Treasurer won’t reveal when donation was repaid to Australian Water Holdings, which is at the centre of a corruption inquiry


Treasurer Joe Hockey in parliament on Thursday. Photograph: Daniel Munoz/AAP

A fundraising group connected to Joe Hockey’s electorate office has repaid $22,000 in donations to Australian Water Holdings, which is at the centre of a corruption investigation.

North Sydney Forum last year repaid $11,000 – a year’s worth of membership fees – to AWH, but subsequently repaid another two years of fees totalling $22,000, bringing the total refund to $33,000.

A spokeswoman for the treasurer’s office would not say when the $22,000 was refunded.

“When allegations around Australian Water Holdings were first raised in the media in February 2013, the treasurer was advised their membership of North Sydney Forum (NSF) was terminated immediately and their $11,000 in fees were refunded,” she said.

“The treasurer has also been advised that subsequently, all previous years’ membership fees have also been returned. That totalled $22,000 and dated back to 2009.”

North Sydney Forum has a membership of community and business leaders who fundraise for Hockey as well as paying fees to join the group. The fees are treated as donations.

In exchange for the fees members get invitations to events such as boardroom lunches with Hockey.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) is currently investigating AWH, which Liberal party senator Arthur Sinodinos was a director and then chairman of from 2009 until 2011.

Sindonis has stepped down as assistant treasurer while the hearings are underway. The Australian Financial Review reports Icac heard the NSW Liberal party loaned AWH $20,000 while Sinodinos was an executive of both.

Sinodinos, who has said he was unaware of a $75,000 donation to the party from AWH, was aware of the loan according to investor Rod de Aboitiz, who took the stand at Icac on Thursday.

A Liberal party slush fund, Eight by Five, which is the subject of another Icac investigation, also allegedly loaned AWH money.

De Aboitiz said he met with Sinodinos in 2010 and discussed the finances of AWH, seeking reassurance about the cash flow through the company.

The company owed the Liberal party $20,000 and had also taken a loan out from Eight by Five.

A spokeswoman for the NSW Liberal party said it was not aware of a loan to AWH and did not loan money to companies.

“[I said] Arthur you know that solvency is a big issue for a director. You’re a director. You’re an experienced person,” de Aboitiz told Icac.

“Surely you’re in control of your own cash flow.”

Sinodinos allegedly replied “that the board was on top of it and that it was taken care of”.

“Were you comforted by that assurance?” counsel assisting the commission Greg O’Mahoney asked.

“It’s Arthur Sinodinos. Of course I was comforted,” de Aboitiz said.

De Aboitiz said he was excited to meet Sinodinos because he was a “revered and powerful Australian”.

He invested $1m into AWH believing it was going to enter a lucrative deal with the NSW government. If the deal had gone through Sinodinos stood to make between $10m and $20m.

Sinodinos is due to face a separate Icac inquiry next month into Eight By Five.

He stood down from the ministry on Tuesday but was not clear if he would seek to return after the current hearing or next month’s hearing.

Leader of the government in the senate, Eric Abetz, was asked to clarify when Sinodinos would seek to return during question time on Thursday but would not say.

“Senator Sinodinos has not been stood down, he stood down of his own volition, a thing we on this side regret but respect ... it his intention to continue to perform his duties a senator in NSW,” he said.

When asked again if Sinodinos had stood down for the period of both inquiries, Abetz replied: “Senator Sinodinos is not the subject of an investigation, he is a witness who is willing to assist the inquiries in relation to those matters.”

Prime minister Tony Abbott says he expects Sinodinos to return to the ministry and has defended him as a “brave man”.



http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/20/liberal-fundraiser-linked-joe-hocke...

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https://newmatilda.com/2014/03/20/end-arthur-sinodinos

Slightly different turn of events maybe, but isn't the end result the same?

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Oh Noooo's

Just when I thought the Cod's slush fund angst would be over

Now we'll get more & more posts about them & how parties that engage in such practices should be disbanded.

Nah!!

Just a Royal......

for all you libturds supporters. It looks like you don't like anything posted that is bad for the libturd party that is why you don't comment on it and hope the thread get buried.