CONFLICT OF INTERESTS – AUSTRALIA

PM, the dodgy foreign student college, the degustation dinner – and Dan Andrews

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Original article by Damon Johnston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 30-Jan-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is under scrutiny following revelations that he attended a private dinner with members of the Indian-Australian business community at a Toorak mansion in November. They included the Barkly International College’s founder Rupinder Brar, who is seeking to overturn the Australian Skills Quality Authority’s decision to deregister the Melbourne-based private vocational education provider. Barkly is primarily focused on Indian students, and some of the guests at the dinner have indicated that visas are among the issues that were discussed. The guest listed included former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BARKLY INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE

Watchdog puts super funds on conflict notice

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Jess Malcolm
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Oct-23

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has reiterated that the nation’s superannuation funds must comply with their regulatory requirements, such as acting in the best financial interests of their members and avoiding conflicts of interests. Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has raised concerns about Cbus’s decision to invest $500m in the federal government’s Housing Australia Future Fund in late 2022. Bragg alleged that Cbus chairman Wayne Swan has a conflict of interests, given that he is Labor’s president and a former federal treasurer. Bragg notes that Cbus is the only super fund that has committed to investing in the HAFF.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND

PM orders probe into McKenzie

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 23-Jan-20

The so-called ‘sports rorts’ scandal that has embroiled Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie has been referred to Philip Gaetjens, the secretary of the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet. He will investigate whether McKenzie breached ministerial standards with regard to the allocation of sports grants in her previous role as sports minister. McKenzie has also been accused of a conflict of interests in giving a $35,000 grant to a clay target club of which she was a member. Labor contends that she may be in contempt of the Senate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Dutton puts end to MP eligibility row

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 6 : 28-Jun-19

A spokeswoman for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says he formally relinquished his interest in a family trust before nominating for the 18 May federal election. Dutton’s eligibility to be in parliament came under scrutiny in 2018 due to his pecuniary interest in a childcare centre which is owned by his wife and which had received federal government subsidies. The spokeswoman has stressed that two constitutional law experts had previously advised Dutton that he was not in breach of section 44 of the Constitution.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, RHT FAMILY TRUST, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Pyne’s defence job breaches code

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Original article by Alice Workman, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 28-Jun-19

Former defence minister Christopher Pyne has come under scrutiny over his new role as an adviser to Ernst & Young regarding the defence industry. Labor senator Penny Wong contends that Pyne is in breach of the federal government’s ministerial code of conduct, which continues to apply for 18 months after an MP leaves parliament. Wong and Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick have urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to intervene. Pyne retired from politics at the 18 May election.

CORPORATES
ERNST AND YOUNG, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Phelps should quit after alleged breach

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Original article by Ean Higgins
The Australian – Page: 7 : 15-Apr-19

It has been revealed that independent federal MP Kerryn Phelps is treating patients one day a week as a GP. Phelps has previously claimed that she has legal advice that her actions do not place her in breach of section 44 of the Constitution, which states that persons who receive money from the Commonwealth under a financial arrangement with it are ineligible to sit in parliament. Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce says Phelps should not seek re-election if she is not willing to release that legal advice.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

NAB kills off scandal-plagued mortgage referral program

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 26-Mar-19

National Australia Bank has advised that it will end its controversial ‘loan introducer’ program from 1 October. The program sees non-bank employees receive a fee for referring home loan clients, with NAB stating in 2018 that it generates one out of every 20 mortgages written by the bank. NAB also says the program has generated around $2.4 billion worth of home loans, and that around $100 million in referral fees have been paid. Interim CEO and chairman-elect Philip Chronican says he wants customers to come to NAB because of its products and services, not because a third party receives a fee for endorsing it.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE

Macquarie scraps stockbroker commissions to tackle conflicts

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis, Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 23-Oct-18

Macquarie Group has advised that it will abolish commission payments for its stockbroking advisers and move to a salary and profit share remuneration system from April 2019. Commissions were criticised by former Commonwealth Bank CEO and current AMP chairman David Murray in his Financial System Inquiry as causing the potential for conflicts of interest. However, Macquarie’s decision may not please all brokers and could lead to the departure of some staff.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, JBWERE LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CRESTONE WEALTH MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Shorten to shake up bank super

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Original article by Simon Benson, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Oct-18

Labor leader Bill Shorten has indicated that bank-owned superannuation funds could face tougher regulation under a Labor government. Noting the inherent of conflict of interests associated with profit-focused banks owning retail super funds, he said that one option could be a requirement that such funds appoint independent trustees. He also flagged the possibility of empowering the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to sack trustees of super funds that consistently underperform.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE

Mallesons in conflict over Capilano Honey takeover

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 4-Sep-18

Law firm Mallesons was understood to be advising Wattle Hill and ROC Partners on their agreed $190 million takeover bid for Capilano Honey, announced in August. However, it removed itself from that process after revealing it had been involved in the commissioning of a report that was highly critical of Capilano’s products, with the report alleging it and a number of other honey producers had products that had tested as "adulterated". Capilano has denied the claims, while it is believed Minter Ellison has replaced Mallesons as the law firm adviser on the Capilano bid.

CORPORATES
MALLESONS STEPHEN JAQUES, WATTLE HILL, ROC PARTNERS PTY LTD, CAPILANO HONEY LIMITED – ASX CZZ, MINTER ELLISON, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, BEGA CHEESE LIMITED – ASX BGA, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD