Public servants 'told to draw up $300,000 wishlist' for APY Lands Children plat at Ernabella in the APY Lands. PUBLIC servants were told to draw up "wishlists" for about $300,000 of last-minute spending for the APY Lands before the end of the 2010-2011 financial year, a parliamentary committee has heard. Budget and Finance committee chairman Rob Lucas today questioned Communities and Social Inclusion department officials about claims by staff that they were urged to spend unrealistic amounts before June 30, 2011. Mr Lucas said a whistleblower had written to him describing a "directive" from the department "to come up with a wishlist so that money could be spent before June 30," in the order of about $300,000. They said staff followed the directive but "even when it ran to over 10 pages (the wishlist) was not enough and my youth workers were then enlisted to come up with more items to buy." Department chief executive Joslene Mosel rejected the suggestion there was "a culture of just spending on anything." "When we spend money on anything we are very considerate about what that money should be spent on," she said. Mr Lucas also raised the case of a public servant who continued to receive an allowance for living in a remote location on the APY Lands, despite documents showing her residential address was in Adelaide. Mr Lucas said the staffer spent "a minority of time on the lands." The allowance was cancelled as of August last year. Ms Mosel said the department paid a locality allowance to encourage and retain staff working on the APY Lands. "Officers at the senior level in a position such as this move back and forwards between the lands and Adelaide," she said. She was based on the lands.