The Department of Parliamentary Services has ordered an independent “fact-finding” mission into the role its officials played in a $300,000 payout to a former deputy secretary, who was moved to another department after a “close personal relationship” was declared.
Appearing before Senate estimates on Monday, the acting secretary, Jaala Hinchcliffe, addressed a number of open questions about the parliamentary department, after a series of high-profile integrity issues.
In her opening statement, Hinchcliffe, a former anti-corruption commissioner herself, confirmed the usual DPS boss, Rob Stefanic, had been on indefinite paid leave since early October and could not say when he would return to the job.
At the last Senate estimates in May, Stefanic denied having a romantic relationship with his then subordinate, Cate Saunders, saying he formally declared a conflict of interest due to “gossip” and “rumour”.
Months after the conflict of interest was declared, Saunders was placed on secondment at Services Australia in April 2023 until she accepted a $315,126 incentive payment for her retirement from the public service on 1 October 2023.
The exit package was approved by the Department of Parliamentary Services. Stefanic told the May hearing he was not personally involved in its sign off.
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The Sydney barrister Fiona Roughley SC will investigate whether the department followed “correct processes” in the decision, Hinchcliffe said on Monday. She could not provide a date for its completion but hoped it would be done by the end of the year.
Hinchcliffe was asked whether the department held records of the conversations Stefanic said he had with the presiding officers and the parliamentary services commissioner about the declared conflict of interest. Hinchcliffe said there were no records of either conversation.
The acting secretary acknowledged the lack of documentation was not best practice.
“I have constantly thought about the fact that every single dollar that I spend is taxpayers’ money,” she said.
“And the public trust that they put into me to undertake my work with integrity and with efficiency and effectiveness is incredibly important.
“I think stands for all of us as public servants, and part of how we do that is that we do our jobs well and we do them properly, and that includes proper record keeping.”
The Liberal senator, Jane Hume, said the department secretary’s indefinite paid leave sits “quite uncomfortably with a lot of people”.
Hume said she would be asking further questions at the next estimates hearing about the nature of the sudden leave.
“At the next Senate estimates, it will be 22 weeks since the department secretary took that leave. We will be asking questions then about what kind of leave has been taken and how much it has cost the taxpayer,” she said regarding the department’s decision not to reveal further details.
“So in anticipation of those questions being asked, I would hope that there are decisions that are made that are appropriate in the circumstances.”
Hinchcliffe also confirmed the National Anti-Corruption Commission had executed warrants to raid the department’s offices in early October, as first revealed by Guardian Australia.
Hinchcliffe said she had been informed of the Nacc’s intentions on 2 October, the day before the raid. The acting boss refused to answer any further questions on the matter, warning it could impact or impede investigations.
“No senior executives have been stood down,” Hinchcliffe said as a result of the Nacc’s raid.
Source: theguardian.com
