Ministers' private numbers go public

An error by a government contractor has led to ministers' and other MPs' personal phone numbers being published on the internet.

Federal ministers' personal mobile phone numbers have been put online after a government department failed to ensure they were properly deleted from a report.

The Department of Parliamentary Services regularly releases six-monthly reports on MPs' mobile phone and internet spending details.

However, the latest report for January to June 2016 included the mobile phone numbers of most MPs and senators, including most ministers.

The only excluded numbers were those of the prime minister, treasurer, attorney-general and a few other senior figures.

Former prime ministers Julia Gillard, John Howard and Paul Keating also had their numbers released.

Fairfax reported that instead of deleting the numbers out of the documents, the font was coloured white, meaning they could still be accessed using copy and paste.

The files were removed from the website after being alerted to the problem and the department was working with the Brisbane-based contractor Telco Management Pty Ltd to rectify it.


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Source: AAP


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Ministers' private numbers go public | SBS News