❓ Hon Steve Martin questions the Minister for Community Services regarding the lack of detail provided on 'small commitments' election promises in the budget, arguing for greater transparency and challenging the reliance on public records for scrutiny. The Minister's response reiterates that election commitments are public record and funded through a single budget line.
AnsweredQoN 627Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Minister's answer in Legislative Council Budget Estimates, in response to questions on Budget Paper 2, page 509, "Election Commitments - Small commitments", my question asking for a breakdown of what the small commitments grants are for, and the Minister's response providing no breakdown and stating that "Election commitments are a matter of public record, including small commitments", and I ask: (a) will the Minister reconsider the decision not to provide a list of the "small commitments" being funded under this portfolio as part of the State Budget; (b) if no to (a), what is the reason for being unable to provide this list as part of the Budget Estimates process, which scrutinises budget expenditure; (c) in relation to the "public record", is the Minister suggesting that state government expenditure decisions in relation to election commitments are best scrutinised by review of candidate media comment and social media posts, rather than State Budget scrutiny; and (d) if no to (c), what documents on the public record is the Minister referring to which shows a complete compilation of what is funded under "small commitment" grants, and can they be tabled?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
21 October 2025
Responded by
Minister for Community Services
Response time
5 days
(a) – (d) Election Commitments are matters of the public record including small commitments. It is normal process for small election commitments to be funded through one budget line.
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