Question On Notice No. 853 asked in the Legislative Council on 13 March 2018 by Hon Martin Aldridge
Question Directed to the: Minister for Environment representing the Minister for Lands
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
I refer to Twitter, and I ask:
(a) does the Minister have a registered Twitter account;
(b) what is the Ministers' Twitter handle;
(c) does the account describe you as a Minister and the portfolios that you hold;
(d) other than the Minister, who else has access to the account;
(e) do any of the Ministers' ministerial or departmental staff access and/or maintain the Twitter account;
(f) how many Twitter users has the Minister blocked from accessing the account;
(g) will the Minister please list the Twitter users that have been blocked from the account; and
(h) how is the Minister ensuring compliance with the State Records Act 2000 with respect to public and private communications received and sent via Twitter?
Answered on 11 April 2018
(a) Yes – this account was created before the Minister was appointed to her current role.
(b) @Rita_Saffioti
(c) Yes
(d)-(e) The Minister’s Twitter account is a public account.
(f)-(g) Social media accounts, as is standard with social media management across Australia, block other accounts from time to time. In Government, accounts are usually blocked due to instances of, including but not limited to, vulgar language, excessive spam or direct or indirect threats. While the Government welcomes vigorous debate, we will not tolerate or give a platform to the aforementioned. For example, the Minister will not accept attacks on tweets featuring her children.
(h) Ministers are aware of their obligations under the State Records Act.