Senior Coalition MP Stuart Robert has been secretly providing advice to a Canberra lobbying and consulting firm that helps large companies win lucrative government contracts and obtain access to senior Coalition politicians. | Nick McKenzie and David Crowe
Senior federal Coalition MP Stuart Robert has been secretly providing advice to a Canberra lobbying and consulting firm that helps large companies win lucrative government contracts and obtain access to senior Coalition politicians, including Peter Dutton.
Robert was minister for human services and minister for veterans’ affairs from September 2015, but was removed in February 2016 after revelations he took a “private” trip to Beijing. He was restored to the ministry after Morrison became prime minister in August 2018 until this year’s election. Robert argued that ministers did not decide contracts because their departments applied probity rules that took them out of the decision.
The documents show that Unisys paid Synergy 360 a retainer for tasks such as meeting senior Coalition ministers and helping to organise a trip to Taiwan to meet officials and businessmen.Emails from late 2017 detail how Synergy 360 billed Unisys for “meetings arranged for Unisys Global CEO Peter Altabeff in Canberra – Meetings confirmed with Hon Minister Dutton on 29 November 2017 & closed door Committee Briefing 30 November 2017”.
In an October 2017 email, Milo wrote to Robert via the politician’s Gmail address, and cc’ed to Margerison. The email from Milo asked that “Stuart” provide “advice on how best they [Unisys] can position themselves”. In June 2018, Unisys was again seeking Synergy 360’s help to win government work. Milo in turn sought Robert’s assistance yet again. On June 15, 2018, Unisys senior executive Tony Windever wrote to Milo and said it was “puzzling and disappointing” that departmental secretary Michael Pezzullo did not want to meet to discuss Unisys supplying his department with “an advanced threat identification and targeting capability”.
In May 2017, Robert travelled to Taiwan as part of a political delegation led by veteran MP Kevin Andrews. During the trip, the six-man delegation met with Taiwan’s largest privately owned company, Formosa Plastics. A few weeks later, Synergy 360 met Formosa’s representatives in Australia and offered to help it obtain business.
“Likewise the cities Minister, Angus Taylor MP, when you met with him, is also excited about the opportunity.”In his email, Robert gave a glowing reference for Milo: “His and his team’s capacity to manage these engagements and deliver for you is first rate.A week later, on June 25, 2017, Milo wrote to Formosa and told them that “I’d be delighted to meet or call you to discuss the various opportunities Stuart [Robert] has outlined in his mail”.
There is no suggestion Dutton knew that Robert was involved in Synergy 360’s efforts to help Oracle win government tenders.The leaked correspondence also details how Robert was seeking out health and defence industry contracts.
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