Queensland election: Greens staffer offered secret JobKeeper deal

A senior Queensland Greens official offered an outgoing employee a ‘good deal’ to delay his resignation, take JobKeeper without doing any work.

Queensland Greens secretary Kitty Carra. Picture: Stuart Quinn

One of the Queensland Greens’ most senior officials offered an outgoing employee a “good deal’’ where he would delay his formal resignation and take JobKeeper payments without doing any work in what would have been a misuse of the ­payment.

The deal offered by Queensland Greens secretary Kitty Carra to former party campaigner John Meyer would have lasted four weeks from August 31 to October 2. The Greens would not have paid him during this period and he was to resign at the end of it.

Mr Meyer, who rejected the offer, outlined for The Australian the substance of phone conver­sations he had with Ms Carra and the party’s sole state MP, Michael Berkman, in relation to the offer.

He said he had “legal recordings” of the conversations that he was willing to give to authorities, allowing them to investigate.

The Australian Taxation Office on Wednesday declined to comment on the Greens case, but second commissioner Jeremy Hirschorn told Senate estimates earlier this week that such a practice was “not allowed” as the JobKeeper program was intended to restore the link between employers and their workers.

Workers on JobKeeper were allowed to take leave without pay and receive the payment as long as they intend to return to their job when business picks up.

“If someone has ended their employment relationship, there is no more entitlement to JobKeeper and artificial schemes around JobKeeper is not allowed,” Mr Hirschorn said.

“If it was in reality a termination dressed up as a JobKeeper tail, we would be very interested in applying the scheme ­provisions.”

In making the offer in August, Ms Carra told Mr Meyer he could “do what you want to do and you can get some income” on the $1200 fortnightly payment before applying for the smaller JobSeeker payment when he formally ended his employment.

She said he would also receive the leave he accrued for his eight-month stint at the Greens as a lump-sum payment on top of the JobKeeper payments.

When Mr Meyer questioned why she was offering him JobKeeper to take leave, Ms Carra said Centrelink did not want any more unemployed people on its books. She also told him the offer would give him a good financial deal as he left his post at the party organisation.

Mr Meyer, who was dumped as a Greens candidate in September, asked to resign effective immediately. Ms Carra accepted his request and did not keep him on the books to receive JobKeeper.

Mr Meyer is running for the seat of South Brisbane as an “ethical green” independent at Saturday’s Queensland state election.

He has turned the tables on his former party by preferencing Labor’s Jackie Trad in South Brisbane ahead of the Greens.

Mr Berkman told Mr Meyer in an August phone conversation he could understand why the offer of JobKeeper without work seemed “icky and weird” and “odd”. He said Ms Carra was merely trying to make the transition more financially convenient.

The Australian sought comment from Ms Carra and Mr Berkman but was referred to Queensland Greens convener Penny Allman-Payne, who denied any wrongdoing from the party.

“When John resigned from his position as electoral support officer in August, the Queensland Greens ceased claiming JobKeeper for his position,” she said.

“Prior to his resignation, John was paid the full JobKeeper amount.

“John was never paid JobKeeper while on leave without pay.”

Mr Meyer said he resigned on August 12 and never asked to go on leave without pay.

He said he did not know he was on JobKeeper until he was made the offer by Ms Carra.

“I did not ask to go on leave without pay,” he said. “This was the director’s suggestion.”

Mr Meyer, 45, was disendorsed as the Greens’ candidate for the Liberal National Party-held seat of Clayfield in Brisbane’s inner-north on September 1 over alle­gations he had threatened and intimidated party members, including two women.

Mr Meyer denied this, saying the claims were never put to him, and he had been sacked as a candidate to shut down his demand for answers about the Greens’ ­finances and his status on Mr Berkman’s staff.