❓ Mr. McGowan questions the Treasurer about potential conflicts of interest regarding a telecommunications expansion project involving Telstra. The Treasurer denies making the initial announcement and clarifies the decision-making process.
AnsweredQoN 205Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
TREASURER —
TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPANSION
205. Mr
M. McGOWAN to the Treasurer:
In May 2014, the Treasurer announced that $45 million would
be spent expanding telecommunications in regional Western Australia, including
mobile phone towers being delivered in partnership with Telstra. Did the
Treasurer exclude himself from deliberations in the Economic and Expenditure
Reform Committee and cabinet when it came to deals with Telstra?
TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPANSION
205. Mr
M. McGOWAN to the Treasurer:
In May 2014, the Treasurer announced that $45 million would
be spent expanding telecommunications in regional Western Australia, including
mobile phone towers being delivered in partnership with Telstra. Did the
Treasurer exclude himself from deliberations in the Economic and Expenditure
Reform Committee and cabinet when it came to deals with Telstra?
AnswerView source ↗
I did not announce that. That was a decision of the Minister
for Finance, which was made before —
Mr F.M. Logan :
Answer the question.
Dr M.D. NAHAN : Did
the member for Cockburn ask the question?
Mr F.M. Logan interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member!
Dr M.D. NAHAN : It
was the Minister for Commerce. There was a policy going back to 2010–11,
I think, for royalties for regions to expand the number of towers around
Western Australia. They were put out for tender then and Telstra won that. A
condition of that tender was that other providers could use the towers. It was
renewed in 2014 and Telstra won that decision. No, I did not excuse myself from
that decision. I did not make the decision. I acknowledged at budget time that
it was a recommendation.
for Finance, which was made before —
Mr F.M. Logan :
Answer the question.
Dr M.D. NAHAN : Did
the member for Cockburn ask the question?
Mr F.M. Logan interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member!
Dr M.D. NAHAN : It
was the Minister for Commerce. There was a policy going back to 2010–11,
I think, for royalties for regions to expand the number of towers around
Western Australia. They were put out for tender then and Telstra won that. A
condition of that tender was that other providers could use the towers. It was
renewed in 2014 and Telstra won that decision. No, I did not excuse myself from
that decision. I did not make the decision. I acknowledged at budget time that
it was a recommendation.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.