Ministerial guidelines should be updated to make it explicit that current serving ministers and officials shouldn’t meet with former frontbenchers, one of the MPs who quit politics believes.
Former foreign minister and deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop told a Senate inquiry on Thursday she is yet to attend a board meeting in her new role with aid contractor Palladium.
But when she does, she will be sure to abide by the requirements of the ministerial rules, she assured a Senate committee examining her new gig and that of former defence minister Christopher Pyne.
Ms Bishop, appearing via teleconference while the committee met in Canberra, said the onus of abiding by the rules that prevent former ministers lobbying governments or public servants should fall on those still in parliament.
“You could amend the guidelines as to make that explicit what would be required should a serving minister ever find themselves in that position,” she said.
She also suggested opposition and crossbench MPs could use parliamentary opportunities such as question time and committee processes to ask questions of serving ministers and officials about their contact with any predecessors.
Mr Pyne has taken a defence-focused consultancy role with EY.
South Australian senator Rex Patrick says that role doesn’t pass the pub test.
“Of course they’re allowed to take jobs, but not going from defence minister to defence consultant – that is a bridge too far,” he told Sky News.
“He can’t un-know what he knows … that is an advantage EY gets that other companies don’t get. If this doesn’t breach the bar for breach of ministerial standards, then nothing does.”
The crossbencher says it all boils down to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, as it’s up to him to draft and enforce the ministerial standards.
Labor senator Jenny McAllister, who is leading the inquiry, says the ministerial standards are in place to prevent people using their positions to line up future careers.
The rules also aim to ensure ministers don’t profit from information received during their time in office.
She says it’s disheartening the majority of Australians think politicians are only looking after themselves.
Senior executives from EY and Palladium are also slated to appear at the public hearing, along with a representative from Transparency International Australia.
Ms Bishop and Mr Pyne have both denied breaching the code of conduct, which bans for 18 months ministers from lobbying, advocating or meeting with MPs on matters they dealt with during their time in office.
The post Bishop, Pyne face grilling about their post-politics jobs appeared first on The New Daily.
**Business and Marketing support on best price; Hit the link now----> http://bit.ly/2HsQmSi