Senator Robert Ray asked the Minister representing the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs, upon notice, on 28 July 1997:

(1) What was the total cost of media monitoring services, including press clippings, electronic media transcripts etcetera provided to the Minister's office in the 1996-97 financial year.

(2) Which agency or agencies provided these services.

(3) What was the total cost of media monitoring services, including press clippings, electronic media transcripts etcetera provided to the department and its agencies in the 1996-97 financial year.

(4) Which agency or agencies provided these services.

Senator Ellison —The Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

(1) $29,858.95. This amount includes the costs of the specific press clippings service required by the office of the then Minister, Senator Vanstone, but not the costs of the small number of copies of the Departmental press clippings provided to her office. Theses costs are included in the amount stated in the answer to part (3) of this question but the resources necessary to calculate the exact cost of this service are not justified. The total cost incurred by the previous Minister, Mr Simon Crean MP, on media monitoring services in the 1995-96 financial year was $54,493.82.

(2) Media Monitors ACT Pty Ltd and Warburton Media Monitoring Pty Ltd.

(3) $124,673.32. As mentioned in the answer to part (1) above, this amount includes the costs of the small number of Departmental press clippings sent to the office of the then Minister, Senator Vanstone.

(4) Media Monitors ACT Pty Ltd, Quick Clips Pty Ltd, Warburton Media Monitoring Pty Ltd, News Research, Media Watch Press Clipping Service and Blackshaw and Associates Pty Ltd trading as "imedia".