Liberal MP Stuart Robert delivers the statement after Question Time. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Robert resigned his directorships and offloaded his shares in his GMT Group in 2010 – three years after he was first elected to Parliament. He told Fairfax Media he structured his affairs in a way that did not breach the constitution, but has refused to provide any evidence to support this claim. It emerged this week that Mr Robert's parents were made directors of Robert International - which held shares in GMT - on September 10, 2010 - less than a month after the election. The couple's home became the registered office for Robert International almost a month later. Alan Robert said he was unaware he had been appointed director and company secretary until informed by Fairfax Media.

Liberal MP Stuart Robert takes his seat after denying any wrongdoing. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "Oh are we?" he said when told he and his wife were listed as directors of Robert International Pty Ltd between 2010 and 2016. "Blessed if I know; you'd have to talk to Stuart about that," he added. "No we haven't run it, no ... Robert International was run by our son so I'm not too sure how we figured into the directorship thing but there hasn't been any direct involvement in it, no." Mr Robert claims to have "ceased involvement" in GMT before the 2010 election, which was held on August 21. However, his father's comments suggest he was still involved in Robert International, which continued to hold shares in GMT for more than a year after the 2010 election. ASIC records show Robert International, which is the trustee company for his family trust, held shares in GMT until December 2011. By this time, GMT companies had won 356 government contracts, averaging more than $100,000 each and totalling more than $37 million.

More than 45 government agencies have used GMT, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Department of Veteran's Affairs, and CrimTrac. Mr Robert was a member of Parliament's Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence committee while many of those contracts were awarded. Having initially claimed Fairfax Media lied about speaking to his father, Mr Robert on Thursday afternoon accused it of asking "opaque" questions. He noted his father was caring for his mother, who was recovering from a heart attack. He also tabled trust documents which he said were signed by his parents in their capacity as directors, and described his father as a "sophisticated investor". Mr Robert said his arrangements had been vetted by the Liberal National Party prior to his first preselection in 2007. The LNP's former president Bruce McIver has so far refused to respond to requests for comment.

Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said a "full investigation into this matter is warranted". "The big question is why has the Prime Minister refused to express confidence in Stuart Robert despite repeated opportunities? Just how much worse does it have to get before this government acts, and catches up with the reality that this man is not fit for public office?" Labor frontbencher Andrew Leigh wrote to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on Thursday asking whether the regulator would "be investigating the allegations". During an unrelated appearance at a public hearing at Parliament House, ASIC commissioner John Price said he would "make some inquiries" following Fairfax Media's report. But he said this would not necessarily trigger a formal ASIC investigation. When Mr Robert was first elected in 2007 he remained a director of shareholder of multiple GMT companies, which he founded in 1999. He did not resign these interests until the day before the 2010 election, which produced a hung Parliament.

In a second conversation with Fairfax Media, Alan Robert said he could not recall signing multiple ASIC documents lodged in his name, including one as recently as last year handing back the directorship to his son. "I suppose if the signature's there we must have signed them," he said, adding he had never profited from the private investment company. "No, no. I think it simply might have been a matter of using our address as a mailbox or something, I'm not sure," he said. "I don't know much about it really, not sure whether that's a trust." Fairfax Media on Wednesday put a series of detailed questions to Mr Robert about Robert International and his parents' involvement. Mr Robert did not respond to the specific questions. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's office has been approached repeatedly for comment about Mr Robert's situation.

Asked if Mr Robert should give a full explanation, Attorney-General George Brandis said on Thursday he did not know enough about the case to comment. Robert International was founded in 1999. Mr Robert and his wife were listed as directors until 2010, resuming in 2016. Fairfax Media has been examining Mr Robert's business dealings after revealing GMT received $16.5 million worth of government contracts between 2007 and 2010, when Mr Robert was a director and shareholder in the multiple GMT companies. Loading Mr Robert, who was sacked from the frontbench last year, has claimed he arranged his personal finances to avoid breaching section 44 of the constitution which forbids MPs from benefiting from the Commonwealth.