Andrew Giles denies he did a fundraiser for candidate at the Victorian state election
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has denied in parliament that he did a fundraiser for a candidate at the Victorian state election, despite a flyer for the event describing it as one.
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Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has denied in parliament that he did a fundraiser for a candidate at the Victorian state election, despite a flyer for the event describing it as one.
In a fiery exchange in the Federation Chamber on Wednesday afternoon Mr Giles responded angrily to an interjection from Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan accusing him of using a trip to the town of Colac to raise money for the Labor candidate for the seat of Polwarth, Hutch Hussein.
“Actually, I think you might want to withdraw that, I did not. I did not do that,” Mr Giles said.
“I met with local businesses with the local candidate, you should think about that mate.
“I did not do a fundraiser in Colac. Okay?”
Mr Tehan then asked Mr Giles to confirm that he had “not done a fundraiser with the local candidate”.
“I may have done a fundraiser but not while I was in Colac, Dan, and you should be very clear about making allegations,” Mr Giles said.
But the advertisement for the “Skilled Migration Business Roundtable“ held on October, 21, says “tickets for this fundraiser include a donation component which will be identified on your receipt” in its authorisation.
A spokeswoman for Mr Giles said that no money had been charged to attend the event and that she could explain why it had been described as a fundraiser on the authorisation.
She said questions about the advertisement should be directed to Ms Hussein’s campaign.
The event was one of two fundraisers advertised by the ALP featuring the Immigration Minister that are in support of Ms Hussein’s campaign.
On October 11, Mr Giles was also the star attraction at an online fundraiser at which he was scheduled to speak on “how the ALP can bring the heart and brains back into our refugee and skilled migration approaches”.
Mr Giles has come under fire in recent weeks over a series of fundraisers he has appeared at that have been attended by migration agents, including a $1000-a-head private dinner attended by several Indian Australian migration agents.
Do you want to hear how the ALP will be bringing the heart â¤ï¸and brains 🧠back into our refugee and skilled migration approaches? 🤷ðŸ»â€â™€ï¸ Join my online 💻 fundraiser with Immigration Minister, @andrewjgiles, next Tues 11/10, 7.30-8.30pm from 🡠Tix $20/$10 📲 https://t.co/QvkccHngclpic.twitter.com/v31ky74o2l
— Hutch Hussein (@HutchHussein) October 3, 2022
On Monday, Mr Giles was quizzed about the events in an appearance on Sky News Australia in which he conceded he had been lobbied over visa policies at them.
But he denied discussing individual cases.
“People raise issues of immigration policy, as they do with me in the street from time to time, and that dialogue about ideas about how the system should work better I think is important,” he said.
Earlier this month Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil defended her colleague on the ABC‘s Insiders after she was asked by host David Speers whether it was appropriate for the immigration minister to be attending fundraisers with migration agents.
Describing the events as “part of the job”, Ms O’Neil said “going to community events, and talking to community groups” and “raising money is a part of the work we do as Members of Parliament”.
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