Barbados trip was good use of public money, says Senator

Senator Bailhache, the commission chairman, flew business class to the Caribbean island with vice-chairman Colin Storm on Monday, returning on Wednesday after a series of meetings with politicians and clerks.

And although the trip has prompted criticism from States colleagues and members of the public, Senator Bailhache said that he was ‘absolutely sure’ that it had been a good use of public money.

The commission he leads is looking into States reform and will publish recommendations by the end of the year. The Senator said that the trip to Barbados, the third-oldest parliament in the Commonwealth, had been ‘successful and instructive’.