Assistant Treasurer, Arthur Sinodinos, is expected to table a Bill to amend the Future of Financial Advice legislation in Parliament this week, amid calls for the Senator to stand aside during corruption investigations.
Speaking on the ABC’s Lateline on 11 March, Senator Sinodinos said the legislation which would enact the Government’s FoFA changes was due to be introduced into Parliament this week.
Responding to a question from Lateline’s Emma Alberici about whether the reforms were a response to lobbying by the big four banks and AMP, Senator Sinodinos said the amendments process would commence this week with the introduction of legislation into Parliament. He also said he would be “keeping a very close eye” on how the industry responded to the reforms, to make sure that behaviours remained in the spirit of the original legislation.
However, the passage of the FoFA amendment legislation may be complicated by corruption allegations levelled at the Senator for his involvement with Australian Water Holdings (AWH), currently under investigation by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
Two separate ICAC investigations, known as Operation Credo and Operation Spicer, are examining allegations that, between 2004 and 2012, persons with an interest in AWH obtained a financial benefit through adversely affecting the official functions of Sydney Water Corporation (SWC), and that members of parliament corruptly solicited, received and concealed payments from various sources in return for favouring the interests of those responsible for the payments.
In 2008, Senator Sinodinos was the Treasurer of the NSW branch of the Liberal Party, and was also a director of AWH, with a 5% equity share in the company.
At a media ‘door stop’ earlier this week, Kelvin Thomson, Federal Member for Wills in Victoria and Labor back-bencher, said he believed Mr Sinodinos should step down from his current position while the ICAC hearings took place.
“If he doesn’t, Tony Abbott should require him to do that. I think these are very unsatisfactory arrangements. It’s clear that the Liberal Party understands that these are dodgy dealings – it’s handed back the campaign donation that it received as a consequence of the dealings – and I think that it would be in the best interests of the integrity of the system if Senator Sinodinos were to step aside.”
The Prime Minister was asked during Question Time yesterday whether he had full confidence in Senator Sinodinos following the allegations. Prime Minister Abbott replied: “The short answer is ‘yes'”.
The Prime Minister went on to highlight that the matters being investigated by ICAC happened prior to Mr Sinodinos becoming a Parliamentary Minister.
“The Senator has been asked to assist an inquiry into a particular company; he is doing so fully and frankly, as you would expect. Senator Sinodinos has served our country long and faithfully as a Treasury official and as the chief of staff to a Prime Minister, as well as a member of this Parliament. Quite properly, Senator Sinodinos has kept the Senate updated on this matter, and I refer people to his statements.”
Is resigning and standing aside until the ICAC hearing into the AWH affair is over the same thing. i wouldn’t have thought so.
But good track record or otherwise why would Senator Sinodinos ever want to have an association with any business arrangement in which Eddie Obeid was involved. Whether or not it was before the Obeid balloon went up or not it is odds on not to end well for the senator unfortunately. The timing of this for our industry could hardly have come at a worse time surely. If there is any truth to the reported level of remuneration $200,000 for 100 hours work with AWH it will be a very bad look.
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