Stuart Robert referred to anti-corruption commission

Former minister and recently-retired Gold Coast Liberal MP Stuart Robert will be referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission over allegations a lobbying firm directed money to him in return for winning government contracts.

Former Government Services Minister Stuart Robert. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Former minister and recently-retired Gold Coast Liberal MP Stuart Robert will be referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission following the recommendation of a parliamentary inquiry which heard allegations a lobbying firm set up a fund to direct money to him in return for winning government contracts and setting up meetings.

Mr Robert labelled the inquiry and its recommendations as a “farce” with “zero evidence” and called it a “transparent political payback”.

The audit committee inquiry into Services Australia and NDIA procurement handed down its interim report on Wednesday, called for the NACC to examine material gathered to date to determine if it would conduct its own investigation.

Mr Robert, political fundraiser Mr John Margerison, Synergy 360 principal Mr David Milo have all strongly denied the claims made before the inquiry.

Inquiry chair and Labor MP Julian Hill said referrals to the NACC, which was established in July, should never be made lightly.

“There appears to be no other appropriate course of action,” Mr Hill said in the House of Representatives.

He said the inquiry had heard allegations of financial impropriety, improper relationships and undisclosed conflicts of interest, but did not have the resources required for a fuller investigation.“

An agency with compulsory questioning, document gathering, and investigatory powers should take up the matter so these allegations can be properly assessed,” Mr Hill said.

Mr Robert said it was not a surprise that the “Labor-dominated committee” using parliamentary privilege was “using the NACC as a political weapon”.

“A committee that has received zero evidence, used stolen emails and relied on a rambling incoherent testimony that is refuted, in writing, by every other witness, by every document and by every date that he got wrong,” he said.

“A committee that has the extensive and detailed Watt review in front of them that says there is zero misconduct.

“What an obviously transparent political payback.”

Parliamentary audit committee chair Julian Hill. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

In June this year a signed document, presented under privilege to the parliamentary committee, claimed a fund called United Marketing was set up by lobbying firm Synergy 360 to “facilitate the flow of funds through United Marketing and onward to Stuart Robert” during the time he was Government Services Minister.

The claim, made by Anthony Daly the ex-partner of former Synergy 360 director Kham Xaysavanh, said the main objective of the arrangement was “to secure Stuart Robert’s involvement and support in acquiring federal government contracts”.

At the time Mr Robert rejected the claims in “the strongest possible terms” and called them “wild allegations” that had no evidence.

Mr Robert retired from federal parliament earlier this year, triggering the Fadden by-election held in July.

The committee also recommended seeking legal advice on what the inquiry’s statutory powers were when a person claims to be a resident overseas, after Mr Margerison’s lawyer advised his client could not appear before the inquiry as he now lived overseas.