ALISTAIR Coe says the Legislative Assembly has passed legislation to increase transparency and accountability in government expenditure.

“The Government Procurement (Transparency in Spending) Bill 2014 requires the government to disclose all payments for invoices over $25,000. Information about the payments will be freely available online,” Alistair said.

“All government spending is ultimately paid for by taxpayers. Every year the ACT government spends over $4 billion of taxpayers’ money. Making the details of payments available for public scrutiny is an important move towards open government.

“I am pleased that Canberrans will finally be able to see in more detail their money is being spent.

“Whilst there is always more to be done to improve transparency and scrutiny of government spending, the legislation passed today is a significant step forward.

“This legislation is the first of its kind in Australia and I am pleased that the Legislative Assembly has adopted this important move to increase transparency and accountability in government spending,” Mr Coe concluded.