NSW: Anderson defends sacking advisers

AAP General News (Australia)
02-12-2001
NSW: Anderson defends sacking advisers

SYDNEY, Feb 12 AAP - Embattled federal transport minister John Anderson today defended
the sacking of two of his most trusted staffers over a $3-billion road funding bungle.

Mr Anderson last night axed principal adviser Stephen Oxley and land transport adviser
Peter Walsh for not alerting him to a failure by successive governments to adhere to road
funding laws.

"No leader can be left in a position where critical information, no matter how, no
matter the nature of that information, is not provided," Mr Anderson told reporters in
Sydney.

He said a very serious misconception had been allowed "to run riot in a situation where
it was very difficult to get it back under control".

Yesterday, Mr Anderson sacked the advisers for failing to warn the government it had
been caught breaking the law over fuel taxes and road spending.

An Auditor-General's report last week found a $2.9 billion shortfall in road funding
with just 3.1 cents a litre of fuel excise being spent on roads rather than the 4.95 cents
a litre set out in law.

Mr Anderson has blamed the discrepancy on a change in bookkeeping procedures made seven
years ago but admitted he knew in November of the problem.

Today he repeated his assertion that no money had gone astray.

"That is a serious situation and I just reiterate, again, no money has gone astray,"

Mr Anderson said.

"We have not been spending less than this hypothetical 4.95 cents per litre on roads.

"We have consistently spent more than that, indeed at the moment it's around 6.1 cents a litre.

"There are not billions of dollars missing.

"There are in fact billions more than have been acknowledged that's been spent on roads."

AAP maur/jo/jjs/pc/sb

KEYWORD: ROADS ANDERSON (CARRIED EARLIER)

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