Lobbyist Clive Brown whose integrity is admired by CarpenterThe Desert Rat's next takes the microscope to former Left Faction and Labor Party lobbyist Clive Brown, the former Minister for State Development in the Gallop Government and MP for Bassendean.
Alan Carpenter (preaching from the Moral High-Ground) told Parliament in an answer to a question from Greens MP Giz Watson, that Clive Brown was not a lobbyist; he was employed by the Geraldton Iron Ore Alliance (GIOA) and didn't need to be on the Lobbyists Register.
Clive Brown was employed by the GIOA shortly after he left Parliament and his Ministerial position as a consultant and was later made Chairman of the Alliance lobbying group.
Read on and see what you think! Alan Carpenter certainly takes us mere mortals for idiots.
First the Desert Rat would like to say that he is not aware of the Corruption and Crime Commission investigating any of the activities of lobbyists associated with or formerly associated with the Jim McGinty controlled Left Faction of the ALP.
Shortly after retiring from Parliament in 2005 Clive Brown was hired by BHP Billiton as a lobbyist (the euphemisn "consultant" was used). Clive Brown had earlier appointed Mark Ritter (a lawyer with links to the and ALP's Left Faction) to inquire into the deaths at BHP's HBI plant in Port Hedland in June 2004. In November 2004, three months before Clive Brown retired Mark Ritter's report was completed and tabled in Parliament.
The Desert Rat understands that Clive Brown's appointment as a consultant / lobbyist to BHP was approved by Alan Carpenter. The Desert Rat thinks that taking up an appointment with BHP was a breach of propriety - it was not proper to seek or accept such an appointment so soon after retiring where he could use confidential information.
Entrepreneur Andrew Forrest was not amused that Brown was now working for BHP, he told the Sydney Morning Herald that it was highly improper. As the recent Minister for Mines, he was aware of all of the Fortescue Metals Group's (FMG) plans and now fresh from the Ministerial position he was working for Forrest's competitor. There was the sensitive issue of FMG's access to BHP's private railway as well.
About six months after retirement Clive Brown was employed as a lobbyist by Griffin Coal. When retiring, he complained to Rebecca Carmody of ABC Stateline that he was "burned out" and that was why he was leaving Parliament.
Brown was a very ordinary Minister for State Development but certainly better than Fran Logan the current Minister for State Development also (fortuitously) from the Left Faction.
His claims to fame are taking the credit for opening-up the iron ore province in the Murchison. When the big problem arose which Clive Brown could not handle or fix, such as environmental problems, road access problems and the proposed Murchison Radio Telescope Array, help was called in. The Desert Rat has heard from industry sources that Julian Grill (and possibly Brian Burke) were called in to do the heavy lifting to solve these problems, to remove the brick walls Brown hit and could not handle and get the show moving again.
The irony is, that if Grill and Burke had been around from the beginning, the rail and port delays for the Murchison producers would have been sorted out years ago. As well as contacts and entrees, which most lobbyists trade on, Grill and Burkes main asset was their problem solving skills - creating win-win situations.
The other claim to fame is the $25 billion sale of North West Shelf LNG gas to China. This contract was a major cock-up where the Desert Rat doesn't believe Clive Brown discharged his duty to the State as Minister for State Development. His job was to ensure the State got full value for the gas. It is now accepted (except by those involved) that the gas was sold for less than half the price they should have got at a time when LNG was in keen world demand.
The deal was a major long-term sellout of Australia's resources. The gas is pegged at the equivalent of $25 a barrel of oil, about $US100 below the current world price!
To quote Alan Carpenter's defense of Clive Brown the lobbyist in Parliament he said:
"Once a person leaves political life - and I intend to one day - you're a free citizen."
Why isn't that rule applied to Julian Grill and Brian Burke?
Despite the ongoing Corruption and Crime Commission Grill - Burke witch hunt; all of whose finding to date have all been discredited, neither have been shown to have been involved in any misconduct.
In the ALP these days there is one rule for the Left Faction and another for the Centre - Right faction members.And, by the way, Clive Brown is not a lobbyist - Alan Carpenter said so.!
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