NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen resigned after admitting to using taxpayer-funded cars for private purposes, including trips to the Hunter Valley. Premier Chris Minns stated that while Haylen claimed to have conducted work during some trips, it didn't justify the use of a ministerial driver.
Jo Haylen had to go once it was clear chauffeur wasn’t justified for second Hunter Valley trip, premier says
Chris Minns addressed the media on Wednesday for the first time after Haylen quit as transport minister on Tuesday over the use of taxpayer-funded cars for private purposes.on the Australia Day weekend. It involved a 13-hour 446km round-trip for the driver from Sydney to Haylen’s holiday house at Caves Beach and then to a Hunter Valley winery.
“So not directly analogous to the Australia Day trip but … we were both in agreement it didn’t justify having a driver on the day and as a result of that her position just wasn’t tenable in the NSW cabinet.It was reported on Monday that Haylen also used a taxpayer-funded driver to ferry herself and her children from Caves Beach – about 100km north of Sydney – to the city for weekend sporting events.
Minns said Haylen would not have to pay back the cost of the 2024 Hunter Valley trip because she had “paid a big financial, personal and professional penalty” by being dumped from the ministry.The Labor leader said on Wednesday the government would not conduct an audit of other MPs’ use of ministerial cars.
NSW Politics MINISTERIAL CARS HUNTER VALLEY CHRIS MINNS JO HAYLEN
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