Dunstan by-election ‘airbrushing’ row over Liberal candidate Dr Anna Finizio’s links to failed family business

The bitter by-election battle for the state’s most marginal seat has intensified with a Labor minister accusing the Liberal candidate of “airbrushing” her business credentials.

Liberal candidate for Dunstan Dr Anna Finizio with Liberal leader David Speirs at Norwood. Picture Brad Crouch

The bitter by-election battle for the state’s most marginal political seat has intensified after the government accused the Liberal candidate of “airbrushing” links to a failed family business.

Anna Vicki Finizio, 37, is fighting for the eastern suburbs’ electorate of Dunstan, against Labor’s candidate Cressida O’Hanlon, 51, after former premier Steven Marshall, 56, quit.

But Dr Finizio, a single lawyer and former political staffer, has come under government attack over her time as a company director of a failed family business that owed more than $22m.

Ministers also accused her of “airbrushing” details from her public profiles and social media.

Anna Finizio is seeking to help the Liberals retain the state’s most marginal seat. Picture: Emma Brasier

The new political brawl, which senior minister Tom Koutsantonis launched on Wednesday, emerged days after Ms O’Hanlon, a former political staffer and mother of four, faced Opposition claims, aired in parliament, of breaching integrity laws.

Mr Koutsantonis, the Transport Minister and manager of government business who spoke after receiving a tip-off, called for Dr Finizio to quit as a candidate or for Opposition leader David Speirs to sack her – calls the Liberals dismissed.

Company records filed with the corporate regulator show Dr Finizio, who is also a former manager at embattled accounting firm PwC, was director of FG Pty Ltd – trading as Formway Group – three times over eight years between 2009 and 2017.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission documents show she was a director between March 2009 and July 2010, October 2011 to January 2012 and a third time from September 2012 and March 2017.

She was among nine directors including other relatives, records show.

It is understood her non-executive directorship was part of a family company sold in 2018 while she is said to have had no “practical” involvement in its operations that did not form part of her professional career.

Dr Finizio insisted on Wednesday that she was a “director on paper and I had no involvement in it so that’s why I wouldn’t put something on my CV that I actually wasn’t properly involved in”.

Records show the company’s majority shareholder was Cassimo Holdings Pty Ltd, which listed Luigi Finizio, 65, now of the Gold Coast, as a director. Her stepmother Voula Finizio, 58, also had a minority shareholding.

The row erupted after Ms O'Hanlon became embroiled in an integrity row over dealings with husband James. Picture: Tom Huntley

A creditors’ report, from administrators KordaMentha, states the pair sold the business in 2018 to an investment firm – two years after making any profits and shortly after agreeing to an Australian Taxation Office “payment plan” over an almost $5m tax debt.

The company, which started operations in 1995 supplying, and maintening electrical meters, plunged into administration in July 2019 with debts of more than $22m.

It also owed 269 workers more than $1.4m in leave entitlements and at least $166,000 superannuation.

Administrators said creditors would be repaid four cents in the dollar.

Speaking outside the State Administration Centre on Wednesday, Mr Koutsantonis accused her of trying to “airbrush” her involvement “from history” but declined to accuse her of wrongdoing.

Mr Koutsantonis, who said he was not speaking under parliamentary privilege, noted Dr Finizio’s LinkedIn social media resume, had no reference to her directorships among 10 posts on her experience.

“She must have known about it – she can’t claim ignorance – she was a director,” he said.

“There’s no mention of it anywhere in Ms (sic) Finizio’s biography, on her LinkedIn, on her Facebook (page) or her campaign material.

“Ms Finizio is the first candidate in the history of the Liberal Party who doesn’t want to talk about her business experience and for very good reason. This is, quite frankly, terrible.

“There are a lot of questions for Ms Finizio to answer here.

“There’s no record of this stuff on any of her public facing documents.

“Businesses fail a lot. The issue here is keeping it a secret.”

Labor's candidate for the Dunstan by-election Cressida O'Hanlon with Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis at the 2024 Norwood Greek Festival at the Greek Orthodox Community and Parish of Prophet Elias. Picture: Facebook

He said an anonymous source was given a leaked diary, and tipped off to the financial history, from someone who was either wanting to help or hinder the Liberal Party.

But a Liberal Party spokesman said: “Dr Anna Finizio ceased to be a non-executive director in 2017 and has had no involvement in the company since.

“The family company was sold in 2018 and any issues arising occurred after her involvement. “We are used to these sorts of petty attacks from the Labor Party and Tom Koutsantonis.

“They are clearly trying to deflect from the Malinauskas Labor Government’s failure to fix ambulance ramping. This is a government with no positive agenda for the people of Dunstan.”

Ms O’Hanlon contested the seat at the 2022 state election, when she secured a 6.9 per cent swing to the Labor Party before Mr Marshall won with a 0.5 per cent margin. She also sought the Sturt federal seat against sitting Liberal James Stevens, 40.

The Dunstan by-election is next month.

Originally published as Dunstan by-election ‘airbrushing’ row over Liberal candidate Dr Anna Finizio’s links to failed family business