Former premier’s loan to MP could spur legal changes, says public sector watchdog

The independent body in charge of public sector oversight will consider whether legal changes are necessary to ensure potential or apparent conflicts of interest are properly declared, three months after a financial agreement between former Premier Wayne Panton and his former Health Minister Sabrina Turner were made public. 

The Commission for Standards in Public Life says it will also review its “guidance notes” so public servants have a “clear and full understanding of the need to declare possible or perceived conflicts”.

In a press release issued Thursday, the commission said its position is that “even if there is no conflict of interest, there should be no uncertainty of any possible or perceived conflict of interest.”

The mooted changes come after public record documents reviewed by the Compass revealed Panton had made a $1.64 million loan to his sitting health minister to buy a house in Patrick’s Island last year, at a time when he was premier.

MPs are required under the Standards in Public Life Act to declare details of their assets and financial obligations, including property ownership and loans.

The commission stated it had reviewed the declarations made by Panton and Turner in the Register of Interests and determined there were no breaches of requirements applying to them under the act.

The specific terms of the loan, the interest rate charged or the repayment dates were not included in the Register of Interests for Members of Parliament, which was reviewed by the Compass in September, nor were the details included in public documents held with the Land Registry, which did record details of the purchase and the loan, registered on 17 April 2023.

The loan raised ethical concerns given the optics of a financial arrangement made between a sitting premier and his minister.

At the time, the former premier had defended the arrangement, arguing that “the loan agreement was handled by external counsel and in a fully arms-length manner” and was a “private short-term bridge loan”.

Turner, who parted ways with the current administration in October alongside three other MPs, did not respond to numerous Compass questions about the arrangement at the time. However, the former minister argued the matter was a personal loan, a legal contract between the two parties, and not a “backdoor arrangement”, according to a social media report.

Transparency

The commission in its release stated it was “prudent” to emphasise “to all persons in public life the importance of transparency”.

“We urge all persons in public life to adhere strictly to their obligations of transparency and to declare all interests as required. It is crucial that these disclosures are made in a timely and comprehensive manner to maintain the public’s trust and confidence,” it added.

The commission, in its release, called the register a “vital tool” in “promoting accountability and trust in public office”.

“It ensures that conflicts of interest are disclosed, enhances public confidence in the integrity of government officials, and upholds the ethical standards expected of those in public service,” the release set out, adding that failure to properly declare interests may carry a $10,000 fine or a prison term.