BHP — IRON ORE ROYALTY PAYMENTS
6. Hon JACQUI BOYDELL to the minister representing the
Minister for Mines and Petroleum:
I refer to the article by
Gareth Parker in The Sunday Times of 27 January 2019 about the audit of
BHP, and I quote —
There was a specific, though
so-far undisclosed, reason those public servants went over the books again.
(1) What was
the reason for the audit that found the alleged discrepancy?
(2) On what
date was the discrepancy first raised with the minister?
(3) On what
date was the discrepancy first raised with BHP, and how was it communicated to
the company?
(4) What was
the length of time between the audit finishing and the discrepancy being raised
with the minister and BHP?
(5) On what
date did BHP stop claiming the deduction?
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN
replied:
I thank the member for the question.
I have a related question here, but not that particular one.
What number is it?
Hon Jacqui Boydell: It is C045.
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN: I have C038. I am happy to
give the member C038.
Hon Jacqui Boydell: I think there was a bit of
confusion on our end of questions this morning, so it might have been that.
There was a number —
The PRESIDENT: Minister, if you do not have the answer
to the question that has been asked, perhaps you might seek that response and
provide it at a later stage.