Announcing the promise during the 2013 election campaign, Mr Abbott said it would ''re-establish Cadbury's Hobart plant as a tourist destination''. A Tasmanian government source said several discussions including face-to-face meetings took place between the government and Mr Furnival, acting for Cadbury, over an earlier proposal to relocate the confectioner's existing visitor centre. Questions being raised: Alastair Furnival. Emails seen by Fairfax Media confirm Mr Furnival's central role. The funding was signed by the Tasmanian Development Board, and officials were mystified when the plan was dropped. The revelation is further evidence of Mr Furnival's close relationship with the food industry in the period just before he was appointed chief of staff to Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash. It also raises the question as to what role if any he played in establishing links or brokering a deal between Cadbury and the federal Liberal Party for millions in taxpayer funds.

Mr Furnival is understood to have strong links to a number of Coalition MPs and last year took part in the ''Pollie Pedal'' charity ride with Mr Abbott, of which Cadbury was a sponsor. Said there was no conflict of interest: Fiona Nash. Credit:Peter Rae Mr Furnival did not return calls on Thursday. A Tasmanian government source said Mr Furnival had boasted of his close links to Mr Abbott during the discussions in the second half of 2012. Asked some specific questions, Mr Abbott's office said only: ''In a detailed public statement on 28 August 2013, the Coalition committed to contributing $16 million to a $66 million upgrade of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory in Claremont to help re-establish the iconic tours of the chocolate factory. It followed the release of the Coalition's Economic Growth Plan for Tasmania. The policy was well publicised and well understood before the election on September 7, and the people of Tasmania voted for it.''

Mr Abbott was subsequently asked directly at a media conference on Friday when he first started discussions with Cadbury about the $16 million in assistance and whether Mr Funrval was involved or helped facilitate the talks. The Prime Minister said that the government ''could not have been more transparent on this''. ''During the election campaign there was an announcement that we would spend $16 million essentially on tourism infrastructure that was very important for southern Australia. We made that announcement upfront during the election campaign,'' he said. ''We took it to the people and the people spoke and it's going to go ahead.'' Mr Furnival resigned last week after Fairfax Media revealed he had intervened to shut down a state and territory controlled healthy food rating website. Senator Nash first told Parliament he had no connection with a junk food-lobbying firm, Australian Public Affairs, before later clarifying he had ''a shareholding'' she and the Prime Minister's office were aware of.

In fact, documents lodged with the corporate regulator show the only shareholder is another company, Strategic Issues Management, of which Mr Furnival and his wife, are 50-50 owners. Until last week Mr Furnival was its director. Senator Nash has said there was no conflict of interest because he had distanced himself from the company, and his wife did not lobby for her food industry clients. Labor health spokeswoman Catherine King said the more that came out on Mr Furnival the more it became clear that he was ''not just anybody'' but was known to the Prime Minister's office. While in government she had been responsible for a $100 million Tasmanian jobs and growth plan, but had never been approached by Cadbury seeking funding for its upgrade. ''It was never in the mix, and that does seem somewhat strange to me,'' Ms King said. Loading

A spokeswoman for Cadbury said all dealings with government and oppositions were handled by its company directors, and decisions about the Cadbury grant would follow the same process. Follow us on Twitter