Australian Government Solicitor, (AGS), and the missing legal opinion(s)., page-51

When peripheral neuropathy gets the better of your capacity to sleep one has the will to write to the local member; my member, who became somewhat annoyed when I pestered him about the illegal Skip Capital bid to takeover Genex Power Ltd and the "secretive "SECRET" loan",

Perhaps my local member, Andrew Leigh, will manage to find the time to talk to Senator Gallagher?

None of this would be happening if ASIC had briefed staff working for Senator Gallagher and Minister King and the staff had written to explain why ASIC may consider that the transfer of the $610 million to JPGA Partners Pty Ltd is legal and compliant with the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Act 2016. Maybe ASIC has not been able to say it is legal and compliant with the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Act 2016, yet does not want that fact revealed, least of all to Mr Justice Black?

Friday might be transparency day for ASIC?

The Hon Andrew Leigh

Member for Fenner

Hi Andrew

I write to you, my local member, with concern that your colleague, Senator, The Hon Katy Gallagher, Minister for Finance, is about to condone corruption involving a significant amount of Commonwealth Government funds.

Faced with a brick wall in trying to communicate with ASIC I have formally raised my concerns with the NACC and the AFP.

Senator Gallagher and The Hon Madeleine King are jointly responsible for the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Act 2016, (NAIF).

You may recall, because of my lobbying of you in 2022, that NAIF lent a $610 million “secretive “SECRET” loan” to Genex Power Ltd for the construction of the Kidston Storage Pumped Hydro Project. I played, I suggest, a not insignificant part in stopping that loan being taken over by Skip Capital; (Farquhar and Jackson).

Genex Power Ltd is about to be taken over by a foreign owned and controlled entity, JPGA Partners Pty Ltd. It has FIRB approval but an issue which has not been addressed and resolved is what authority NAIF has to transfer the secret loan to this Japanese company.

The transaction should, in my view, have been undertaken with JPGA Partners Pty Ltd refinancing the $610 million and thus making those funds available for other developmental projects in Northern Australia.

As happened in 2022, NAIF has failed to obtain an opinion(s) from either or both the Solicitor-General and the Australian Solicitor General on the question of what legislative, regulatory or ministerial authority NAIF has to simply transfer the loan; to a foreign entity.

You can readily understand the situation by reading the attached file; a letter to Senator O”Neill and Mr Greg Yanco, the CEO of ASIC dated 13 and 16 July respectively.

Those letters and much more can be found on the website HotCopper.

Senator Gallagher, like you, is extremely busy and very dependent upon support staff. It concerns me deeply that Senator Gallagher has been bulldozed by staff into allowing this transfer of the $610 million secret loan without due ministerial consideration. The Assistant Treasurer, The Hon Stephen Jones, has asked for ASIC consideration of the matter but there is no indication that the outcome of that consideration has been conveyed to Senator Gallagher, (or Minister King).

Had ASIC done what was requested of it, either Senator Gallagher or Minister King could have written to me explaining why what is proposed will happen with the loan is legal and being done with proper authority. That has not happened.

It appears that ASIC is intent on having the transaction proceed without the above issues being raised at a Second Court Hearing in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday, 19 July.

I ask, would you, as my local member, urgently contact Senator Gallagher and ask if she has been comprehensively briefed by her Department and ASIC on the matter and if she has satisfied herself that NAIF is acting legally and with due and proper authority when it transfers the $610 million “secretive “SECRET” loan” to JPGA Partners Pty Ltd?

I have not been able to obtain from ASIC an assurance that the proposed dealing with the $610 million NAIF loan is both legal and in accordance with the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Act 2016 .

Yours sincerely

Howard Patrick

17 July 2024