Secret federal Treasury documents reveal former Labor prime minister Paul Keating pressed Treasurer Jim Chalmers to reject Canadian private equity giant Brookfield’s attempted so-called “scam” to buy Origin Energy for $20 billion.
The dialogue is notable because Dr Chalmers was due to adjudicate on Brookfield’s play for Origin – on foreign investment and competition issues – before shareholders led by AustralianSuper struck down the deal and spared the treasurer from making a call.
Loading...
John Kehoe is economics editor at Parliament House, Canberra. He writes on economics, politics and business. John was Washington correspondent covering Donald Trump’s first election. He joined the Financial Review in 2008 from Treasury. Connect with John on Twitter. Email John at jkehoe@afr.com
