Coalition gave Albo pick’s firm $3.6bn in grants

The consultancy firm that employs the Labor candidate for the key battleground seat of Parramatta has received $3.6 billion in commonwealth government contracts from the Coalition government.

Labor candidate for Parramatta Andrew Charlton. Picture: Britta Campion/The Australian

The consultancy firm that employs the Labor candidate in the key battleground seat of Parramatta has received $3.6bn in commonwealth government contracts from the Coalition ­government.

The Australian can also reveal the management consultancy firm that employs the husband of Kristina Kenneally has received $221 million in commonwealth grants over the same period.

Andrew Charlton, a high profile economist and former adviser to Kevin Rudd, and Ms Kenneally, Labor’s border protection spokeswoman, were both parachuted into multicultural electorates in Sydney’s west.

Mr Charlton is running in the seat of Parramatta while Ms Kenneally is contesting Fowler.

Austender data shows that international consultancy firm Accenture has been awarded $3.6bn in commonwealth contracts since September 2013, when the Coalition government came to power.

This includes more than $700 million since Mr Charlton joined the company in February 2020 when Accenture acquired his boutique consultancy firm ­AlphaBeta.

A Labor Party spokeswoman said that Mr Charlton did not receive commission from Accenture and was not currently receiving a salary.

“Mr Charlton is not on a commission-based payment structure at Accenture and he is not receiving a salary from Accenture,” she said.

“He is firmly committed to the Parramatta electorate.”

Mr Charlton moved from a $16 million mansion in Bellevue Hill in the eastern suburbs to run in Parramatta for Labor and a number of local candidates were knocked back for preselection.

Retiring MP Julie Owens holds the seat on a margin of 3.5 per cent on two-party preferred terms after suffering a swing of 4.17 per cent at the 2019 election.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has visited the seat five times to support his captain’s pick Maria Kovacic, in a sign the Coalition believes it can snatch the seat from Labor.

Independent candidate for Parramatta Steve Christou, a former Cumberland City mayor, said Mr Charlton’s background and wealth made it impossible for him to understand the constituents of the electorate.

“He [Mr Charlton] cannot when you’re worth that kind of money and come from Bellevue Hills, you possibly cannot understand the struggle to pay the mortgage and the bills and put food on the table,” he said.

“To pretend you do is quite frankly an insult.”

Austender data also reveals that Boston Consulting Group, for whom Ms Kenneally’s husband Ben is a managing director, has received $221 million in commonwealth contracts since September 2013.

A Labor Party spokeswoman said Mr Kenneally did not work on the global management consulting firm’s commonwealth public sector projects.

“As has been previously reported, Mr Keneally does not work on BCG’s Commonwealth public sector projects.”

Ms Kenneally, a former NSW premier, moved more than 40km from Scotland Island in Sydney’s northern beaches into the diverse electorate of Fowler late last year.

About 16.3 per cent of the population identified as Vietnamese at the last census while 11.2 per cent identified as Chinese.

Labor holds the electorate on a hefty margin of 14 per cent, although retiring MP Chris Hayes suffered a swing of 3.5 per cent against him at the 2019 election.

Ms Kenneally is facing Liberal candidate Vietnamese-born real estate agent Courtney Nguyen and high-profile independent Dai Le.

Ms Le, a former refugee and Fairfield City Council deputy mayor, said Ms Kenneally’s candidacy was a slap in the face for the electorate.

“Our community doesn’t need a saviour from the Northern Beaches,” she said.

“We are capable of having one of our own representing us at the highest level of government.”

Ms Kenneally was preselected over local Vietnamese Australian lawyer Tu Le, who had Mr Hayes’ backing.