NSW Housing Minister apologises for misuse of taxpayer-funded chauffeur
NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson has publicly apologised for using a taxpayer-funded chauffeur for a personal birthday lunch, amid calls for her resignation and controversy surrounding Transport Minister Jo Haylen.
NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson has apologised for benefitting from a taxpayer-funded chauffeur that took her and friends to a three-hour long winery lunch for her birthday.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen organised the government driver service and has been forced to resign over the scandal.
Following calls for Ms Jackson to step down over her involvement, she apologised to the public on Wednesday.
"I think I'm trying to take responsibility ... I accept in hindsight that was a mistake," Ms Jackson told reporters.
"I wasn't really thinking about it. Of course, in hindsight I accept that, you know, it wasn't okay and I accept that."
The Housing Minister explained that the outing was a surprise lunch at a Hunter Valley winery to celebrate her birthday and claimed she did not know about the taxpayer chauffeur in advance.
"I certainly didn't know any of the details. I had nothing to do with planning," she said.
"And yeah, I got in the car as a passenger. Obviously, with the benefit of hindsight, I probably should have said something."
Asked why she did not raise the matter with NSW Premier Chris Minns after the events, she did not directly respond.
"I wasn't party to the arrangements, didn't know them, wasn't my driver, wasn't my booking. I didn't really think about it."
The Housing Minister stated she has nothing to hide regarding her own use of ministerial drivers but did not commit to publicly releasing her records.
Ms Jackson was questioned about a separate instance where she apparently used a taxpayer-funded driver to take her to the airport for a holiday to Japan.
She denied it was incorrect usage because she made a work-related phone call during the trip.
Earlier on Tuesday, NSW Premier Chris Minns was forced to defend Ms Jackson's absence from the public eye in the wake of the scandal. The Housing Minister refused multiple requests for comment from SkyNews.com.au since the story broke and after Ms Haylen resigned.
