GT protects Chairman's Lounge membership

[neville_nobody]

Here is a Question & Answer from the Legislative Assembly and Council of WA. The thinking is that Airline Clubs have no value as you cannot purchase them and they do not apply to an agency specifically but to the individual.

Question On NoticeNo. 2134 asked in the LegislativeCouncilon14 May 2019byHon Martin Aldridge
Question Directed to the:Minister for Regional Development representing the Minister forCommerce
Minister responding:Hon J.R. Quigley

I refer to exclusive, invitation only clubs operated by Virgin Australia (The Club) and Qantas (Chairman's Lounge), and I ask the Ministera) please identify for each member of your staff, for each member of your immediate family and for each agency under your directioni) the names of those offered membership from either Virgin Australia or Qantas and the date on which such an offer was made;(ii) for each person identified in (i), the date on which an offer was accepted or rejected and the relevant decision by the intended recipient of the membership;(iii) for each person identified in (i), when the membership is expected to expire if accepted; and(iv) the benefits offered with respect to each membership offered and the estimated annual value of those benefits;(b) with respect to Members of Parliament, has the gift received been disclosed in accordance with the Members of Parliament (Financial Interests) Act 1992 for each year in which the gift was accepted;(c) for gifts received by Minister's, has the gift been disclosed to the Chief of Protocol, Department of the Premier and Cabinet, and was such notification provided within the 30 days requirement of the Ministerial Code of Conduct;(d) has the Minister declared any conflict of interest or abstained from any Government decision arising from the gift received from Virgin Australia or Qantas; and(e) for each public service officer identified in (a), please outline what gift disclosure and conflict of interest reporting has occurred with respect to each agency?

Answered on 25 June 2019

As the Member would be aware, each of the airlines metioned offer membership of their respective clubs to State and Federal Government Ministers and in some instances Leaders of the Opposition. As was the process in the previous government, the acceptance of airline lounge memberships by a Minister does not represent a conflict of interest.

Question On NoticeNo. 2144 asked in the LegislativeCouncilon14 May 2019byHon Martin Aldridge
I refer to Legislative Council question on notice 2144 and the Minister's reference to Legislative Council question on notice 2134, which provides no answer to the information that I seek and I ask, when does the Minister intend to answer the question or satisfy obligations under section 82 of the Financial Management Act 2006?

Question

I refer to Legislative Council question on notice 2135 and the Minister's reference to Legislative Council question on notice 2134, which provides no answer to the information that I seek and I ask, when does the Minister intend to answer the question or satisfy obligations under section 82 of the Financial Management Act 2006?

Answered on 29 October 2019

Section 82 of the Financial Management Act 2006 expressly concerns the conduct or operation of an agency. The Member’s original question pertains neither to the conduct nor operation of an agency.

For the Member’s benefit, both the Chairman’s Lounge (QANTAS) and The Club (Virgin) are invitation only memberships. They cannot be purchased, and as such there is no value attached to them. They are an agreement between the airlines and individuals.

Furthermore, memberships are not necessarily offered to Ministers, Directors General or other public servants by virtue of their current positions. Individuals, including Ministers, other Members of Parliament and departmental officials, may also have memberships based on their previous occupations or for reasons outside of their official responsibilities.

If the member has a particular question about one of the approximately 140,000 public servants in Western Australia I suggest he asks a more specific question.