Transport minister Jo Haylen admits ‘I made the wrong decision’ after ministerial car booked out for 13 hours for Hunter Valley lunch at winery
The NSW transport minister, Jo Haylen, has apologised after using her ministerial driver to chauffeur her and some friends to and from a three-hour private lunch on the Australia Day weekend – at a cost of $750.
“I made the wrong decision,” Haylen said on Sunday when apologising and confirming she would repay the money for the 13-hour, 446km trip to the Hunter Valley.
Asked why she didn’t just book an Uber, the minister told reporters: “In retrospect, I should have.”
The logbook shows on 25 January the trip started at 8am and ended at 8.50pm and was coded as a “business trip during working day”.
The ministerial car reportedly drove from Sydney to pick up Haylen at her holiday house at Caves Beach – almost 100km north of the city. She and five others, including close friend and fellow minister Rose Jackson, were then ferried to the restaurant at Brokenwood Wines in Pokolbin.
The car later took them back to Caves Beach before the driver returned to Sydney. Ministerial cars and drivers can be used for private purposes under the rules in NSW.
On Sunday, Haylen said her actions were within the existing guidelines but were not appropriate and did not meet the “pub test”.
“Look, we did have a long lunch and we did drink and eat … the question is how we got to and from the lunch and we got that wrong. I got that wrong,” she said.
But Haylen rejected the opposition’s call for her to resign.
“I’m owning it, and I think that people understand sometimes that you make mistakes,” she said. “I’ve made a mistake here and that’s why I’m apologising and repaying the cost. Nobody’s perfect.”
The Coalition had called for Haylen and Jackson to resign or for the premier, Chris Minns, to sack them. Minns said using a chauffeur for a private lunch was “clearly unacceptable”.
“It’s not on for drivers to be used in this way,” the Labor leader said on Sunday. “I’ve asked the Cabinet Office to provide advice on changing the guidelines so this can’t happen again.”
While the use of the car was within the guidelines, “with those rights come responsibilities”, the state opposition leader, Mark Speakman, said.
He argued Haylen had shown “contempt for the taxpayer”.
“The use of a taxpayer-funded Kia van to take her around that area near Newcastle and the Hunter Valley is a disgrace … we’ve got two ministers of the crown off on a jolly at taxpayer expense – up presumably in the Hunter Valley.
“It is not just a government car – it’s an eight-seater government van.”
Haylen said how the trip was logged was the responsibility of the premier’s department. She described the driver as “a very good man and an absolute professional”. He had had all of his required rest breaks, she said.
“I didn’t keep him waiting,” she said. “We did have a private lunch that went for around three hours so he took us to the lunch and returned us home.”
Haylen said she had spoken to the premier about the incident.
