Exclusive: Scott Briggs, bidding for the visa privatisation contract, denies claims he made the donation through the company Southern Strategy

This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

The Liberal party is refusing to say why it scrubbed records of a $165,000 donation from a company run by Scott Briggs, a key Scott Morrison ally who is currently vying to win the government’s $1bn visa privatisation contract.

On Monday, the Liberal party declared it had received $165,000 from a company named Southern Strategy, a largely inactive political consultancy business Briggs started four years ago.

Briggs is a close friend and confidant of Morrison, a former New South Wales Liberal party deputy state director, a former colleague of immigration minister David Coleman, and a director of the Cronulla Sharks, where the prime minister is the number one ticket holder.

He is also leading a bid to win a highly lucrative but controversial contract to privatise Australia’s visa processing system on behalf of a consortium named Australian Visa Processing Pty Ltd.

Labor has previously raised concerns about a conflict of interest in the procurement process, given Briggs’s relationship to Morrison and the Liberal party, claims that have been strongly denied by Coalition ministers.

When the Guardian queried the $165,000 donation, Briggs said Southern Strategy had never made it and that the Liberal party had made a mistake.

The Liberal party also said the disclosure was a mistake.

“The Liberal party’s return will be amended to reflect this,” a spokesman said.

But neither the Liberals nor Briggs would answer questions on how the Liberal party happened to accidentally declare to the Australian electoral commission a specific donation of $165,000 from Southern Strategy – a company that has never donated before – including the company’s full address in the process.

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“That is a matter for the Liberal party,” Briggs said. “All I can confirm is that Southern Strategy made no donations to the Liberal party.”

When declaring the donation, the Liberals listed Southern Strategy’s address as being at the same George Street office as the consortium vying for the visa contract, Australian Visa Processing Pty Ltd.

The address is also home to Briggs’ other company, investment firm Pacific Blue Capital, according to company records.

Pacific Blue Capital made 14 donations worth about $90,000 to the Liberal party in 2018-19.

Labor’s shadow assistant immigration minister, Andrew Giles, said the donation and the explanation for its removal appeared “fishy”.

“If this really is an error, then the Liberal party must give a full and proper explanation,” Giles told the Guardian. “It’s quite extraordinary that a donation for $165,000 to the Liberal party has been attributed to an entity that denies the donation ever existed.”

“Is it any wonder the Australian people are losing faith in our politics?”

Company records suggest Southern Strategy is a business name held by a family trust, known as the Mezott Family Trust. The records also list its principal place of business as Briggs’ family home in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire.

Removing donations from a party’s annual return takes some time. No change had yet been made at 9am Thursday.

Evidence that it was originally declared by the Liberal party before being later deleted will remain on the Australian electoral commission’s website permanently.

The plan to privatise Australia’s visa processing system has been met with significant criticism. It has prompted fears that thousands of jobs will be lost and sensitive private information will be compromised.

The main public service union, the Community and Public Sector Union, has warned it will give private companies too much of a say over who is allowed to come to Australia.

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Briggs’ consortium Australian Visa Processing Pty Ltd is one of two key players vying for the visa privatisation contract.

Any suggestion of a conflict has been hotly disputed by Coalition ministers, who say Morrison has no role in deciding the tender. Morrison and Coleman have reportedly removed themselves from any cabinet and expenditure review committee discussions about the contract.

Similar privatisation in the United Kingdom has led to exorbitant costs and extensive delays for migrants seeking visas.

Freedom of information documents released last year showed that legislative change would be needed to privatise the visa system. That could delay the government’s plans considerably, because Labor and key crossbenchers have indicated their opposition.

On Tuesday, Giles issued a statement criticising the Liberal party’s acceptance of donations from Pacific Blue Capital.

“This is a terrible look – trust in the political system is already at an all-time low,” Giles said. “The last thing Australia needs is our visa system being sold off to the highest bidder.”

The department of home affairs says it would retain control of visa decisions under the new system. It says it has already spent more than $80m on the system’s design and procurement.

Western Sydney University academics Marina Khan and Shanthi Robertson wrote in December that the privatisation would create significant risks.

“Home Affairs claims privatisation will improve efficiency and reduce costs,” they wrote for The Conversation. “But it also comes with major risks, some we’ve seen already play out in the privatisation of immigration control through commercialised immigration detention, such as on Christmas Island.”

“These risks include corruption, consumer protection issues and damage to the overall integrity of the visa system.”