ACT Ministers and staff had overspent their Budget and were setting a poor example to other departments, according to Opposition Leader Kate Carnell.
She said the Budget for Ministers and staff had over-spent by $136,000, a 10 per cent over-spending in the Government Executive which set a poor example to departments which were required to make 2 or 3 per cent across-the-board savings.
The Chief Minister, Rosemary Follett, said the spending was due to pay rises, extra costs in moving to the new Assembly building and the employment in her office of an extra staffer who had come from the office of former Sports Minister Wayne Berry when “”the Liberals ousted him”.
That had now been adjusted.
Ms Follett said the Government had contained the costs “”as best as we can”.
The over-spending was revealed in estimates committee hearings yesterday.
Ms Follett described the amount the Liberals had come up with as petty and the attack on the staff transfer as vindictive.
Government sources said the transfer of the staff member had cost about $1000 last financial year and now that another staffer had gone on maternity leave the costs were back to where they were.
Opposition sources said the staffer had been rescued from Mr Berry’s office and taken on as a number cruncher for the left to do election campaign work, not Assembly functions.
Ms Carnell asked for a break-down of salaries and functions of staff members for each Minister’s office and said she would supply similar amounts for the Opposition.
Ms Follett also expressed her support for the advertising campaign against domestic violence.
She said there were 70 domestic-violence “”incidents” a month in the ACT, according to AFP figures.
“”If people find the blunt style of the campaign challenging all to the good,” she said, referring to criticism of the campaign by the Lone Fathers’ Association.
Ms Follett told the committee that spending on employment and training inititives had increased $1.5 million and that in tourism visitors were up 10 per cent to 1.675 million and occupancy rates were up to 64.3 per cent from 59.5 the previous year.
In a separate announcement Ms Follett said the Government would exempt people in aged care from land tax.