Ministry in the current Budget is not needed, Opposition leader and Shadow Telecommunications Minister Pamela Gordon claimed last week.

Ms Gordon pointed out the e-commerce experts had not yet been hired -- and that the latest Budget made allowance for the staff, anyway.

And she questioned whether -- with a week to go of the current financial year -- the money had been used for something else.

Earlier, Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb told MPs that e-commerce had only been added to her Ministry after the last Budget.

And she said she had been able to shift cash earmarked for consultants, but which was never spent, from the Telecommunications arm to the new e-commerce area, a practice known as vireing.

Ms Webb added: "We have been able to save -- on the one hand through not using some of our consultancy Budget so we were able to vire.'' She added that none of the money would be spent if her department did not recruit the staff, so it did not make any difference.

She said: "Because we were trying to recruit, approval was made in November and an estimate put in for staff.

"The reason it was left in was because we contacted the Budget Office and if funds are not spent, it won't be appropriated anyway. The reason they suggested it be left in was because it was an estimate.

"If an estimate is approved by Parliament and not spent, it won't be appropriated.''