Former Newman government minister Ros Bates hopes taxpayers will cover outstanding legal bills
FORMER Newman government minister Ros Bates is in limbo over whether or not she can bill taxpayers for legal costs she racked up fighting allegations against her.
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FORMER Newman government minister Ros Bates is in limbo over whether or not she can bill taxpayers for legal costs she racked up fighting allegations against her.
Ms Bates accumulated legal bills totalling more than $300,000, according to documents seen by The Courier-Mail, after defending herself before the Crime and Corruption Commission and the Parliamentary Ethics Committee over allegations including that she misled parliament over a public service job for a family member. She was ultimately cleared of all allegations.
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The documents reveal Ms Bates sought to have some of those bills paid by taxpayers as she believed they qualified because she was a minister when the allegations were raised.
The issue is believed to have split the Cabinet, with senior LNP sources insisting Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney and Treasurer Tim Nicholls were supportive of paying the bills or awarding Ms Bates an ex-gratia payment. Spokespeople for both men said they would not comment as the matter was subject to Cabinet privilege.
The Courier-Mail understands that while one of Ms Bates’ submissions was accepted by premier Campbell Newman, others were not following Crown law advice, suggesting they were not eligible.
A final decision was not reached before the election was called. Ms Bates may have to call on a Labor government to pay the outstanding bills.
She said she had not received money from the government to pay her bills but would seek help from the next government. She said she wanted “a quarter” of the $300,000.
Originally published as Former Newman government minister Ros Bates hopes taxpayers will cover outstanding legal bills
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