Scott Morrison defends help for Mathias Cormann’s OECD bid

A team of eight DFAT staff has been pulled in to help former finance minister Mathias Cormann win the secretary-generalship of the OECD.

Former finance Minister Mathias Cormann is campaigning to be the next OECD secretary-general. Picture: Gary Ramage

A team of eight staff from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been pulled in to help former finance minister Mathias Cormann win the secretary-generalship of the OECD, as he comes under pressure over his European travel in a taxpayer-funded RAAF jet.

Labor has accused Scott Morrison of double standards after the Prime Minister defended Mr Cormann’s use of a government-paid jet, saying he was at risk of catching COVID-19 on commercial flights.

Mr Cormann’s campaign to directly lobby European leaders for the plum Paris-based OECD posting has also been backed by ex-Labor foreign minister Bob Carr who said Mr Morrison should invite other ambassadors to the OECD to come to Australia as part of a more aggressive campaign to win the top global economic job.

A DFAT spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that a taskforce had been set up to help Mr Cormann strategise and communicate his bid to lead the OECD.

“The taskforce consists of 8.5 dedicated staff, made up of a taskforce manager and campaign strategist, strategy and policy advisers, a visits manager, two graduates and a communications specialist,” he said.

“The duties of the taskforce include coordinating advocacy by the Prime Minister and Senior Ministers, visit and travel coordination, as well as the preparation of briefs and communications materials to support the campaign.”

“The OECD is a world-leading international economic organisation. As we tackle COVID-19, work by organisations like the OECD will help us find recovery solutions – this candidacy is a high priority for the government.”

The OECD bid is Australia’s biggest formal campaign for a leading spot on a key global instit­ution since the Gillard government spent an estimated $25m to secure a UN Security Council seat.

Mr Carr — who spearheaded the successful Security Council seat bid as foreign minister under Julia Gillard — backed Mr Cormann’s visits to Europe and said Mr Morrison should “generously” host OECD ambassadors of other nations to push the bid.

“I believe in vigorously promoting our cause,’’ Mr Carr told The Australian. “I’d be inviting OECD ambassadors (from other countries to Australia), hosting their visits generously, with the opportunity to talk to them about economic and other policy interests. We did that very successfully with UN ambassadors and it worked a treat for the Security Council seat.”

Mr Carr warned that Mr Cormann­’s chances of winning the OECD secretary-generalship most likely hinged on Mr Morrison’s refusal to follow Europe and US president-elect Joe Biden on a 2050 net zero emissions target.

“Australia’s chief negative can be encapsulated in one word here: climate,” he said. “Mathias will have to give some reassurances to the OECD ambassadors.”

The Prime Minister said on Wednesday that Mr Cormann needed to take government-­funded flights around Europe because­ he was at risk of catching COVID-19 on commercial planes.

“That’s funded by the government because we’re taking this bid very seriously,’’ Mr Morrison told 2GB radio.

“And the reason we need him to do that in the air force jet is because COVID is running rampant in Europe. If Mathias was flying around on commercial planes, he would have got COVID. The risk of that was extremely high.

“And so this is about safety, it’s about health.”

Senator Wong, Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, said on Wednesday that the government should be transparent about how much money was being spent on Mr Cormann’s European tour, given 36,000 Australians were looking to return home on delaye­d commercial flights.

“There’s 36,000 Australians currently stranded as a result of border closures. They don’t get this sort of treatment, having a RAAF jet,” she told ABC news.

“That double standard would be pretty hard to hear for some of those families whose relatives are in difficult circumstances, stuck outside Australia.”

Despite her concerns over Mr Morrison’s comments, Senator Wong said she backed Mr Cormann’s bid.