Bruce Billson paid $75k salary by lobby group while an MP

by Elizabeth Minter | Jul 8, 2020 | Conflicts of Interest, Liberal Party, QED

Conflicts of Interest | Liberal Party | QED

Bruce Billson

Bruce Billson paid $75k salary by lobby group while an MP

March 2016

Former Liberal minister took a job with the Franchise Council of Australia in March 2016 while he was still an MP. He didn’t leave parliament until May 9.

According to Guardian Australia, parliament’s privileges committee criticised Billson for ignoring “the primacy of the public interest” in taking and failing to disclose paid lobbying work. Billson failed to disclosed in parliament’s register of interests that he had started drawing a $75,000-a-year salary as executive chairman and independent director of the FCA. Billson also revealed to the committee that he had provided services to the FCA through his company Agile Advisory.

The committee recommended that he by censured but stopped short of finding that his conduct amounted to a contempt of Parliament, which can lead to potential penalties of six months in prison or a $5000 fine. On March 27, 2018, parliament censured Billson

In October 2017 the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet had cleared Billson of breaching ministerial guidelines and the lobbying code of conduct, according to Guardian Australia.

What's a rort?

Conflicts of Interest

Redirecting funding to pet hobbies; offering jobs to the boys without a proper tender process; secretly bankrolling candidates in elections; taking up private sector jobs in apparent breach of parliament’s code of ethics, the list goes on.

Deceptive Conduct

Claiming that greenhouse gas emissions have gone down when the facts clearly show otherwise; breaking the law on responding to FoI requests; reneging on promised legislation; claiming credit for legislation that doesn’t exist; accepting donations that breach rules. You get the drift of what behaviour this category captures.

Election Rorts

In the months before the last election, the Government spent hundreds of millions of dollars of Australian taxpayers’ money on grants for sports, community safety, rural development programs and more. Many of these grants were disproportionally awarded to marginal seats, with limited oversight and even less accountability.

Dubious Travel Claims

Ministerial business that just happens to coincide with a grand final or a concert; electorate business that must be conducted in prime tourist locations, or at the same time as party fundraisers. All above board, maybe, but does it really pass the pub test? Or does it just reinforce the fact that politicians take the public for mugs?

Bruce Billson paid $75k salary by lobby group while an MP

Bruce Billson paid $75k salary by lobby group while an MP

What's a rort?

Conflicts of Interest

Deceptive Conduct

Election Rorts

Dubious Travel Claims

Thank you!

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