6 years ago
MORRISON MUST REFER CREWTHER
THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP
Reports today that Member for Dunkley Chris Crewther invested in a company that has received federal grants – after spruiking those very grants in Parliament – cast serious doubts over his eligibility for Parliament and mean he must be referred to the High Court.
In October 2017, Mr Crewther told Parliament:
I met with the CEO of Gretals, Alistair Cumming, to discuss how they will benefit from the $50,000 grant they recently received under the government's Global Connections Fund, part of the National Innovation and Science Agenda, as well as other federal funding they've recently received.
Astonishingly, on 6 September this year, Mr Crewther disclosed to the House of Representatives he had then invested $25,000 in Gretals Australia, a biotechnology company.
The 2017 grant is on top of Gretals’ ongoing involvement with an Australian Research Council Linkage grant, involving more than $400,000 of Commonwealth money, through which Gretals stands to gain significant commercial benefit.
The Constitution is clear – members of Parliament cannot have an interest in agreements with the Commonwealth, whether direct or indirect.
Mr Morrison must refer Mr Crewther to the High Court without delay.
After Mr Dutton, Mr Crewther is the second Coalition MP carrying serious doubts over his eligibility to even be in Parliament. Scott Morrison has truly lost control.
Scott Morrison must refer Mr Crewther to the High Court, along with Peter Dutton. If he does not, he will continue to be an illegitimate leader running a protection racket for his illegitimate government.
This murky saga also shows why we need a federal anti-corruption body – like Labor’s proposed National Integrity Commission – so Australians can have faith in the integrity and transparency of its representatives.