WA’s Ombudsman has defended spending almost $550 for two chauffeur-driven car trips, totalling just over two kilometres while on a trip to Rome, saying he “wanted something he could rely on”.
He also said he plans to continue to travel in his role as president of an international body, despite his overseas trips coming under the scrutiny of the Corruption and Crime Commission.
The CCC has been conducting a public examination of spending by Ombudsman Chris Field’s office, and how it relates to his role as president of the International Ombudsman Institute.
According to its website, the institute is the “only global organisation for the cooperation of more than 200 independent Ombudsman institutions from more than 100 countries”.
The inquiry began last month and Mr Field is facing a second batch of hearings in an inquiry into allegations he corruptly used his position to obtain a benefit.
Mr Field’s overseas trips have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years.
Earlier hearings revealed he had spent just 36 days in his office over the course of a year.
On Tuesday, counsel assisting the inquiry Kirsten Nelson asked Mr Field if he intended to travel in 2024 for IOI purposes.
“Yes I do,” Mr Field said, pointing out that he would be “unaccompanied”.
It was noted that since the first part of the hearings ended last month, Mr Field had travelled to Uzbekistan.
Bahrain trip in question
The CCC also focused on a trip the Ombudsman made to Bahrain in October, 2023 while on annual leave.
Mr Field said the Kingdom of Bahrain paid for his accommodation.
Ms Nelson asked him why he’d taken gifts with him and why the Ombudsman’s office of WA paid for them.
Mr Field said he was “working on annual leave” and the gifts were for “international dignitaries”.
Commissioner John McKechnie quizzed him regarding his IOI and WA Ombudsman roles.
“I see them as one and the same thing,” Mr Field responded.
He defended the use of global chauffeur service Blacklane’s “business class” in Rome in September, after the CCC was shown evidence that hundreds of dollars was spent on the car service for two journeys.
One was for he and his chief of staff Rebecca Poole to meet with the ambassador at the Holy See, at a cost of $330.71 for 1.4 km.
The second was to go to the ambassador’s residence, at $217.19 for 0.8 km.
“I wanted something I could rely upon,” Mr Field told the CCC.
The Ombudsman rejected multiple questions from counsel assisting, and the commissioner, that he may not be able to perform his WA duties while representing the IOI on trips overseas.
The CCC has been presented with evidence that for trips to New York and Ukraine in 2022, a business case was made only after the travel had finished.
Ms Nelson put it to Mr Field that this was “a sham”.
The Ombudsman said while he approved his own travel, the records were simply a record of travel and “far away” from being a sham.
Mr Field admitted that Ms Poole had expressed concern about his trip to Ukraine as IOI president in December 2022.
Ms Poole had accompanied Mr Field on many trips but decided not to go to Ukraine.
Ms Nelson asked him whether he’d had a “robust exchange of views” with a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) officer about the Ukraine trip due to safety concerns.
“Not in the slightest,” Mr Field said.
He maintained that while the DFAT officer was robust, he was “very diplomatic”.
The Ombudsman had planned to go to Ukraine again in 2023 but members of the IOI thought it would be too expensive, the CCC heard.
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