PM ready to fight Labor on new s44 claim

Scott Morrison is unconcerned over section 44 questions relating to marginal Liberal seat MP Chris Crewther.

Liberal MP Chris Crewther says he has ‘fully complied’ with disclosure obligations. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Labor is preparing to wreak havoc in the final parliamentary sitting fortnight of the year after fresh section 44 questions emerged over marginal Liberal seat holder Chris Crewther, despite legal opinion suggesting he was likely in the clear.

Scott Morrison, who will lead a minority government once the ­independent candidate for Wentworth Kerryn Phelps is declared the winner of last month’s by-elect­ion, appears to have enough crossbench support to fight off any moves by Labor to refer Mr ­Crewther to the High Court.

A first-term Victorian MP, Mr Crewther updated his register of members’ interest in September to declare he had “investments” in local pharmaceutical company Gretals Australia, which was associated with a $421,854 Australian Research Council linkage grant.

Under section 44(v) of the Constitution, an MP who has any direc­t or indirect pecuniary interest in an agreement with the commonwealth through an incorpor­ated company with less than 25 shareholders is incapable of sitting in federal ­parliament. The ARC awarded the grant to the Univer­sity of Melbourne, which partnered with Gretals Australia to develop eucalypt plantations for pharmaceutical purposes.

Gretals Australia — which has 20 shareholders — was required to provide cash or an in-kind contrib­ution to the project but did not receive grant money from the ARC.

Maverick independent MP Bob Katter said he would not support partisan moves to send Mr Crewthe­r to the High Court and is also against a referral of Home Affai­rs Minister Peter Dutton, who is facing questions over an arrangem­ent between the commonwealth and his family trust.

“Politics is not about this sort of rubbish,” Mr Katter told The Weekend Australian. “I’d say three-quarters of the parliament can be hooked if you start interpreting that section the way ­people are interpreting it.”

University of Sydney constitu­tional lawyer Anne Twomey said the case against Mr Crewther was “unlikely to succeed” because ­Gretals Australia did not have an agreement with the commonwealth.

“To trigger constitutional disqualification, you would have to argue that Mr Crewther, by holding shares in a company that may benefit in the future through intellectual property rights from a resea­rch project conducted by a university which is partly funded by the commonwealth, holds an indirect pecuniary interest in the funding agreement between the university and the commonwealth,” Professor Twomey said.

Mr Crewther said he had “fully complied” with his disclosure oblig­ations and was “confident they do not raise any concerns”.

The Prime Minister, who spoke with Mr Crewther yesterday, said he did not believe his Liberal ­colleague risked falling foul of ­section 44.

“The Australian people are completely over it and I have no concerns over that matter,” Mr Morrison said.