Stuart Robert: Questions raised over embattled minister’s three-continent trip in 2014
EMBATTLED Liberal minister Stuart Robert organised a dinner in his Parliament House office with Tony Abbott and a Chinese business mogul at the request of his donor mate, Paul Marks.
NSW
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EMBATTLED Liberal minister Stuart Robert organised a dinner in his Parliament House office with Tony Abbott and a Chinese business mogul at the request of his donor mate, Paul Marks.
Mr Robert hosted the dinner — three months out from the federal election in 2013 — so businessman Li Ruipeng could meet senior Liberals including shadow resources minister Ian Macfarlane.
The Daily Telegraph has obtained a photograph of the dinner, which shows Mr Marks, Mr Abbott and Mr Li among guests at the dinner in Mr Robert’s office.
Today’s revelations will heap further pressure on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to act against the Human Services Minister, already under investigation over a potential breach of ministerial standards.
Mr Robert is being investigated after The Daily Telegraph revealed he secretly joined donor mate Mr Marks in Beijing to attend a signing ceremony between Mr Marks’s firm, Nimrod Resources, and Chinese government-owned Minmetals.
As the mystery widens into the vacation, The Daily Telegraph has learnt Mr Robert’s written request made no mention of what he had intended to do overseas.
Mr Robert had sought personal leave for a whirlwind tour of three continents over seven days in 2014 which was to take in China, Israel and Croatia, it can be revealed.
But he failed to mention in his official request form he would be meeting with Chinese officials and attending a signing ceremony.
It is believed the request sought approval only for personal leave to visit Hong Kong, Beijing, Tel Aviv in Israel and Dubrovnik in Croatia.
While his arrival in China is not in doubt, it is unclear whether he also managed to pack Israel and Croatia into the tight seven-day break.
Mr Robert’s office last night refused to answer a list of questions including where he actually went, who he travelled with and whether he paid his own way.
The Daily Telegraph understands his formal request was received on July 28, 2014. Mr Robert was on leave from August 15-22. It was assumed he was taking a vacation.
It is also understood that the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, which has now been put in charge of investigating if the trip had breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct, recommended the leave be granted to the then-prime minister Tony Abbott.
Head of the department Martin Parkinson is due to deliver his findings today on whether there was a breach of the ministerial rules. Mr Robert denied he had breached the code of conduct.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten yesterday demanded Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull immediately sack Mr Robert and claimed the PM was delaying a dismissal until a non-sitting week in Canberra
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