Former resources minister denies position breaches ministerial code, saying ‘I’m not a lobbyist ... I am a CEO of a state representative organisation’

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Former resources minister Ian Macfarlane said he checked with the prime minister’s office prior to accepting a job as chief executive of the Queensland Resources Council, following accusations he had breached the ministerial code.

The Coalition government’s statement of ministerial standards says ministers should not “lobby, advocate or have business meetings with members of the government” for 18 months, on any matters for which they were responsible.

“It doesn’t [breach the code], the QRC is a registered representative body, not a lobbyist and I have also checked it off with the prime minister’s office and they approved it,” Macfarlane told Guardian Australia.

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“I’m not a lobbyist, I know what a lobbyist is, I have met more lobbyists than I’ve had hot dinners. I am a CEO of a state representative organisation.”

Asked whether it would have been wise to wait the 18 months stated in the ministerial code to ensure there were no doubts, Macfarlane said “I didn’t have to, I am not a lobbyist”.

The Greens senator Lee Rhiannon said if Macfarlane breached the ministerial statement, Malcolm Turnbull would be complicit and would have “serious questions to answer”.

“If prime minister Turnbull has signalled he is ‘cool’ with Mr Macfarlane potentially breaching the standards then that is extraordinary. In undermining the ministerial standards, the prime minister exposes his false commitment to cleaning up politics,” Rhiannon said.

“Advocacy and lobbying on behalf of the resources industry is the Queensland Resources Council’s bread and butter, that has been their chief activity for the past 11 years.

“The ministerial standards are in place for a reason, and the guidelines are crystal clear. Whether or not the QRC is defined as a lobbying organisation has no relevance to the potential breach here.”

The code under section 2.24 says: “Ministers are required to undertake that, for an 18-month period after ceasing to be a minister, they will not lobby, advocate or have business meetings with members of the government, parliament, public service or defence force on any matters on which they have had official dealings as minister in their last 18 months in office.



“Ministers are also required to undertake that, on leaving office, they will not take personal advantage of information to which they have had access as a minister, where that information is not generally available to the public.”

Macfarlane said because the QRC was a state-based body, the code did not effect him because he was a federal minister.



“The reality is that QRC is a state-based organisation and I was a federal minister,” he told the ABC. “That means I will be able to comply with the code.”

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Macfarlane was dumped from cabinet on 20 September when Turnbull announced his reshuffle. The BB Mining Club tweeted on 28 September that Macfarlane had given a “fantastic speech” at the QRC Resources Roundup. Macfarlane’s speech was listed on the events page of the QRC but the website page was down on Tuesday afternoon.



BBMiningClub (@BBMining) Fantastic speech by Ian Macfarlane at the @QRCouncil Resources Roundup. #mining #networking

Macfarlane’s appointment to the QRC came just four months after former prime minister Tony Abbott paid tribute to his colleague, calling on the mining industry to “demonstrate their gratitude” for the MP who had scrapped the mining tax.



“The member from Groom, Ian Macfarlane, was the resources minister who scrapped the mining tax,” Abbott said.



“This was the job-destroying, investment-killing tax which did not raise any revenue. It was a magnificent achievement by the member for Groom in his time as minister reborn, as it were.



“I hope this sector will acknowledge and demonstrate their gratitude to him in his years of retirement from this place.”