Alexander Downer
Ministerial & Cabinet Positions
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mar 1996-Dec 2007)
Previous Positions
Federal MP for Mayo, SA (1984-2008)
Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (Jun 2014-Apr 2018)
Federal Leader of the Liberal Party (May 1994-Jan 1995)
Leader of the Opposition (May 1994-Jan 1995)
Vice-President, SA Liberal Party
Mining Connections
Founding Director, Bespoke Approach (2008 – Present) [1] [2]
Board Member, Lakes Oil (2013 – Present) [3]
Non-executive director, of Yellow Cake plc (2018 – Present)
Board Member, Resourcehouse Ltd (2009 – 2011) [4]
Executive Director, Australian Chamber of Commerce (1983-1984)
Advisory Board, Hakluyt & Co. (May 2008-2014) [5]
Chairman, Policy Exchange (2018 – Present)
Advisor, Shearwater Global (2018 – Present)
Principal, Tenjin Consulting (2020 – Present)
Board Member, Cappello Capital Corporation & Huawei Technologies
[1] Lobbying firm Bespoke Approach was established in 2008 by Alexander Downer, Andrew Butcher, Nick Bolkus (a former federal Senator and SA Labor politician) and Ian Smith (an English-born former govt representative and lobbyist). John Olsen (a former diplomat, SA Premier, Australian Consul-General in LA and NY, and Liberal Party politician, and currently chairman of the American Australian Association Limited) and Kevin Foley (a former SA Deputy Premier and Treasurer and Labor party politician) also advise on behalf of Bespoke Approach. Source 1: AAA, John Olsen https://www.americanaustralian.org.au/about-us/board-of-directors?id=16372 (Viewed 28/1/2019) Source 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bespoke_Approach (Viewed 28/1/2019)
Andrew Butcher is a former Melbourne journalist, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at News Corporation in NY (as business correspondent for The Times of London), and former director of the American Australian Association Limited (founded by Sir Keith Murdoch). Butcher was a long-term spokesperson for Rupert Murdoch. Butcher’s American wife, Sara James, is currently on the board of directors at the American Australian Association (AAA) and reports for ABC News Breakfast. Source 1: AAA, Sara James https://www.americanaustralian.org.au/about-us/board-of-directors?id=68535 (Viewed 28/1/2019) Source 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Butcher (Viewed 28/1/2019)
Geoffrey Thomas is also on the board of directors at the AAA. Geoffrey Thomas is brother of Justice David Thomas, ‘Honorary Texan’ of George W. Bush, Special commissioner between the State of Queensland and North America, and Deputy Chairman of the Trade and Investment Queensland Board (since 2013). Source 1: AAA, Geoffrey Thomas https://www.americanaustralian.org.au/about-us/board-of-directors?id=68556 (Viewed 28/1/2019) Source 2: The Second British Invasion; how royal cronies and the gas debate took Australia for billions (Simone Marsh for MichaelWest.com.au, 5 November 2018) https://www.michaelwest.com.au/the-second-british-invasion-how-royal-cronies-and-the-gas-debacle-took-australia-for-billions/ Source 3: Timeline for article The Second British Invasion (Simone Marsh for MichaelWest.com.au, 5 November 2018) https://www.michaelwest.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Australias-2nd-British-Invasion_Timeline-3-final-2.htm (Viewed 28/1/2019)
[2] Past and present clients of Bespoke Approach include, but are not limited to: Business Council of Australia, Santos Ltd, AGL, Lend Lease, Asciano Limited, Arrium Limited, Woodside Petroleum, The Trustees for The PricewaterhouseCoopers Services Trust, Toll Holdings, SMEC Holdings Pty Ltd, BAE Systems Australian, and ANZ The Australian and New Zealand Banking Group Limited Source: Australian Government lobbyist register https://lobbyists.pmc.gov.au/register/view_agency.cfm?id=145 (Viewed 28/1/2019) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bespoke_Approach (Viewed 28/1/2019)
[3] https://www.smh.com.au/business/downer-joins-lakes-oil-as-rinehart-board-appointee-20130201-2dp3a.html. Gina Rinehart appointed Downer to this position after she bought an 18.6% share in this oil and gas exploration company.
[4] Resourcehouse Ltd is a Clive Palmer company.
[5] In May 2008, former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer “joined Kevin Rudd’s infrastructure chief, businessman Sir Rod Eddington, in advising a secretive British firm that sells intelligence on government policy intentions – including those in Australia – to big business. The firm, Hakluyt & Co, was founded by former officers of British spy agency M16. Hakluyt has been embroiled in several corporate spying scandals and was caught in 2001 paying a former German intelligence agent to infiltrate green groups in Europe on behalf of the oil companies Shell and BP. Hakluyt employs many former British intelligence officers and provides companies with high-level business and political intelligence on investment opportunities.” Source: SMH, 15 October 2008, Journalists Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie https://www.smh.com.au/national/downer-joins-eddington-at-spy-company-20081014-506f.html(Viewed 21/1/19)
Simone Marsh was a senior environmental analyst with the Queensland Co-ordinator General. After filing her report on the environmental effects of the proposed LNG industry in June 2010, she walked out of her job and was not heard of again in the media until she testified as a whistleblower at the Queensland government parliamentary inquiry into Queensland government administration of Commonwealth government affairs in November 2014.