by Ganesh Sahathevan
As previously reported on this blog:
Gamuda has a long and illustrious history in its home country, Malaysia, as this writer well knows. In 1997 another reporter and he revealed that Gamuda was launching an IPO on the basis of an incomplete prospectus, based on a project funded by the Malaysian national superannuation fund at ridiculously low rates. We were sacked for doing so.
Gamuda's cash surpluses that are now enabling its expansion into Australian wind and solar, come from toll road operations imposed on users in Malaysia's Klang Valley.It is not unfair to say that it ranks among Malaysia's most reviled, for that that reason alone.
As anticipated, Gamuda is now implicated in a scandal in Australia. The Australian has reported:
A registered lobbyist organised a meeting with his state Transport Minister brother-in-law for a client, a major engineering company vying to win a
The Australian can reveal that Counsel House lobbyist Pete Coulson invited Gamuda Engineering to an “intimate” budget-night fundraiser in aid of Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Brent Mickelberg, the brother of Mr Coulson’s wife.
While Mr Coulson and Mr Mickelberg have received advice not to engage in lobbying with each other, the minister and the representative from Gamuda Engineering met and spoke at the Parliament House event.
........(Gamuda) tried to give the party $25,000 to sponsor the LNP’s major post-budget lunch but the donation was returned.
TO BE READ WITH
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A registered lobbyist organised a meeting with his state Transport Minister brother-in-law for a client, a major engineering company vying to win a $5bn state government contract to build a new Sunshine Coast rail line.
The Australian can reveal that Counsel House lobbyist Pete Coulson invited Gamuda Engineering to an “intimate” budget-night fundraiser in aid of Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Brent Mickelberg, the brother of Mr Coulson’s wife.
While Mr Coulson and Mr Mickelberg have received advice not to engage in lobbying with each other, the minister and the representative from Gamuda Engineering met and spoke at the Parliament House event.
Mr Coulson was not part of the conversation and was elsewhere in the room.
Gamuda has been preparing to bid for one of the biggest projects in Mr Mickelberg’s portfolio – the Direct Sunshine Coast Rail Line, now called “the Wave” – since November, when it hired a Brisbane-based “bid manager” focused on tendering for the public transport link.
When finished, there will be rail from the existing train station at Beerwah (on the southern end of the coast) to Birtinya (part of Kawana), and then “metro” express buses from Birtinya to the Sunshine Coast airport via Maroochydore.
Before winning the October state election, the LNP promised to deliver a heavy rail line all the way to Maroochydore.
The Australian reported in June that Mr Coulson had organised the guest list for Mr Mickelberg’s fundraiser, but the lobbyist said he wasn’t at the event in a professional capacity and had never lobbied his brother-in-law as minister.
Mr Coulson’s invitation to prospective guests spruiked Treasurer David Janetzki as the guest of honour, and described the event as a “rare opportunity for key stakeholders” and others to gain “insider access to budget insights and transport priorities”.
Gamuda did not donate to the LNP to attend the event. In late May, the company tried to give the party $25,000 to sponsor the LNP’s major post-budget lunch but the donation was returned.
It is understood the party wanted the company to seek a declaration from the Queensland electoral commission that they were not a prohibited donor, to make sure the LNP did not fall foul of the law banning property developer donations.
A spokesman for Mr Mickelberg’s department said he could not say whether Gamuda was one of the project’s proponents because the department was “currently in a procurement process for The Wave, which is subject to probity”.
The departmental spokesman said there was “no requirement for a probity adviser to be present at all interactions involving a minister and industry representatives”.
“The Minister for Transport and Main Roads has not been involved in any the procurement activities undertaken by (the Department of Transport and Main Roads) regarding The Wave,” he said.
It comes as Counsel House added multinational transport giant Uber to its list of registered lobbying clients in Queensland in late June.
The Australian understands that when Mr Coulson cannot lobby his Transport Minister brother-in-law on behalf of clients, another registered lobbyist – Melbourne-based Drew Douglas – will step in.
Mr Douglas was a senior political and policy adviser to Victorian Labor Premier Jacinta Allen when she was the deputy premier and transport minister. Neither Mr Coulson nor Gamuda Australia responded to questions.
Malaysia-based Gamuda has won several huge government transport projects in NSW, including Sydney’s Metro West underground metro rail, an extension of the M1 motorway, and the Coffs Harbour bypass.
In June, Mr Coulson – who worked for LNP leaders Deb Frecklington and Tim Nicholls in opposition – said he had supported the LNP for 20 years and would continue to do so.
“My relationship with Minister Mickelberg is properly declared, and I don’t represent clients in matters under his portfolio,” he said.
“I have never lobbied Minister Mickelberg in his ministerial capacity. Counsel House follows all lobbying laws and has backed stronger regulation in a recent submission to the integrity commissioner.”
Nationwide News Pty Ltd.
