Ex-minister spruiks his wares with official images of old

Former Liberal trade minister ­Andrew Robb is using photos of official Australia-China government events to spruik his business interests.

A screenshot showing the website of andrewrobb.com.au.

Former Liberal trade minister ­Andrew Robb is using photos of official Australia-China government events featuring Tony ­Abbott and Xi Jinping to spruik his private business interests in Asia.

Mr Robb, who retired as Australia’s trade minister in 2016, is using the historic image of him signing a trade agreement, while the then prime minister and the Chinese President watch, on his website andrewrobb.com.au.

The word “services” has been placed on the photo, under which the website promotes the benefits Mr Robb would deliver a business.

“Andrew Robb Pty Ltd provide strategic advice in solving problems and capturing opportunities, particularly in regards to:

“Helping Australian companies to trade or invest into countries in the Asia-Pacific region;

“Helping companies from the Asia-Pacific region to trade or ­invest into Australia.”

The photo used by Mr Robb captures the moment in 2014 in Parliament House in Canberra when he signed the declaration of intent to strike an FTA with China.

Mr Robb has emerged as an ­influential lobbyist in Australia-China relations, and sits on the board of the Melbourne-based Australia-China Belt and Road Initiative. The ACBRI was established in 2015 by former Chinese journalist Jean Dong and played a key role in lobbying Victorian Premier Daniel ­Andrews to defy security advice and sign up to the Chinese deal.

Labor’s spokeswoman on government accountability, Kimberley Kitching, said the use of the photos by Mr Robb was ­inappropriate. “Australians need to be assured that Australian ministers are faithful and have true allegiance only to the Australian people and our system of government,” Senator Kitching said.

Mr Robb declined to respond to questions about the website.

The Weekend Australian can reveal the Premier’s office took ­direct control of brokering the Belt and Road deal. A senior government source said Mr Andrews had bypassed the normal Victorian cabinet processes over the deal.

“A bilateral agreement of this nature would normally go to cabinet. But they did not bring either agreement to cabinet, which is against normal protocol,” the source said.

It began in March 2017 when Mr Andrews signed a memorandum of understanding with the chairman of China’s National ­Development and Reform Commission. “The occasion marked the first time the NDRC has ­entered into an agreement with a sub-national government on this subject, recognising Victoria as a valued partner,” the government wrote in its China strategy progress report in 2018.

Two months later, in May, Mr Andrews was the only Australian state leader to be invited to the Belt and Road forum in China.

Five ministerial staff accompanied Mr Andrews on the six-day trip, which cost Victorian taxpayers more than $106,000. Mr ­Andrews said at the time the trip “aligns with my commitment to visit China every year”.

In October 2018, Mr Andrews’s office signed a memorandum of understanding with China over its Belt and Road scheme.

Mr Andrews was the only MP quoted in the announcement, which came a year after he was the only Australian state leader invited to attend the Belt and Road Forum — which aims to revive the historic Silk Road by creating two modern transit and trade corridors between China and Europe.

The Andrews government consulted with DFAT in June 2018 over the draft text of the agreement, but did not seek approval from DFAT over the final document, which was signed in ­October.

A Victorian government spokeswoman said “we do not comment on cabinet matters” but confirmed the Belt and Road memorandum of understanding was “in line with a draft MOU that was provided to DFAT’’.

In 2019, Mr Robb quit his consultancy with Landbridge, a company closely linked to the Chinese government.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: RACHEL BAXENDALE