Mr Martin Ferguson asked the Minister representing the Special Minister of State, upon notice, on 18 September 2002:

(1) How many (a) permanent and (b) casual drivers are employed by Comcar in each State and Territory.

(2) How many (a) permanent and (b) casual employees are engaged in non-driving duties in each State and Territory and what are their designations.

(3) Did Comcar have responsibility for the supervision of Comcar drivers during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), if not, which Department did have responsibility.

(4) During CHOGM, how many employees of Comcar, not engaged in CHOGM, travelled to Queensland and (a) who were they, (b) what was the cost of their travel and accommodation and (c) what was the purpose of their visit to Queensland.

(5) Over the last 7 financial years, (a) what training or consultative seminars have been held for management of Comcar, (b) where were such seminars conducted and (c) what was the itemised full cost of each seminar or consultation.

(6) With respect to the duties of drivers and the need for a safe working environment, (a) what is the policy of Comcar on the safety practice of encouraging drivers on long trips to stop every two hours for a break and (b) are drivers required to take such fatigue breaks; if not, why not.

Mr Abbott (Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) —The Special Minister of State has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:

(1)

(2) (a) and (b) COMCAR's non-driving staff represent 17.6 per cent of total staff. The bulk of the staff represented in the table are operational staff - engaged in call centre and allocations duties as well as depot operations in all States and the ACT.

* includes full-time and part-time staff

** one non-ongoing

(3) While the CHOGM Task Force (as part of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet) was responsible for allocating work to drivers (as the client) during CHOGM, COMCAR continued to have responsibility for supervision (including salary) of drivers during the event.

(4) Nil

(5) Over the last seven financial years, COMCAR's driver training has accounted for 87 per cent of COMCAR's training budget. The remaining 13 per cent has been expended on non-driving staff as follows.

(6) Standard industry fatigue management principles are used to ensure drivers work in a safe environment. COMCAR's policy is in line with these principles and is consistent with industry standards for professional drivers. Accordingly, drivers are encouraged to take a break at least every five hours. In practice, the nature of COMCAR activities means that more frequent breaks are generally achieved.