Gary Dawson says he opposed the website, which rated food based on nutrition, estimating it could cost the industry $200m

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

The chief executive of the Australian Food and Grocery Council, Gary Dawson, called the office of the assistant health minister, Fiona Nash, to lobby against the healthy food rating website hours before it was taken down.

The pulling of the website eventually led to the resignation of Nash’s chief-of-staff, Alastair Furnival, over claims he had a conflict of interest because of his links to the junk food industry.

Dawson opposed the website, which rated food based on nutrition, estimating it could cost the food industry $200m.

He has now revealed he rang Nash’s office on the day the website went live.

“We pointed out that we felt it was premature and that more work needs to be done before the system is launched and we think it was a sensible decision,” he told ABC 7.30.

“They did jump the gun, quite frankly, in putting the website up.”

Nash has maintained the website was pulled because it was put up prematurely. In Senate estimates she argued Furnival resigned because of media pressure, not because of his connections to the junk food industry.

Michael Moore, from the Public Health Association of Australia, helped put the site together and rejects claims it was launched prematurely.

“Of course the website was ready to go up. When I looked at it, it was working brilliantly,” he said.

Nash was questioned in Senate estimates this week about Furnival’s directorship and co-ownership of Strategic Issues Management (Sim) which owns Australian Public Affairs (APA), a lobbyist with companies that represent Kraft, Cadbury, Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Schweppes.

Nash said Furnival had provided an undertaking in writing to manage any real or perceived conflicts of interest and was in the process of divesting himself of Sim.

The special minister of state, Michael Ronaldson, refused to say whether he sent a letter of permission for Furnival to start work as a ministerial staff member while still holding a directorship of Sim.

“I’m happy to tell you this, it was common knowledge where Mr Furnival had previously worked, it was non-secret, it wasn’t hidden by anyone, it would have been clearly obvious to the Australian Labor party as it was to the government staffing committee, they were matters the government staffing committee discussed which were put back to minister Nash,” he said at Senate estimates earlier in the week.