Gabrielle Chan theguardian.com, Wednesday 30 April 2014
Liberal fundraiser invitation goes out as Icac revelations ignite criticism of the party about influence peddling in NSW
The Liberal party's offer to business observers to have breakfast with the prime minister, Tony Abbott, and afternoon tea with his senior ministers.
The Liberal party federal director, Brian Loughnane, has offered “business observers” a breakfast with the prime minister, Tony Abbott, and access to his ministers’ chiefs of staff for $11,000, at the same time as New South Wales Liberal party members face scrutiny in the Independent Commission Against Corruption over influence peddling.
The $11,000 price tag – including GST – is pitched just below the $12,000 threshold at which political donations have to be disclosed to the Australian Electoral Commission.
An email from Loughnane went out to potential business observers on Tuesday afternoon, after two days of hearings in the Icac inquiry into the Eightbyfive slush fund, which, Icac has heard, took banned donations from property developers to fund specific Liberal party campaigns.
The Icac revelations have ignited criticism from inside and outside the Liberal party about influence peddling in NSW, after the former state Labor government was embroiled in controversy over its former ministers Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald and the granting of mine licences.
The federal breakfast offers business people access to senior levels of the Abbott government at the Liberal party’s federal council in June.
“Senior Ministers and party officials will take part in the briefing, which will also include a breakfast on Friday morning addressed by Prime Minister Tony Abbott,” Loughnane writes.
The invitation offers breakfast with the prime minister, a morning tea briefing on the state of the Senate, afternoon tea with ministerial chiefs of staff and a policy lunch, all for a “registration fee” of $11,000.
Former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell resigned in April after he failed to declare a $3,000 bottle of Grange Hermitage from lobbyist and businessman Nick Di Girolamo, then insisted he did not receive it.
Former NSW energy minister Chris Hartcher and MPs Chris Spence and Darren Webber – all allegedly involved in Eightbyfive – have voluntarily withdrawn from the Liberal party and are sitting on the crossbenches for the duration of the Icac hearings.
It has been common practice for both parties to raise funds using access to leaders as bait.
In 2010, the Labor party cancelled a $5,500-a-head business fundraiser with then prime minister Julia Gillard due to the possibility it would become a “media spectacle”.
