John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In February last year, before he became a minister, Senator Sinodinos made a statement to the Senate regarding his involvement in the company Australian Water Holdings. Then earlier this month in question time Senator Sinodinos made clear that he stood by that statement and that, in fact, he stood by all of his previous statements on AWH. We now know that the personal loan agreement with members of the Obeid family that Senator Sinodinos informed the Senate about in his statement is a sham. The personal loan agreement was in fact a 30 per cent shareholding in AWH.

We all know that Senator Sinodinos served concurrently as a non-executive director, then as chairman of AWH and as the treasurer and later president of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party, and did so concurrently. Yesterday we heard in ICAC that Senator Sinodinos's joining the board of AWH was to open lines of communication with the Liberal Party. According to counsel assisting the Independent Commission Against Corruption, there is 'evidence he tried to do so'. Compare this to Senator Sinodinos's earlier statement to the Senate, where he said donations from AWH—and I quote him directly—'were handled by the management of the organisation at their discretion'.

I want to say this for the record. I will be really blunt here. I abhor the actions and behaviour of those corrupt Labor figures who are involved in this matter. I abhor their behaviour. I have nothing but utter contempt for those people and I think every senator on all sides of the chamber knows that that is the case. But I do believe that what is appropriate now as far as Senator Sinodinos is concerned, at a minimum, is for him, as Senator Wong has suggested, to make a full and comprehensive statement to the Senate about his dealings with AWH. I think it is essential if for no other reason than that Senator Sinodinos is sworn to administer the Department of the Treasury, because he has got ministerial responsibility for the Corporations Act 2001, which specifies the four main duties of company directors: care and diligence, good faith, proper use of position and proper use of information. Any Assistant Treasurer whose conduct or actions as a director have been raised in a hearing such as that now underway in New South Wales ICAC I believe must be fully transparent in the Senate. Any Assistant Treasurer must be able to assure the parliament, the Australian public, that in their private capacity they have also upheld the law and have demonstrated the highest standards of personal integrity.

Today in question time some questions were asked by the opposition. Some of those were ruled out of order. Of course then we had the complete contempt of the Senate where a dorothy dix question was asked and then answered by Senator Sinodinos. I thought those questions did deserve a considered and comprehensive statement, the content of which the Assistant Treasurer can be accountable for in this chamber. I believe he should make that statement and make it forthwith. There is nothing to stop him doing so. There is nothing to stop him answering these questions if he wishes to do so. I urge him to make the statement. I suspect his future as a minister depends on it. (Time expired)