Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a personal explanation as I claim to have been misrepresented.

Leave granted.

There were articles in the Courier Mail and the Daily Telegraph yesterday in which it was reported that I denied ‘receiving any funds from Metcash when challenged over the election donations’. This is one part of a misrepresentation or probably a misunderstanding. I was not, to my knowledge, challenged over election donations. The tenor of the question relayed to me by my media officer was whether I had accepted payments for my personal benefit. I have never taken a corrupt payment in my life, and I said that. When, 24 hours later, further questions went to the issue of campaign donations I repeated that I had not received any donation from Metcash.

I repeat: I have not received any donation from Metcash. The campaign donation referred to went directly from Metcash to the then Queensland branch of the National Party of Australia. I am informed by the party that it banked the donation in its central campaign account in July 2007.

Another misrepresentation was suggested in the article, quoting an unnamed political observer that I ‘should have been more upfront in disclosing a conflict of interest’ in referring the matter concerning Metcash and the ACCC to the Senate. There is no conflict of interest. This matter is governed by a standing order of the Senate, specifically standing order 27(5), which states:

A senator shall not sit on a committee if the senator has a conflict of interest in relation to the inquiry of the committee.

This matter has been considered by the Senate before and the President indicated that the standing order applies to situations where a senator has a private interest in the subject of the committee’s inquiry which conflicts with the duty of the senator to participate conscientiously in the conduct of the inquiry.

In my case it is clear that I do not have a private interest. My interest as a senator pursuing my duties in this case is a career-long commitment to increase retail competition. Any donations facilitated by me for my party are by way of electoral donations and not personal ones. I note that the Liberal and Labor parties have also received donations from retail concerns, and that should similarly not raise questions as to a conflict of interest for their senators. In pursuing my duties as a senator and in the interests of my constituents it would be remiss of me if I failed to refer this matter to a committee or to participate in the work of that committee.