Newman backs Bates over lobbyist lunch

11 Feb 2013, 5:03 pm   -   Source: AAP

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman says his arts and IT minister enjoys his full confidence, despite a controversy over her lobbyist register.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman says his Arts and IT Minister Ros Bates hasn't broken the law by not declaring a lunch she had with lobbyists.

The lunch was recorded in Ms Bates' diary, but not on her lobbyist register.

Ms Bates says that wasn't necessary because no lobbying actually occurred.

On Monday, she said she had been advised by the state's integrity commissioner that she did not need to list the event on the register.

"It was an industry lunch where I was the keynote speaker. I give those all the time. It's no different from any other," she told the ABC.

"I'm not going to be distracted by personal attacks from the Labor Party. I've got a big job to do."

The opposition says the minister has to go, and she's become a household name for all the wrong reasons.

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said the minister's diary, which was released under Right to Information laws, showed she had lunch with between 15 and 25 friends and clients of lobbying firm Barton Deakin, which had expertise in the fields of IT, innovation and communication.

Ms Palaszczuk said it beggared belief there was no lobbying.

She would use parliament to pressure Ms Bates for answers on who was at the lunch, if there were any subsequent meetings, or if the clients had received any tenders or funding, she said.

Ms Palaszczuk said Premier Campbell Newman had set a low bar for his government in relation to integrity and accountability.

But Mr Newman says Ms Bates enjoys his full confidence.

"She has fully complied with the law," he said.

In defending Ms Bates, Treasurer Tim Nicholls said ministers were expected to meet with and talk to firms as part of the business of government.

"If we didn't talk to people then you should have some concern to be worried, because we would be operating in a vacuum without proper information," he said.

It is not the first time Ms Bates has come under fire for her lobbyist register.

She was forced to correct the record last year after she failed to note more than 20 points of contact her office had with lobbyist Santo Santoro.

Former housing minister Bruce Flegg was also forced to quit his portfolio in November after he failed to record the extent of contact his office had with his lobbyist son.

Ms Bates too has not been a stranger to nepotism scandals.

Her son's appointment to a plum government job in the transport department is being investigated by the Crime and Misconduct Commission.

Ms Bates returned to her ministerial responsibilities last month, after extended sick and annual leave.

The sick leave sparked allegations she was trying to avoid tough questions in parliament.

In total, the minister has spent at least a quarter of her time in cabinet on leave.

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