The acting boss of the Department of Parliamentary Services says she is unable to say when the secretary, who is currently on extended paid leave, would return to work.
Acting secretary Jaala Hinchcliffe told Senate estimates she has ordered an investigation into a more than $315,000 payment made to her predecessor to leave the public service.Liberal Jane Hume said she would pursue DPS over the secretary's leave and how much it would cost taxpayers.The acting boss of a federal Parliament House department recently raided by the National Anti-Corruption Commission has been unable to tell Senate estimates when the secretary will return to work.
In a wide-ranging appearance, Ms Hinchcliffe confirmed she was notified about the raid on DPS the day before NACC officers executed a warrant to search the department at Parliament House on October 3. Senator Hume alleged the presiding officers "potentially have been misled" over the nature of Mr Stefanic's conflict of interest declarations.
"And in fact, it may have had more of a role in arranging it than anyone was aware but we won't know because it appears that nothing has been written down. We have had to take a lot of this on trust because the department is not subject to freedom of information." But Senator Hume said she planned to write to the attorney-general seeking assistance in reviewing the governance practices at DPS.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing a call to reverse an "interim" law he introduced more than a decade ago to make a Parliament House department exempt from Freedom of Information requests.
Jaala Hinchcliffe Senate Estimates National Anti-Corruption Commission NACC Raid Parliament House Rob Stefanic Cate Saunders
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