For a quarter of a century Joel Fitzgibbon was Labor’s man in the coal-mining electorate of Hunter. Now he’s the ‘‘ideal appointment’’ to the board of a company with a large stake in New Hope’s controversial New Acland coal mine. Callum Foote reports.
It was the annual general meeting of coal investor Brickworks, in the highly un-industrial surroundings of The Establishment, a swanky bistro in George Street, Sydney.
An AGM is a time for questions. But not every question was granted an answer.
Former pro-coal Labor backbencher Joel Fitzgibbon refused to answer questions regarding his new role with coal investor Brickworks.
And the man who hired him, billionaire Robert Millner, declined to comment on whether Fitzgibbon was involved in lobbying efforts for the New Acland coal mine.
Brickworks Limited, an Australian brick-maker turned property developer and fossil fuel investor, picked up the former pro-coal Labor federal politician as its newest director this week.
Fitzgibbon announced that he would not re-contest his seat of Hunter in September last year and retired after 26 years at the election in May.
Water licence finally granted to Acland coal mine
Fitzgibbon’s arrival at the company is auspicious. Last week, coal company New Hope, in which Brickworks has a 40% stake, revealed that it had received the last of the planning approvals for its New Acland coal mine on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland. This comes after a protracted 13-year approval process.
When asked if Fitzgibbon was in any way involved in getting the approval process over the line, Millner said: “I summarised Joel’s contribution to the company in my opening address.”
The New Hope chairman said Fitzgibbon’s role would be to bring “considerable expertise in public policy, social and environmental issues and is an ideal appointment for Brickworks in managing its multiple stakeholders and regulatory expectations.”
When asked directly whether he was involved with New Acland, Fitzgibbon refused to comment, saying:
“I’m not a politician any more, mate, so I don’t talk to journalists”.
In 2022, key management personnel paid themselves almost $5 million. Robert Webster, a former NSW Liberal minister, who Fitzgibbon is replacing, was paid $162,000. The company voted to increase directors’ salary caps during the AGM.
This is before considering the shareholdings of the company’s key management personnel.
Liberals pocket $250,000
Companies associated with Millner have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Liberal Party, with New Hope donating $250,000 in 2014. The company even wrote to shareholders ahead of the 2010 federal election urging them to vote Liberal.
Shareholder advocate and Brickworks shareholder Stephen Mayne argues that Brickworks structure results in undemocratic silencing of the majority of investors in the group.
“Our undemocratic cross-shareholding arrangement with Soul Pattinson would be illegal if we tried to put it together today,’’ Mayne said. ‘‘Why are the Millner family so afraid of basic corporate democracy and what is stopping Brickworks from just steadily selling down its Soul Pattinson stake to regularise the structure of our integrated conglomerate? Brickworks is a manufacturing company, so why continue to muddy the water by retaining a 26% stake in the investment house Soul Pattinson?”
Moreover, the share structure in place at the company means the Millner family retains a grip on power. The Millner family will own less than 10% of Brickworks on a fully diluted basis but will hold the chair and deputy chair positions and have a long-standing over-representation of the Millner family on the Brickworks board.
Millner’s son Tom is a non-executive director of New Hope.
Robert Millner also specifically mentioned his support for the Narrabri gas project to address the east coast gas shortage, while refusing to comment on a domestic gas reservation policy.
Callum Foote was a reporter for Michael West Media for four years.