Tourism Queensland chair faced perceived conflict of interest in national park tender
- Details
- Category: Natural Resources
- Created: Monday, 04 March 2019 00:15
- Written by Laura Gartry - ABC News
A controversial tender to allow companies to lease land and build eco-accommodation in Queensland national parks has been subject to a perceived conflict of interest involving the chair of Tourism Queensland (TEQ).
The ABC understands a company partly owned by Brett Godfrey has applied for the development contracts and been shortlisted for the lucrative deal.
Mr Godfrey referred himself to the Queensland integrity commissioner seeking advice about "the management of conflicts of interest" between his role as TEQ chair and as a director and significant shareholder of Australian Walking Company (AWC).
He has followed all the recommended steps to disclose and manage the perceived conflict, after the commissioner agreed Mr Godfrey's interests "give rise to a conflict" with his duties as chair of the tourism board.
Mr Godfrey is the multi-millionaire founder and former chief executive of Virgin Australia who was appointed to head up TEQ in 2017, largely due to his experience in commercial eco-tourism.
National parks have traditionally offered a limited range of huts and lodges, but pressure from private operators to gain access to this market and build accommodation has recently gained momentum in Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Mr Godfrey's companies have introduced commercial huts on Cradle Mountain in Tasmania, recently won a South Australian Government contract to build luxury lodges on Kangaroo Island in the Flinders Chase National Park and is pursuing development in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
He said Queensland was missing out by not offering private eco-accommodation in national parks and the Government has opened it to compete with Tasmania.
Mr Godfrey noted the advent of a conflict in itself was not problematic and the integrity commissioner has determined it can be managed.
"The problem arises if you don't resolve it in the public interest and I would argue that it's in the public interest that the best operators in the country … be putting their hat into the ring," Mr Godfrey said.
"There's only a handful of people in this country that have done what the EOI is setting out to achieve."
However, a corporate law and conflict of interest expert believes the situation would be unlikely to meet community standards, even though the regulatory boxes have been ticked.
PHOTO Protesters outside SA Parliament House against the AWC's Kangaroo Island development.
SUPPLIED: FRIENDS OF DUDLEY PENINSULA PARKS"It is unlikely to satisfy public expectations where you have a direct business and personal interest in the outcome of a tendering process and you're allowed to continue to participate [submit a proposal] in that process," Ross Grantham from the University of Queensland said.
"It departs increasingly from public perceptions and community expectations as to how a conflict of interest ought to be handled.
"I think a lot of people would probably be uncomfortable with that."
Professor Grantham said the State Government has a public perception issue on its hands.
"There has been compliance with the relevant legal rules, but whether that addresses the pub test is increasingly a separate question," he said.
PHOTO Only 40 campers are allowed to stay overnight on the Thorsborne Trail on Hinchinbrook Island.
SUPPLIED: STEVEN NOWAKOWSKIHow would the deal work?
The Queensland Government's Department of Tourism recently called for expressions of interest (EOI) for private businesses to build accommodation on 60-year leases in three national parks in the state, including on Hinchinbrook Island in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
The company that wins the Whitsunday Island Trail contract will also receive $5 million in taxpayer funds to help build the accommodation and a fast-tracked approval process.
TEQ is a seperate statutory body to the Department of Tourism which is running the EOI process, but the two "work collaboratively … to identify opportunities to increase tourism," according to the documentation Mr Godfrey provided to the integrity commissioner.
PHOTO A partner company of AWC has built the only private 'huts' allowed along the Overland Track at Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.
SUPPLIED: TWCMr Godfrey said TEQ would "more than likely one day be involved in marketing these products to the national market and globally".
"The state has had no experience in in-park commercial tourism," he told the ABC.
"That's why I've been a big proponent of trying to get this, because it needs another string to our bow where we've been losing market share for the past 15 years.
PHOTO A former manager of Queensland Parks and Wildlife Peter Ogilvie believes the Government is trying to make more money from national parks.
ABC NEWS"It's the fastest growing sector in tourism in the world and we've been playing with one hand tied behind our back.
"So this is why we've been pursuing this angle of looking at EOIs."
A former manager of Queensland Parks and Wildlife who worked for the Government for 46 years, believes the push towards commercialising national park trails is financially driven.
"This is purely a tourism exercise, they don't give a stuff about what the parks were set aside for, which legally under the Nature Conservation Act is primarily for the protection of native plants and animals," said Peter Ogilvie, who is now a retired conservationist.
"The Department of Tourism being given a free hand to make money in national parks, and it's got somebody in charge of TEQ who is a master of making money of out of national parks elsewhere."
PHOTO Walking guides prepare three-course meals each night for guests staying in the exclusive 'huts' in Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park in Tasmania.
SUPPLIED: TWCMr Godfrey said the issue had been resolved because the TEQ Board has not discussed the EOI and will not be involved in assessing any applications.
"There's nothing wrong with being the chair of TEQ and putting in a public tender because, if that was the case, you'd have half the boards in this country empty," he said.
Mr Godfrey told the ABC "no conflict currently exists" and any suggestion he had an advantage was "overreach" which could damage his reputation.
But in Professor Grantham's opinion, the conflict still exists regardless of if Mr Godfrey's company wins the contract or not.
