Queensland MP Ewen Jones announced last week that the government had awarded a $45,000 grant to SeaLink, the ASX-listed ferry and cruise operator that runs tours out of Townsville. While the funds for staff training programs under the Australian government Industry Skills Fund is in not lavish, one local found it interesting that the company’s connection to the government was not mentioned:
“It sounded as if this small cash offering would rival the miracle of feeding the hungry multitude with gluten free loaves and fishes. The reporters took the bait, went away and dutifully ran Ewen’s spiel. Astonishingly, nobody in the media raised the fact that Lucy Hughes Turnbull, wife of the PM, had been both a director and deputy chairman of the Sealink board and had stepped down in October 2015 after Malcolm dethroned Abbott.”
Crikey is committed to hosting lively discussions. Help us keep the conversation useful, interesting and welcoming. We aim to publish comments quickly in the interest of promoting robust conversation, but we’re a small team and we deploy filters to protect against legal risk. Occasionally your comment may be held up while we review, but we’re working as fast as we can to keep the conversation rolling.
The Crikey comment section is members-only content. Please subscribe to leave a comment.
The Crikey comment section is members-only content. Please login to leave a comment.