MP won’t rule out his fund manager relative Geoff Wilson as the funder of his website campaigning against Labor’s ‘retirement tax’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Scott Morrison says he will not remove Tim Wilson as chair of parliament’s economics committee, and has accused Labor of throwing “mud” at the Liberal MP for “giving retirees a voice”.

Labor on Wednesday called for Wilson to be sacked for alleged conflicts of interest and a “massive breach” of parliamentary conventions, with controversy intensifying around the use of a taxpayer-funded inquiry to spearhead partisan campaigning against Labor’s policy on franking credits.

With Labor on the attack, Morrison returned fire. “So the Labor party aren’t content with arrogantly dismissing thousands upon thousands, hundreds of thousands of retirees around our country who they basically want to steal money from with higher taxes – now they’re going to throw mud at the person who is giving those retirees a voice?”

Asked whether he would sack Wilson, Morrison replied: “No.”

Labor has intensified its offensive against Wilson, and a taxpayer-funded inquiry he is leading into the opposition’s policy to scrap cash rebates for franking credits, after new evidence emerged revealed the Liberal MP had coordinated with fund manager Geoff Wilson, chairman of Wilson Asset Management, about tactics, including protest activity to coincide with hearings.

The Liberal MP is a distant relative of the fund manager, and a shareholder in his business. According to the parliamentary register of interests, on 10 May 2017 the Liberal MP updated his register to list shareholding in Wilson Asset Management through Wilson-Bolger Superannuation Pty Ltd.

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Geoff Wilson is a vocal critic of Labor’s policy, unveiled last March, to scrap the cash refunds for excess imputation credits claimed by retirees and self-managed superannuation funds.

Tim Wilson has already sparked controversy by creating a campaign website allowing people to register to attend public hearings. That site is privately funded, and contains an authorisation by Wilson in his capacity as the chairman of standing committee on economics.

The website signs people up to not only attending the public hearings, but for a petition against “the retirement tax” and allows them to be contacted about “future activities to stop the retirement tax”.

Wilson has declined to answer direct questions from Guardian Australia about whether Geoff Wilson has funded the campaign website.

Guardian Australia asked Wilson whether Advance Australia, a conservative lobby group also opposed to Labor’s policy, had funded the website, and the Liberal MP gave a direct answer – no.

But he has not denied the fund manager’s involvement in funding the campaign website after being given several opportunities to do so.

The Liberal MP told Guardian Australia he had chosen to rule out Advance Australia funding the website because “the implication offends me”. The conservative lobby group has been critical of Wilson on occasions.

Asked if Geoff Wilson or his business had funded the site, and asked about his relationship to Geoff, Tim Wilson replied: “Geoff and Tim do share a mutual love for the mighty Melbourne Demons.

“Despite that bond, they only first met at a conference in March 2018 where they established that Tim’s father’s father’s father is Geoff’s father’s father.

“The site was developed by Tim Wilson in consultation with stakeholders to maximise its efficacy. It was funded privately, and there are no disclosures required.”

Asked whether he had coordinated campaign activity with Geoff Wilson, Tim Wilson said: “I have absolutely, categorically, worked with stakeholders to ensure there was participation in the inquiry, including Geoff Wilson.

“This inquiry is about people being heard.”

Guardian Australia has also heard an audio recording of Geoff Wilson dating from September 2018 in which Geoff Wilson claims coordination between the chairman of the taxpayer-funded inquiry and the fund manager’s six-monthly road shows.

Speaking to investors in Wilson Asset Management, Geoff Wilson says: “You know we do the six-monthly roadshows. We’d love to see you there.

“This year – I was actually talking to the chairman of the Senate committee for this hearing into franking and I was saying it’d be nice if we could have, if one of the hearings could be on a day that we’re doing our roadshow then we could do a little protest, we could have our placards and we could all walk down.

“Let’s see what comes up on that, we’ve got to maintain the pressure so that we get the result. Look forward to seeing you there.”

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At the Wilson Asset Management annual general meeting on 20 November 2018, Geoff Wilson also told investors: “This inquiry that’s starting today in Sydney, and, if you want to please take your placards. Because I was quoted in the Fin saying ‘we’ll march in the street’, so this is your marching in the street.

“So feel free to take the big ones or the little ones and meet out there at 2 o’clock. Unfortunately I’m at the AGM. But there’ll be WAM staff marching with you. Let’s march down there.

Guardian Australia revealed over the weekend Labor’s plan to complain to the Speaker of the House, Tony Smith, about Wilson’s activities. On Wednesday, the opposition declared Wilson’s position as chair of the parliamentary committee was untenable.

Matt Thistlethwaite, the deputy chair of parliament’s economics committee, said taxpayer funds should not be used to undermine Labor’s policy. “This is a massive abuse of parliamentary procedures, and the role of the House economics committee … as being above politics.

“Tim Wilson not only needs to resign, he needs to answer a few questions,” Thistlethwaite said. “He needs to answer whether or not the data he’s collected from members of the public through his website will be handed over to the Liberal party for campaign purposes.

“The people who have made submissions through that website would do so with the view they are making a submission to the House economics committee, and their personal information would not be used and abused by the Liberal party.”

Tim Wilson told Guardian Australia on Sunday he was unaware of any plans to use the data for any purpose beyond the current inquiry, and people had consented to specific future contacts.

The shadow treasurer, Chris Bowen, said the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, also had questions to answer over how the inquiry was constituted. He said the activity to date was a “taxpayer-funded partisan roadshow for partisan purposes dressed up as a House of Representatives committee”.

“Tim Wilson has no choice to resign, and if he won’t resign, the prime minister should sack him. It’s a fundamental breach of convention.”

Wilson is remaining defiant. He told Guardian Australia his position was not untenable. “I will not let Labor shut down this inquiry and I will continue to fight so almost a million retirees can have their concerns heard.”