Full interview: MP Stuart Robert breaks his silence on last week’s travel expenses scandal, saying he stuffed up and vows to do better

THE Gold Coast Bulletin sat down with MP Stuart Robert for his sorry response to last week’s scandal which will now see him spend more time in his electorate.

Gold Coast MP and former Minister Stuart Robert back home on the Coast while controversy continues in Canberra over his travel expenses. Picture Glenn Hampson

GOLD Coast MP Stuart Robert says he will recontest the seat of Fadden in the Federal election, despite losing his spot in the Turnbull Ministry over taxpayer-funded trips he took that were linked with his personal share portfolio.

Speaking for the first time since his dramatic fall from grace last week, the former Veterans Affairs and Human Services Minister admitted he’d probably made a mistake — but continued to downplay the controversies that saw him demoted to the backbench.

Gold Coast MP and former Minister Stuart Robert back home on the Coast while controversy continues to boil in Canberra over his travel expenses. Picture Glenn Hampson

His troubles started just 144 days into his ministry when it was revealed he had travelled to China to support Liberal donor Paul Marks, who is linked to two companies the MP held shares in.

A resulting investigation by the Prime Minister’s Department secretary Martin Parkinson found he had breached ministerial standards, although he “may not have intended to do so”.

STUART ROBERT WRAPS UP MINISTERIAL WORK

MP STUART ROBERT QUITS FRONTBENCH

Despite saying he took full responsibility for his actions, Mr Robert yesterday blamed his trustee, who he declined to name, for not telling him he owned the shares — which he said were given to him without his knowledge.

He could not say whether he still owned the shares, or if the anonymous trustee held others for him without his knowledge.

Disgraced MP Stuart Robert says he ‘stuffed up’. Picture Glenn Hampson

“I’ve got no criticism at all in terms of what’s happened,” he said.

“You need to take responsibility if you’ve stuffed up and you put your hand up in the air and you say, ‘I’ve stuffed up and I’m sorry and I will work harder and do better, it was an error of judgement’.”

Mr Robert rejected speculation that details of the 2014 China trip, and another to North Queensland in 2013 to open a mine in which he also held shares, had been leaked by supporters of Tony Abbott.

The Fadden MP and the former Prime Minister were long-time friends before Mr Robert backed Malcolm Turnbull in the dramatic spill late last year.

Mr Robert yesterday told the Department of Finance he would repay the public funds used to travel to the opening Townsville, despite saying he was there to see former Premier Campbell Newman in his capacity as Shadow Minister for Defence Materiel.

The Gold Coast Bulletin sat down with Mr Robert for his response to the events which will now see him spend more time in his electorate.

Minister under fire Stuart Robert during Question Time at Parliament House last Thursday.

MEA (SORTA) CULPA

“Just because we make a mistake, to err is human unfortunately, we have errors of judgment, the key is to learn from them and grow and move on.

“What I said to the parliament, that I believe I acted appropriately, was true — I wasn’t aware of the share issue at all, it was the trustee.

“However, I do understand and I do appreciate that merely turning up to an event like that was probably an error of judgment.

“Being a minister or anyone in public life, you’ve got to be above reproach and to be seen to be above reproach.

“A key with being a minister is that you’re always a minister — regardless of being on leave.

“The company secretary did not inform my professional trustee who manages it.

“There’s not a lot I can do about it. Dr Parkinson interviewed everyone in this case, including all of these trustees, including the company secretary and they all said the same thing and documents all showed it, so it’s not conjecture.

“My job is to be aware of any beneficial interests, even if I’m not aware of it (laughing). As a minister I can’t say, ‘Hey, I wasn’t aware of it’. Ministerial standards are very clear.”

Mr Robert admits he stuffed up but says he ‘didn’t know he had shares in the mining company’ that caused him so much grief and he still doesn’t know. Picture Glenn Hampson

THE SHARES

Asked if he still had the shares which had caused him so much grief, Mr Robert said he did not know.

“Ah, well they were given and put in a trustee’s name and we didn’t know about it and as soon as we did find out about it, we write back to the company secretary to say, ‘I didn’t ask for them, so you can take them back again’.”

Mr Robert, who regained formal control of his own company, Robert International, on Monday, said he did not know whether or not that had happened.

“I didn’t buy them and there’s no financial gain out of them, they’re not worth anything.

“They were given to an individual to be held on my behalf … no, I’m not going to tell you who they are.”

He said he was investigating whether he held any other shares he didn’t know about.

