Fed: Howard no longer interested in code of conduct, says Labor

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2004
Fed: Howard no longer interested in code of conduct, says Labor

CANBERRA, Dec 10 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard had showed his code of ministerial
conduct meant nothing and he was treating Australians as mugs over the De-Anne Kelly controversy,
Labor said today.

Mr Howard today defended his decision not to sack Mrs Kelly, the Veterans Affairs Minister,
for breaching the code of conduct.

Mrs Kelly yesterday admitted she did not seek a statement of private interests from
senior Nationals figure Ken Crooke before employing him - a breach of Mr Howard's code.

Mr Crooke had been a consultant to a dairy company that was later given a $1.2 million
grant by Mrs Kelly while she was parliamentary secretary for regional services.

"Once upon a time John Howard's code of ministerial conduct meant something, when you
had ministers like Jim Short and Brian Gibson sacked for a perceived conflict of interest,"

Labor's regional affairs spokesman Kelvin Thomson told reporters.

"But, in the case of De-Anne Kelly, Calamity De-Anne, with an actual conflict of interest,
no action has been taken.

"Her staff member undertook that he would not carry out any activities as a director
of A2 Milk, or the corporation acting as lobbyist for A2 Milk, but off he went to the
Queensland Primary Industries Minister in the company of directors from A2 Milk."

Mr Thomson said that not only did Mrs Kelly fail to advise Mr Howard of this conflict
of interest, and fail to act concerning that matter, she went on to award $1.72 million
to a company which was facing criminal charges.

"John Howard's code of ministerial conduct is in tatters. He has simply lost all interest
in enforcing it," he said.

"He is treating the people of Australia like mugs and it's simply not good enough."

Mr Thomson also called for answers from the government on what had become of $660,000
of taxpayers' money given under the regional partnerships program (RPP) to a Beaudesert
Shire Railway Support Group project.

"It appears that that $660,000 has gone the same way as a $5 million centenary of federation
fund grant to that project," he said.

"It is bad enough that $5 million in centenary of federation funding was wasted, was
lost. It is even worse if this $660,000 has gone off the rails as well.

"We know that this project ceased operation in May last year. We know that the Howard
government has provided $660,000 in RPP funding for it.

"We understand that $440,000 of that money was used to repay creditors and that $220,000
was spent on ongoing operations of the company.

"We know that that operation has ceased.

"So there are some very serious questions here."

AAP dep/sb/bes/de

KEYWORD: REGIONAL LABOR

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