Payne punts on wrong pony as horse she co-owns with lobbyist falls at conflict hurdle
If there’s one thing Defence Minister Marise Payne loves it’s ... Patti Smith’s Land, December 13, 1975:
Horses, horses, horses, horses.
So it might not surprise you that the minister is horsing around with a lobbyist. Rory Callinan reports in The Australian, yesterday:
Defence Minister Marise Payne co-owns a racehorse with a lobbyist whose company represents firms seeking lucrative Australian military contracts, including the Future Frigate project worth up to $35 billion. Senator Payne is co-owner of Tarakona, a largely unsuccessful four-year-old gelding, with a group that includes Matt Hingerty, managing director and chief executive of lobbying firm Barton Deakin.
Senator Payne says there’s neiggggh problem. AM, yesterday:
There’s no conflict of interest.
She’s the Defence Minister, is she not? Defence.gov.au ministers page:
Marise Payne is Australia’s 53rd Minister for Defence.
And Matt Hingerty’s firm represents defence contractors, does it not? The Australian, yesterday:
Barton Deakin is recorded on the federal government lobbyist register as representing defence contractors, including Lockheed Martin Overseas Group, builder of the F-35 Strike Fighter; and Fincantieri Spa, the Italian shipbuilding company.
Well, horses have always brought the great and the good together. My Fair Lady, March 15, 1956:
Ev’ry duke and earl and peer is here / Ev’ryone who should be here is here. / What a smashing, positively dashing / Spectacle: the Ascot op’ning day.
But Hingerty says it’s all OK. The Australian, continued:
Mr Hingerty said he was not involved in Defence matters for Barton Deakin. “That’s my colleague, John Griffin, and he’s not involved in the racehorse,’’ Mr Hingerty said.
Fair enough, Hingerty is not directly involved in Defence contracts … but he is Griffin’s senior at the firm. Barton Deakin website:
Matthew Hingerty: Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director.
John Griffin: Managing Director (Victoria).
Payne has a similar problem at her workplace … Greg Sheridan in The Weekend Australian, October 22, last year:
The opposition had some fun, as in truth did all Canberra, with the government’s reluctance this week to say who was the senior person: Defence Minister Marise Payne or Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne.
Marise Payne may ride off into the sunset before this is all made clear. The Australian, March 25:
Marise Payne must be shifted from defence, possibly as far as New York …
At least Payne would have more time to buy horses with her lobbyist mate. Daryl Braithwaite, January 25, 1991:
We’ll be riding with the horses, yeah.
And Greens senator Scott Ludlam surprises nobody at all with this revelation. GQ Australia, yesterday:
Interviewer: What’s your stance on legalising recreational weed …?
Ludlam: Having smoked a fair bit of it myself …
This guy has smoked pot? No way … Ludlam’s Facebook page, April 12:
It’s here. The Liberal / Labor regime of mass surveillance — mandatory data retention for every man, woman and child has started.