By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/uncyp2conflicts091709.html
UNITED NATIONS, September 17 -- Former Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer, now working for the business consultancy Bespoke Approach and part time for the UN on Cyprus, was again asked Thursday by Inner City Press if the two roles might conflict, and what safeguards the UN has in place.
Mr. Downer said most of his work with Bespoke Approach is in East Asia, with Indonesia and China. He said that because he was foreign minister of Australia for twelve years, he has good relations with China, "better than many people I know." Some thought this sounded like a form of advertisement, as did Downer's statement that he was asked about Cyprus during a dinner with Indonesia's Foreign Minister a few weeks ago.
Downer said that he does no work with Cyprus, Turkey or Greece, and by this appeared to mean he does not negotiate contracts in the three, not that Bespoke Approach does not have business relations with enterprises active there.
Inner City Press asked about an initiative in Australia to ban former minister from serving as lobbyists for two years. While Downer said this must have been passed only yesterday, since he'd never heard of it, from the audience in the briefing room Australian parliamentarian Paul Neville clarified that Queensland and New South Wales are moving on such a ban.
Mr. Neville added that working for the UN wouldn't be considered lobbying. But what about working for Bespoke Approach?
Downer's connection in this regard was listed in a recent story about the ban on lobbying for two years:
"The State Government will restrict the activities of political lobbyists to guard against corruption, cronyism and conflicts of interest. In London last night, Premier Mike Rann announced a ban on former ministers acting as lobbyists for two years after leaving Parliament. Lobbyists will be listed on a public register from which they could be struck off if they breach rules governing integrity, honesty and ethics...
adelaidenow.com.au
PUSHING THEIR BARROW
KEY SOUTH AUSTRALIAN LOBBYISTS AND THEIR CLIENTS
BESPOKE APPROACH
Former Liberal minister Alexander Downer
Former Labor senator Nick Bolkus
Former Liberal staffer Ian Smith
Clients include: Minmetals Australia,
Clarke Energy, Forbes Oil & Gas,
Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited,
Billabong Australia
Earlier this year, the Australian reported
"Former Labor senator Nick Bolkus was paid a reported sum of $136,500 to lobby the Rann Government on behalf of the beleaguered South Australian Jockey Club, a board member says. SAJC director Bill Spear, who brought legal action last November against the state's biggest gallops club that resulted in its chief executive being sacked, yesterday raised further questions about the board's conduct... Mr Spear had earlier confirmed that during the past two months, while the board and the SAJC's now-sacked chief executive Steve Ploubidis were the subject of an independent inquiry over vote-rigging and alleged corruption, two payments each of about $68,000 were made to Mr Bolkus for lobbying on behalf of the club. Mr Ploubidis denies the allegations. Mr Spear said payments in excess of $10,000 had required board approval, which, to his knowledge, had not been forthcoming in this case. Mr Bolkus is a founding partner in Adelaide lobbying firm Bespoke Approach, with former Howard government foreign minister Alexander Downer, and businessman Ian Smith, who is married to former senator Natasha Stott Despoja."
Downer said that he fills out a form for the UN Secretariat. But it is not clear if this form lists Bespoke Approach's clients. The UN's safeguards against conflicts by part time envoys appear lax, all the more so after the questions that have arisen since part time UN envoy to Niger, Canadian ex-diplomat Robert Fowler, was kidnapped while on non-UN business, visiting a Canadian owned gold mine. Click here for that story -- more than a week after basic questions were put to the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General, still no answers have been received.
Footnotes: Paul Neville the parliamentarian explained to Inner City Press that he has been sent to New York for the UN General Assembly for the next thirteen weeks. Responding to Robert Fowler's detour in Niger, Neville said that if he ventures beyond New York City, he has to get his own insurance.
Inner City Press also asked Downer about leaked UN documents about his role in Cyprus, and will report that -- and attach some of the documents -- separately. Watch this site.And see, www.innercitypress.com/uncyp2conflicts091709.html
