Shorten accepted upgrades at hotel under a human-rights cloud

Bill Shorten accepted upgrades from a hotel with connections to a sultan who would have homosexuals stoned to death.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Picture: Aaron Francis

Bill Shorten accepted free room upgrades from a hotel business that has been boycotted by public figures over its connection to a monarch who wants to legalise the stoning to death of homosexuals and adulterers.

The federal Opposition Leader accepted six upgrades from the Brisbane-based Royal on the Park, which is owned by the Brunei ­Investment Agency — the sovereign wealth fund for Brunei — a small Asian monarchy ruled by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

The ­sultan, one of the world’s richest men, has promised to introduce sharia-style laws to his kingdom, including a penalty of stoning to death for same-sex ­relations and adultery, and amputation and whipping for theft.

Human rights activists, reacting to the proposed laws, have successfully called on public figures to boycott hotels owned by the wealth fund, which include the Dorchester in London and the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.

Mr Shorten’s register of interests reveals he accepted the upgrades when he stayed at the Royal on the Park on May 14 and July 2, 17, 21, 22 and 23.

His acceptance of the upgrades and use of the hotel was criticised this week by human rights campaigner Matthew Woolfe, who runs the Brunei Project, an organisation seeking to raise awareness of human rights issues in Brunei and to prevent persecution of LGBT residents in the kingdom.

“We would be expecting someone in his position if anything would be avoiding anything associated with a country that doesn’t have the best human rights ­record,’’ said Mr Woolfe, who is banned from Brunei. “It is concerning that he would be basically supporting the interests of the government of Brunei in this regard.”

A spokeswoman for Mr Shorten said the Opposition Leader had not been aware of the hotel’s ownership. “Mr Shorten makes a point of getting out of Canberra and hearing from Australia around the country,’’ she said. “It is impossible to vet every single hotel or motel that he stays in.’’

The spokeswoman declined to confirm whether Mr Shorten’s staff stayed at the hotel, how much the upgrades were worth or whether he would continue to stay at the hotel.

The hotel’s website describes the venue as one of Brisbane’s most iconic, and offers several ranges of rooms including the 84sq m executive suite which is billed out at approximately $518 a night and comes with “complimentary French champagne”. The Australian asked the Royal on the Park why the upgrades were given or if any other politicians had stayed at the venue, but hotel management declined to comment.

Property searches show the hotel property is owned by Sejahtera One (Australia) Pty Ltd, which has one shareholder, the Brunei Investment Agency — Brunei’s sovereign wealth fund. The fund is managed by a board of directors on behalf of the Brunei government, which is controlled by the sultan.

The boycott on the hotels was called after the sultan’s announcement in 2014 that Brunei would phase in the “syariah penal code”.

Celebrities Stephen Fry, Ellen DeGeneres and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson boycotted the hotel group.

Registers of interest show Malcolm Turnbull received a silver incense urn from the sultan, which he surrendered, while Defence Minister Marise Payne declared receiving a book from the sultan earlier this year.

Amnesty International’s 2018 report on Brunei describes the proposed laws as “taking Brunei back to the dark ages”.

The penal code is expected to be rolled out in three parts, with the final phase encompassing a penalty of stoning for same-sex ­relations ­potentially due to be introduced within the next two years.