Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

As I said, it is an apparent inconsistency—it may not be inconsistent; he may have an explanation. But it does seem very odd, I am sure, to any reasonable person watching this debate or looking at these documents, for it to be believed that one could not know anything about what was occurring, when one was an office-bearer of both organisations.

The third point that Senator Sinodinos needs to address is in relation to the—I think it has been described as a sham—loan agreement with the Obeid family. Senator Sinodinos does go to this issue in his statement. He said, and again, the words are very precise:

I became non-executive chairman of AWH on 3 November 2010. I was not aware that, at around this time, the CEO of the company had negotiated what has been reported as a personal loan agreement with members of the Obeid family, secured against shares in Australian Water Holdings. I believe that there should have been such a disclosure made to me.

What we now know is that on 4 November 2010—so this is the day after Senator Sinodinos became chair—the loan agreement was struck. The heads of agreement was signed on 4 November 2010. This particular transaction has also been the subject of evidence and comment at the Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry, and is one instance of apparently corrupt conduct within AWH. Senator Sinodinos in his statement deliberately does not go to when he knew about that arrangement—