National Party role for safety boss sparked concern

Michael McCormack’s department investigated conflict-of-­interest concerns over a Nationals role for a road safety boss.

Wendy Machin, chair of the ­nation’s peak vehicle safety authority.

Michael McCormack’s department investigated conflict-of-­interest concerns after it emerged Wendy Machin — chair of the ­nation’s peak vehicle safety authority — had been appointed vice-chair of the NSW Nationals.

The Infrastructure and Transport Department recently sought formal advice on whether the Australasian New Car Assessment Program, which receives commonwealth funding, should have disclosed Ms Machin’s party position.

In mid-2018, Mr McCormack, who represents the southern NSW electorate of Riverina, announced $6.64m in funding for ANCAP through to 2022-23.

Under the agreement for provision of federal funding to ANCAP, a clause states the commonwealth should be notified “immediately” if a conflict of interest arises. ANCAP is also obliged to make full disclosure of all relevant information relating to a conflict and take steps to resolve or deal with a conflict.

On Wednesday, an Infrastructure and Transport Department spokeswoman confirmed they had investigated the potential conflict of interest. Ms Machin, a former NSW Nationals MP and NRMA president, was elected to the NSW Nationals role in June last year.

“The department has considered in detail concerns that Ms Machin’s role as NSW Nationals vice-chair and her position as a member of the board of ANCAP gives rise to a potential conflict for the purposes of the agreement ­between ANCAP and the commonwealth, which should have been disclosed by ANCAP,” the department spokeswoman said.

“The department is satisfied that Ms Machin’s roles do not raise any such conflict and there is no conflict that ANCAP is required to disclose under the agreement.”

Mr McCormack, who confirmed to The Australian he had pulled out of the Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Sweden next week, did not say whether he was alerted to the ­potential conflict of interest.

Opposition infrastructure and transport spokeswoman Catherine King said it was becoming a “pattern” for Mr McCormack and the Nationals to not disclose ­potential conflicts of interest.

She said while Mr McCormack was “desperately trying to hang on to his job”, he was sending a ­bureaucrat to sign a Stockholm declaration he didn’t seem to ­support.

“The national road toll is higher than six years ago and Australians are rightly demanding stronger leadership from Michael McCormack,” she said.

Department of Infrastructure and Transport deputy secretary Pip Spence is scheduled to travel to Stockholm for the two-day summit next week, and will participate in a panel discussion alongside the Danish and Dutch transport and infrastructure ministers.

Mr McCormack, who has come under intense leadership pressure in the past three weeks, said he would not attend the conference due to the “bushfire clean-up, recovery and rebuild process”.

He had faced a backlash over plans to attend the summit, which includes the signing of a Stockholm declaration endorsing a 30km/h limit on suburban roads in response to “traffic injuries, air quality and climate change”.