MINISTER FOR REGIONAL
DEVELOPMENT — ENERGY MADE CLEAN
327. Hon PETER COLLIER to the Minister for Regional
Development:
I refer the minister to her response
to the seven-part question without notice 172 she was asked on 14 June 2017. She
was asked —
Has the minister ever had shares or
other financial interest in Energy Made Clean, Carnegie Clean Energy or
Carnegie Wave Energy?
Her response to that question was —
I had some shares in Energy Made
Clean that I had acquired instead of remuneration for the work that I did for
the company.
Will the minister confirm that she
did not receive any remuneration from Energy Made Clean during her time as a director
of that company?
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN
replied:
I will give the member an explanation.
The allegation that has been put today is that somehow or other I did not say
that I worked for EMC. Let me read the whole answer. In part, the member is
doing what the member for Warren–Blackwood was trying to do, which is
selectively quote. What I said was —
During the interregnum of my various
parliamentary careers, I worked in the private sector and followed my passion
for renewable energy. Yes, it is true that from 10 May —
Unruly interjections followed. I continued
—
It was from May 2011 and I resigned
on 4 July 2013. I had some shares � that I had acquired instead of remuneration
for the work that I did for the company.
In subsequent citations by the
Leader of the House, as she responded from notes that I provided in her role as
the minister representing the Premier, she made it very clear that the shares
that I received were part remuneration. I do not know what you guys thought was
going to be the other part of the remuneration, but it is not totally
surprising that that was —
Several members interjected.
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN: Members
opposite have to see this in context.
Hon Peter Collier
interjected.
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN: It
was remuneration because —
The
PRESIDENT: Member, you have asked a question. You are not
really giving the minister a fair go in being able to respond and for Hansard
to hear that response. Just let the minister provide that response and listen
to her.
Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN: The
question was about what my interests were in that company, presumably at a relevant
time. My residual interest was shares, so I was focusing on the rationale of
how I came to receive those shares. I received those shares in remuneration for
the work done for the company. As I have gone on with the notes, when a more
detailed recitation of the facts was made a couple of months later, it was made
very clear that it was part remuneration. When I was answering questions of
journalist Paul Murray of The West Australian, again, I made it very
clear that it was part remuneration. I have said right from the outset that I have
not in any way tried to disguise the fact that I worked, I had an involvement,
with that company. The actual work—the paid work that I did for that
company—finished in 2011 and I continued for another 18 months as a shareholder.
I want to make it clear that the shareholdings I had were in a company that was
related to EMC; they were not directly EMC shares. There are obligations under
the Ministerial Code of Conduct, which states —
Immediately after appointment and
within 60 days, Ministers shall take action to divest themselves of
shareholdings in any company and interests in partnerships and trusts, by
virtue of which a conflict exists, or could reasonably be expected to exist,
with their portfolio responsibilities.
This, indeed, I did.