"I think the conflict arose from the minute that the company submitted its EOI. The rules do not apply just to when the risk has materialised, it applies to prevent there being a risk of a conflict of interest," he said.
PHOTO An artist's impression of the proposed AWC accommodation in Flinders Chase National Park on Kangaroo Island.
SUPPLIED: AWCIntegrity commissioner finds conflict can be managed
Three weeks after the EOI was released, Mr Godfrey sought advice and advised the Queensland integrity commissioner he had already recused himself from any AWC company business or TEQ involvement in the project.
"Based on the information you provided, I agree that your private interests in the AWC give rise to a conflict with the duties as chair of the TEQ board and recommend that you disclose and manage the conflict in line with the steps I have set out," commissioner Nikola Stepanov replied to him.
"This is because a reasonable person, fully informed, would perceive that you may inadvertently use your official position as chair, or confidential information about the Queensland Trail Projects, to advance your private interests."
The integrity commissioner also advised Mr Godfrey "should not seek, directly or indirectly, to influence the outcome of any deliberations by the Government board".
PHOTO Tourism Minister Kate Jones did not respond to questions about public perceptions of the project.
ABC NEWSState Tourism Minister Kate Jones personally headhunted Mr Godfrey for the TEQ chair job and said he had not been directly or in-directly involved with the EOI process.
"I can advise Brett Godfrey has independently sought integrity commissioner advice and his advice to me is that there is no conflict … given he has no role in the decision making on this project," she said.
"What I can advise every single resident of Queensland, is that the decision in regard to Hinchinbrook Island is one being taken by departmental offices [Department of Tourism]. It has nothing to do with TEQ," she said.
"Brett Godfrey understands tourism better than most people in Australia and he understands that we need to diversify our products and our opportunities"
Size of shareholding not disclosed to the commissioner
When seeking advice from the integrity commissioner, Mr Godfrey wrote: "I am also a shareholder and sit on the board of directors of the Australian Walking Company, which is currently considering investment opportunities in Queensland."
However, Mr Godfrey disclosed to the ABC that he owns and holds a beneficial interest of approximately one-third of Australian Walking Company, via a holding company arrangement.
Mr Godfrey was not legally obligated to disclose the size of his shareholding, but the integrity commissioner provides advice based on the 'facts provided' which "should contain sufficient information to allow the commissioner to evaluate the issues concerned".
When asked why he did not include the size of his shareholding in Australian Walking Company in the submission to the integrity commissioner, Mr Godfrey said it did not matter.
"It doesn't matter whether I am a 1 per cent shareholder or 100 per cent shareholder," he told the ABC.
"In reality if there is a conflict, there is a conflict. I have an obligation whether it is a shareholding agreement or just a board membership … if I was just involved in the board or the management of that company, I would have a potential conflict."
But Professor Grantham believes size did matter.
"The more acute the conflict is, the greater the steps that should be taken in order to address it," he said.
Dr Stepanov said due to legal secrecy provisions she could not comment on any specific matters.
"But generally speaking, unless a shareholding is trivial, a perceived conflict of interest may exist and must be managed in such a way as to satisfy any concerns the public may have," she said.
Ms Jones said the advice from the integrity commissioner "clearly states that the commissioner did not think it was necessary for Mr Godfrey to divest his interest in AWC".
PHOTO Hinchinbrook Island is within the world heritage listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
SUPPLIED: STEVEN NOWAKOWSKIConsultation on 'eco-tourism opportunities' in months prior to EOI
Mr Godfrey confirmed to the ABC the Tourism Department spoke to "a bunch of industry players" including himself, about opportunities for eco-tourism prior to the EOI, but were not told anything specific about the tender.
"I was asked my advice as to what would make a marketable opportunity for this state," he said.
"We've got some of the greatest natural resource assets in the world and we're not playing in that space.
PHOTO Protesters rallied against development on Hinchinbrook Island late last year.
ABC NEWS: LAURA GARTRY"I guess it would be incumbent upon the Department — and I'm only speculating here … — to understand what actually makes a great walk, what's going to make a good product that TEQ can market and sell to the world and how are you going to go about setting up the processes to ensure that you pick the right parks or the right locations, a la what they've done in Tasmania."
"Various companies were talked to, not told anything.
"If you're trying to think that certain companies got any preferential treatment, I would say those companies provided preferential information to the Department, so they could actually design an EOI that went to the market with enough time for them to fully consider it."
Mr Godfrey said the discussions happened potentially three or four months before the EOI came out.
The Tourism Department said the process is not yet complete and an announcement is expected soon.
'Business class' in national parks
Mr Godfrey said the target demographic for his national park accommodation businesses was a "52-year-old single female who finds going into the wilderness, not her cup of tea".
"There are certain people that can't carry a 25-kilogram backpack," he said.
"So having some creature comforts, having a guide take them into the wilderness works for them."
PHOTO AWC's Twelve Apostles Lodge Walk costs around $2500 for a three-night package.
SUPPLIED: AWCMr Godfrey said it was about providing two different types of products.
"It's just like for my aviation business you know we provided an economy class for those that wanted a budget-conscious experience and we provided a business class for those that wanted something different," he said.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with providing the full spectrum, but I come back full circle and say that national parks should be accessible to all," he said.
