme Intergenerational Mentoring Queensland Limited Hub Sounness Park Community Transferred to the Community Shire of Plantagenet