NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen resigns over taxpayer-funded trip
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The news: Labour MP Jo Haylen has resigned as New South Wales transport minister after it emerged that she used her taxpayer-funded ministerial car for private purposes.
The numbers: Haylen was reported to have asked her chauffeur to take her and a group of friends to a winery lunch during the Australia Day weekend, incorporating a 13-hour, 446km round-trip.
Haylen was also reported to have used a taxpayer-funded driver to take her family 100km from her holiday house in Caves Beach to Sydney for weekend sports events.
The context: Ministerial cars and drivers can be used for private purposes under the current rules in New South Wales.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Haylen said "I did not break the rules but I acknowledge that that's not the only test here".
Haylan said she will continue to serve the government as the MP for Summer Hill.
What they said: "I’ve let the public down and I’m very sorry about that," Haylen said, after informing NSW Premier Chris Minns that she would resign as transport minister.
"My mistakes are now causing my government damage," she said.
"Politics is difficult, expectations are high and I know that."
The sources: Jo Haylen press conference, The Guardian
