COMMUNICATIONS Minister Stephen Conroy just happened to be in the same place as billionaire Seven Network boss Kerry Stokes when they went skiing together, Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner says.

The minister and Mr Stokes spent an afternoon together at the exclusive Beaver Creek in Vail, Colorado, in January, one month before a $250 million cut to television licence fees was announced.

Asked if he was comfortable with Senator Conroy holidaying with a media mogul during a sensitive time, Mr Tanner said his colleague was taking a break on his own time.

"My understanding is Stephen Conroy was on a holiday that he paid for completely,'' Mr Tanner told ABC Radio today.

"He just happened to be in the same place as Kerry Stokes and he's gone and caught up with him for an afternoon or something like that.

"Ultimately, if anybody thinks there's anything particularly sinister in that, well, basically you might as well say let's have no informal contact at all between ministers and business figures.''

Mr Tanner defended the $250 million cut in licence fees to free-to-air commercial television networks, arguing they have had to confront the transition to digital broadcasting and the global financial crisis.

