SA Best, Liberals refuse to use new Parliamentary Budget Advisory Service amid fear policies will be leaked to Labor ministers

POLITICAL parties contesting the state election are shunning a new independent costings service set up by the State Government, amid fears their policies won’t stay confidential.

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KEY political parties contesting the state election are shunning a new independent costings service set up by the State Government, amid fears that policies they submit to it will leak.

As part of the so-called “Brockument” agreement struck between Premier Jay Weatherill and kingmaker independent MP Geoff Brock in 2014, this state election is the first to feature a special expert office open to candidates that assists in the costing of their campaign policies.

The Parliamentary Budget Advisory Service opened in mid December, led by former deputy under treasurer John Hill.

Mr Hill is permitted to second expert staff from across government. The PBAS has received only 22 policies for costing to date, most believed to be from the Greens.

The Liberals and SA Best have told The Advertiser they will not use the PBAS, amid fears that the details of ideas they ask to be costed would eventually be leaked to Labor.

The PBAS says it has governance arrangements that enforce “strict independence and impartiality in the delivery of costing services”, which are kept confidential.

Opposition treasury spokesman Rob Lucas.

Opposition treasury spokesman Rob Lucas said he feared it would soon become clear to ministers what policies their rivals were considering as departmental staff were called away.

“We can’t trust the confidentiality of the process in an increasingly politicised public service,” Mr Lucas said. “There is just no way that within a few milliseconds the minister’s office wouldn’t be aware that a proposal was being costed.

Labor will use the office for campaign commitments. SA Best Leader Nick Xenophon said he was also not convinced the PBAS was secure. “We haven’t used it because we believe that one of the conditions that we want is an actually independent parliamentary budget office,” he said.

“It must be separate from the Government, unlike the current PBAS, that just doesn’t cut it in terms of the independence you require.”

Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis said the PBAS was confidential and independent.

“Our public servants operate with integrity, and for the Liberals to suggest otherwise is offensive,” he said. “The more likely explanation for why the Liberals are afraid to use PBAS is because they are worried ... their election costings won’t stack up.”

Australian Conservatives MP Rob Brokenshire shared the confidentiality concerns, and said the Government should have opened the office sooner.

Greens MP Mark Parnell said he suspected most, if not all, policies assessed by PBAS were his and it would be a “reasonable assumption” other parties had so far ignored it.

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