“As a minister, everything is held in trust for you — you’re not actually holding it yourself,” he said.

“I’m in the process of saying ‘Trustees, what have you done? What good things or bad have you done?’.”

The former Federal Minister for Human Services and Veterans' Affairs Stuart Robert remained tight lipped about Tony Abbott and a revenge plot during the interview.

ON ABBOTT’S REVENGE

Mr Robert gave no credit to speculation supporters of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott had leaked the story to media in revenge for his backing of Malcolm Turnbull in last year’s leadership spill.

Asked if he thought an Abbott staffer could have been involved he said, “I don’t know”.

Mr Robert said he last spoke to Mr Abbott, who he once considered a close friend, last Wednesday, with the latter saying “tough week”.

“I’m not trying to shift responsibility or blame — I accept full responsibility.

“There’s no question — I’m not a victim here.”

Minister for Human Services Stuart Robert arrives at a family fun day at The Lodge in Canberra on two weeks ago — before the scandal broke. He says the China trip was a massive mistake.

THE CHINA TRIP

“I’m more than happy to put my hand in the air and say ‘You know what, even as unintentional as the share was, there’s still, if you sit back and look at it, it probably didn’t look right’.

“As a minister, I shouldn’t have been there for it.

“I could have walked out and I didn’t and I accept responsibility and I apologise for that.

“If we’ve done the wrong thing and, in my case, Secretary Parkinson said I had and I accept that, I will vow to do better.

“I probably showed some poor judgment — it was a mistake — we learn from it and move on.

“If I had my time again, I would not have attended the technical committee signing — it was not a mining deal, it was, all these things are done well before.

“It was bigger than I thought it would be and I should have said, ‘Actually no, I’m not going to that’, that would have been a good thing to do in hindsight and I accept that.”

‘I just wanted time with the Premier’ Stuart Robert says of his Townsville trip. Picture Ella Pellegrini

THE TOWNSVILLE TRIP

Asked whether he’d opened the Evolution Mining goldmine in North Queensland in his capacity as an elected official or as a shareholder, Mr Robert said he went because he was invited by the then non-executive director Paul Marks.

“What I really wanted to do was get time with the Premier,” he said.

“I knew he was going to be there, it was no coincidence.

“I knew it was going to take pretty much half a day and the Premier can’t go anywhere.”

He would not reveal whether he knew at the time he held shares in the mining company.

“In Evolution? I wouldn’t have even thought of it,” he said.

“If I had, it would have been declared.”

Questioned on how he thought voters would view the publicly funded trip to the opening of a mine he had shares in, Mr Robert said “Yeah, I get the question, I get the concern that you’re raising. I suppose turning up with the Premier isn’t really adding any financial benefit to me or the company”.

“I was focused on chatting with the Premier,” he said.

“Me turning up is not going to add any value to the share price — it just didn’t cross my mind in terms of a conflict of interest.

“However, one should consider these things and I probably should have.”

THE INVESTIGATION

“It’s disappointing but the Prime Minister’s been excellent.

“The process he put in place with secretary Parkinson was extraordinarily fair and I’ve got nothing but praise for how the Prime Minister handled this and how secretary Parkinson responded.

“I’m disappointed for my constituents — I feel that I’ve let them down in some respects.

“The $95 million for light rail phase two that I got gets the phase up and running. I can say without me involved that just wouldn’t have happened for the Coast.

“It’s just the way these things roll sometimes.”

INTERNAL SUPPORT

Mr Robert said “almost everyone” in the government had called him to see how we was going, but would not name anyone specifically.

“My colleagues have been superb, they’ve just been wonderful ... as you’d expect from a very professional set of government ministers and backbenchers.”

‘Happy to be home’ MP Stuart Robert. Picture Glenn Hampson

BACK HOME

“It’s lovely to be home, lovely to see my family and the kids.

“It will be great to interact more fully with the Gold Coast.

“I always spend a few days here — it would be good to spend full weeks here.

“Your wife’s always aware of these things.

“Spouses who are conscripts in the game of politics, I think they feel things more keenly than the rest of us.

“I know how these issues come about and I’m man enough to say, ‘Hey, I got something wrong.

“I probably should have shown better judgment and I will next time but I feel a lot for spouses because they are unwitting partners on the journey, which is sort of sad.

“The church is great. I’ve always been involved in church — 70 per cent of Australians believe in God — I’ve always been involved with the church.

“I’m not hiding from anyone — I’m open for anyone to come and see me at anytime.”