Barnaby Joyce to sell space company shares

The deputy Prime Minister will sell shares he bought for his eldest son in a leading Australian defence and space technology company.

Barnaby Joyce addresses the media at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Barnaby Joyce will sell shares he bought for his eldest son in a leading Australian defence and space technology company, conceding they presented a conflict of interest with his membership of the national security committee of cabinet.

Electro Optic Systems (EOS) is a partner with South Korea’s Hanwha, which is vying to supply tracked infantry fighting vehicles to Defence in a $27bn tender process to be decided by NSC. The Deputy Prime Minister bought the shares in trust for his son ­Sebastian after quizzing EOS executives in a parliamentary committee hearing.

“We will sell and until that happens, which is soon, I will as always excuse myself if there is a conflict,” Mr Joyce said.

He noted his son would make a loss on the transaction; the shares hit $5.64 in March and were now trading at $4.41.

EOS will supply remote weapons stations for Hanwha’s Redback, if the South Korean company beats Germany’s Rheinmetall to supply the army with 400 infantry fighting vehicles. The company is also leading a consortium to develop a new secure tactical communications system for Defence.

Mr Joyce has previously denied he had insider information when he bought the shares, after he invited the company’s representatives to provide information to a February 16 committee hearing without it being recorded in Hansard.

“I invite you to give us further information if you wish, even if you don’t want to make it formally,” he said. In a March 16 disclosure to parliament, Mr Joyce declared the purchase of an undisclosed number of shares in the company in trust for his son.

EOS later announced a technological breakthrough to the sharemarket, saying it had developed new laser technology to track and move space debris “at lower altitudes and faster speeds than ever previously possible”.

EOS told Guardian Australia the company did not provide further information beyond its public evidence.

Mr Joyce told the Guardian he bought the shares because “the idea of buying into a sovereign Australian space company seemed to be a good idea”.