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Thursday, 1 March 2007
Page: 172


Mr Kelvin Thomson asked the Minister for Human Services, in writing, on 7 December 2006:

In respect of the Smartcard advertising campaign launched in November 2006 which states that: “Soon, just one card could replace them all” and which asserts that: “The Australian Government is proposing to introduce a single card in 2008”, (a) is the project for which $1.1 billion was budgeted in 2006 now a proposal and a possibility, rather than a budgeted program, (b) has he reconsidered the viability of the Smartcard project; if not, why is the smartcard project being advertised as a possibility rather than a budgeted program and (c) what is the total cost of the advertising program.


Mr Hockey (Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) —The answer to the honourable member’s question is as follows:

(a)   The access card is a budgeted program.

(b)   See (a) above.

(c)   The total cost of the advertising program is $1,369,136.37

To prepare this answer it has taken approximately 7 hours and 30 minutes at an estimated cost of $494.