Speaker Sue Hickey travels to UK for professional development

Speaker Sue Hickey will today jet off to the United Kingdom on a two-week taxpayer-funded trip to learn how a Westminster parliament works.

Speaker Sue Hickey. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

SPEAKER Sue Hickey will today jet off to the United Kingdom on a two-week taxpayer-funded trip to learn how a Westminster parliament works.

Ms Hickey will be accompanied by Clerk of the House Shane Donnelly on the trip, undertaken by every Speaker in the past several decades — with the exception of recent Liberal speakers Mark Shelton and Elise Archer.

Mr Shelton only held the role for a short period and Ms Archer chose to instead divert the allowance into community events held at parliament.

Ms Hickey yesterday said she expected her international experience to be “enormously valuable” and promised it would come at minimal cost.

The trip could cost taxpayers upward of $25,000. Ms Hickey has estimated her travel costs at $12,882.27 including business class airfares, accommodation and a rail ticket, but Mr Donnelly’s expenses were not detailed nor incidentals or meals.

“It’s about understanding the Westminster system, which is a learning experience every day for me,” Ms Hickey said of her schedule across England, Scotland and Ireland.

“If we don’t go and find out what is the latest practice and keep abreast of what’s expected of us in our roles, it’s not like you can learn it anywhere else.

“I could go and sit down and have lessons with [former Labor speaker Michael] Polley, but you have to experience the traditions of it as well.”

Ms Hickey’s itinerary shows she will attend meetings and events at the House of Commons, Scottish parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly and Dáil Éireann.

MORE OF TODAY’S NEWS:

ROLLING COVERAGE OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ELECTIONS

TEACHERS FIGHT ON FOR FAIR PAY

STOKELL CLAIMS MAIDEN WIN AT TARGA

BRIGHT SPARKS IGNITE CITY SHIFT

‘I’M SORRY FOR FALLING IN LOVE’ WITH KILLER

The Speaker made headlines last month when she called for the Government to consider delaying infrastructure spending for a year to divert those resources into the housing crisis.

She yesterday pointed out money was set aside in every Budget for the professional development experience available to the Speaker once every term. She said she would not take her partner, Peter, as permitted under the arrangement, and would likely pay for meals out of her own purse.

“A lot of work’s going on in [public housing property] Windsor Court,” Ms Hickey said. “Sometimes I think those things just need attention drawn to them — attention gets action.

“There’s nothing [in expenses] that will be untoward or I wouldn’t be prepared to take scrutiny over, but it will only be incidentals.”

Mr Polley yesterday told the Sunday Tasmanian he believed Ms Hickey’s UK trip would do the Tasmanian parliament “a world of good”.

“It’s worth every penny paid, particularly in the circumstances where there’s a one-seat majority,” Mr Polley said.

“Parliaments have a lot of tradition and I was there a long time so I knew all those procedures and traditions and precedents and I think parliament will be better off for her going.”

[e-mail]