Campbell Newman staff told of Stuart Robert’s ‘private’ trip

Staffers to Campbell Newman told Stuart Robert would be accompanying them to a goldmine ‘in a private capacity’.

Embattled former Turnbull minister Stuart Robert yesterday. Picture: Glenn Hampson

Senior staffers in the office of then Queensland premier Campbell Newman were told that federal parliamentarian Stuart Robert would be accompanying them on an all-day visit to a goldmine but only “in a private capacity”.

The minister, who resigned last week, yesterday volunteered to pay back more than $1600 in expenses after The Australian revealed details of the trip.

Internal government documents leaked yesterday show the April 2013 taxpayer-funded visit by Mr Robert to the goldmine — run by Evolution Mining, a company in which he had a year earlier bought shares for himself — was initially meant to be publicly ­acknowledged by Mr Newman.

The documents show there was a change to the draft of Mr Newman’s speech for the official event at Evolution Mining’s Mt Carlton mine, west of Townsville, with Mr Robert’s name being deleted from the final version.

“I don’t know why there were two different versions of the speech, but it certainly appears as though someone has asked a staffer in my office to remove ­references to Stuart Robert in the speech,’’ Mr Newman said yesterday. “I can’t recall anyone saying to me, ‘Don’t acknowledge him’ in the official speech. I had no idea that either Mr Robert or (then Liberal National Party president) Bruce McIver had any business linkages with the mining ­company Evolution or Mr (Paul) Marks.”

The Australian reported yesterday that Mr Robert, the federal LNP member for the Gold Coast seat of Fadden, had billed the public purse $1091 in airfares to fly to Townsville on April 10, 2013, for his visit to the mine.

Mr Robert — who was last week dumped as human services minister for breaching ministerial standards after helping friend and Liberal donor Mr Marks sign a deal in China while on personal leave in 2014 — yesterday wrote to the Department of Finance about his Queensland trip and stated he wished to “voluntarily repay the costs in question in addition to any such penalty the department may wish to apply”.

He said he had gone to Townsville on what he called “official shadow ministerial business” to speak to Mr Newman about a Queensland “advocacy body” for Defence.

“After a morning meeting in Townsville related to my portfolio, I travelled to the event primarily to discuss with the then premier Campbell Newman the possibility of expanding Queensland’s recently announced defence industries’ envoy into a fully fledged ‘Defence QLD’ advocacy body,” he wrote.

“Additionally, I felt it was important to have the federal opposition represented at such an event. I accepted the invitation upon learning shadow energy and resources minister Ian Macfarlane would not be attending.

“I note I held a very minor shareholding that I had previously declared to the parliament.”

Neither the official itinerary nor the diary of Mr Newman contains any reference to a possible chat with Mr Robert about his defence proposal. Mr Newman declined to comment until he had checked his records.

Mr Robert accompanied Mr Marks, a director and large shareholder in Evolution at the time, as well as Mr McIver. Mr Robert’s spokesman has not returned The Australian’s calls.

Mr Robert was dumped in Malcolm Turnbull’s ministry reshuffle over the trip to China in 2014 following revelations of his financial interest in another company, Nimrod Resources, which he promoted for Mr Marks.

In relation to the Evolution trip, Department of Finance records show that Mr Robert claimed Comcar limousine charges in Brisbane of $205 and a further $376, before inspecting his private investment in the Australian Securities Exchange-listed company.

A former senior staffer in Mr Newman’s office said yesterday that the revelations in The Australian of travel claims by Mr Robert for the trip to north Queensland on April 10, 2013, were “very surprising and concerning”. “I recall that it was reinforced to us at the time that he was travelling in a private capacity, that he was attending unofficially,’’ the staffer said.

In a detailed logistics package of information for the event prepared for Mr Newman by his advisers, and leaked to The Australian yesterday, the then premier was asked to acknowledge publicly numerous people at Mt Carlton — but not Mr Robert.

On the acknowledgments list were the Birriah people as traditional owners of the land, the state’s then mines minister Andrew Cripps, a local mayor, deputy mayor, staff and directors of Evolution Mining including its head Jake Klein, Chinese guests from gold and smelting companies in China, as well as pastoral lease holders from north Queensland.

The omission of Mr Robert from the acknowledgments and his removal from the final version of the then premier’s speech suggests Mr Robert’s presence was meant to be low profile, according to senior sources. A number of journalists had been invited by Evolution Mining to the event. Mr Robert was the opposition defence, science technology and personnel spokesman at the time, five months before the federal election.

Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus said the revelations reflected “a pattern of behaviour” by Mr Robert. “If the latest reports on Mr Robert’s travel are true it is clear that his earlier antics in China were not isolated incidents,” Mr Dreyfus said.

“There appears to be a pattern of behaviour here in using his public office to benefit both himself and wealthy Liberal donor Paul Marks. Mr Robert was clearly unfit to remain in the ministry — despite the protestations of his mate, Scott Morrison — and his behaviour absolutely warrants an investigation by the Australian Federal Police.”

Trade Minister Steven Ciobo, who also holds a Gold Coast electorate, said Mr Robert was obliged to explain why taxpayers should foot the bill for his travel.

“I’ve seen the reports and obviously it falls upon his shoulders to be able to justify why he took that trip and indicate whether it was for parliamentary, electorate or official purposes,” Mr Ciobo told ABC radio.

“I’m sure that in his mind he would say that he did it and I’m sure that in time he’ll furnish the reasons why he did that travel. I can’t possibly predict what he was doing; I don’t know.

“Any member of parliament who charges taxpayers for travelling in a private capacity — who has not done it for parliamentary, electorate or official business — is of course in breach of the rules.”

The Prime Minister said Mr Robert had paid “a heavy price around the circumstances of his China trip” — in which Mr Robert said he was acting in an “unofficial” capacity.

“I don’t know the circumstances of the (Evolution Mining) matter but these things are dealt with by the Department of Finance in the ordinary way,” Mr Turnbull said.

“It is not appropriate for me to make a comment on something that’s happened at that time.