Wednesday, 2 April 2025

Ministerial conduct

David LIMBRICK (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:18): (881) My question is for the minister representing the Premier. Item 5.2 of the ministerial code of conduct requires ministers to:

… publish summaries from their diaries on a quarterly basis, detailing scheduled meetings with stakeholders, external organisations … lobbyists, Government Affairs Directors, and external individuals.

This update to disclosure requirements came after recommendations from IBAC related to corruption risks from lobbying. IBAC recommended publishing monthly disclosure of ministerial diaries, amongst other measures, and the government updated the ministerial code to require quarterly publishing of diaries from 2023. These diaries were published through 2023 and 2024, providing an important transparency measure for the public. But as reported in the Age last weekend, these disclosures seemed to cease in the third quarter last year, and many ministers were late in submitting the September disclosures. Minister, why has the government stopped publishing ministerial diary disclosures?

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:19): Mr Limbrick, I know that you have referred this question to the Premier, and I will indeed get an answer from her, but I will just make some comments in that regard, because obviously there has been a conversation amongst many ministers in relation to the reporting of this. I will state at the outset that the reason that diaries are disclosed in terms of ministerial meetings is because this government believes in transparency, and it is an initiative of the government to compel ourselves to do so. We led the most significant overhaul of parliamentary oversight in the country here in Victoria. We do have some new processes. As you have indicated, the ministerial code of conduct requires quarterly diary summaries to be published, and that is what we are doing. It is a significant step forward in relation to transparency. It is something that all ministers take seriously.

In relation to the publication versus the submitting, we are working through some of those processes. It is not entirely accurate that ministers were late. I do not want to speak for all ministers, but we are in the process of working with DPC to ensure timely reporting as well as submission of that material to improve any of the processes going forward. It is not my practice to disclose matters of cabinet, but this is something that is important to collective cabinet, and you will see improvements going forward to something that we are all behind. Diaries from the last quarter will be published very soon.

Members interjecting.

The PRESIDENT: Order! Mr Limbrick asked the question there, and I actually was looking at Mr Limbrick when he was getting the answer. He was not interjecting, and he wanted to hear the answer. The minister was giving an answer appropriate to the question. Maybe give the courtesy to the minister and Mr Limbrick that he gets the chance to hear the answer. Mr Limbrick on a supplementary.

David Limbrick: I do not have a supplementary.