Hiding in the background, pulling the strings. Questioned as to why he was hired by Mr Sukkar, Mr Pham said: "I think I'd rather you speak straight to Michael about that." [37], In his maiden speech, Sukkar categorised himself as an "economic liberal" and with "strong conservative foundations". My online community survey takes just a few minutes to complete and you can also sign up to my e-newsletter to receive regular updates. ", Questioned why he had helped design dirt files for Mr Sukkar's office targeting another Liberal, Mr Pham said: "I actually don't know the details of what you are talking about.". Instead Sukkar appointed Gary Johns, a known hater of charities to the role. [5] In 2013, he expressed support for the school chaplaincy program at an Australian Christian Lobby forum. Michael Sukkar (Image: AAP/Mick Tsikas) Assistant Treasurer and Housing Minister Michael Sukkar is using taxpayer funds to defend a defamation action. Deakin taxpayers haven't even gotten value for our money with barely any work done, cost blowouts and Sukkar handing $42 million up front with no proper assessments of the works of what our money was paying for. That prompted Sukkar and Andrews, who denied the allegations, to refer themselves to the finance department to investigate whether there had been any misuse of their taxpayer-funded budget, a potential breach of parliamentary rules. In a statement, Mr Sukkar said that "Mr Pham was engaged as a casual Electorate Officer in the Deakin Electorate Office, between May 2014 and September 2017, given his skill set and performance.". The budget cannot be used to pay for party political activity. Michael Sven Sukkar (born 11 September 1981) is an Australian politician serving as Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Housing since 2019. Why would Sukkar appoint such an inappropriate person to be the head of the ACNC? Even with domestic violence on the rise. In February 2017, Mr Pham also designed a flyer for a Deakin 200 Club fundraiser for Mr Sukkar at Bar Humbug in Melbourne's CBD in April that year. What good is a grant with a cap of $700,000 when houses sell for over a million dollars. They need to know whether their money was misused against the law. Mr Sukkar released a statement completely rejecting the allegations. A Finance spokesman confirmed information provided by Mr Sukkar and Mr Andrews to the review included several statutory declarations from staff. Sukkar was seeking to install Peter Dutton as PM. It is alleged the scheme began in mid-2017. However, one has been cancelled and the rest are barely underway. Minister Sukkar: Good morning, Michael. With almost 60 per cent of the postal votes . This time, it's alleged that the member for Deakin used his office electorate budget to contract one of his best friends as a graphic designer between 2016 and 2018, and instructed him to create a range of political smear materials to solicit party donations- an action in breach of . [34], At the 2022 Australian federal election, Sukkar held his seat by fewer than 500 votes, making it the most marginal Liberal seat in the nation. THE HON MICHAEL SUKKAR MP SHADOW MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES, NDIS, HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS TRANSCRIPT INTERVIEW WITH KIERAN GILBERT [], THE HON MICHAEL SUKKAR MP SHADOW MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES, NDIS, HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS TRANSCRIPT INTERVIEW WITH STEPHEN CENATIEMPO, [], THE HON MICHAEL SUKKAR MP Shadow Minister for Social Services Shadow Minister for NDIS Shadow Minister for Housing Shadow Minister []. Electorate officers are funded by the taxpayer, and are not allowed to engage in party political activities in the office. This would mean Australia would no longer have any charities! Electorate Office (Principal Office) 5/602 Whitehorse Road Mitcham, VIC, 3132 Postal address. Sukkar has been a member of the House of Representatives since September 2013, representing the Division of Deakin in Victoria for the Liberal Party. With polls swinging away from the Liberals, a heated contest got under way. Tony Abbott told a Liberal branch meeting in the Deakin electorate of Michael Sukkar that just at the moment were at a bit of a low ebb. Emails sent by Mr Pham reveal that he was used by Mr Sukkar's office to design flyers to solicit political donations for the Liberal Party's Deakin 200 Club in early February 2017. Local Liberal councillor Kylie Speers said that "for one" election, Mr Sukkar's office arranged for her printed campaign material. Shame that it's our money. After all, the alleged misuse of taxpayers money and the potential breaking of the law for a power grab is important to the integrity of the government. Please signup or follow on social media below to be notified of updates. Michael Sukkar: Liberal: 2013-present Election results Elections in the 2020s 2022. SHARE. In late 2016, Mr Pham was used by Mr Sukkar's office to design his Christmas card. He spent six years in London working for The Guardian. The issue is that Michael Sukkar said he'd do something then didn't. It did not interview key staff from the electoral offices of Deakin and Menzies. The Age and Herald have also uncovered the role of Mr Sukkar's office in facilitating the printing of campaign material for Liberal-aligned local councillors in Victoria in 2016. Now I think that most people agree that JobKeeper did save so many jobs, it did save so many businesses. To make matters worse Sukkar wants charities to be deregistered for thought crimes[3] . That's the false hope that Sukkar is peddling so the Liberals can pretend to care about poor people and woman given their hopeless record. Documents filed in the Federal Court allege Mr Sukkar was involved in placing factional operatives inside taxpayer-funded electorate office jobs to do Liberal Party work. It's been a long held view of conservative politicians that charities should be supported in their work. Shadow Social Services Minister Michael Sukkar says Roshena Campbell will be an "outstanding" candidate for Aston. What hope is there for you? Maybe he is too busy trying to take over the Victorian Liberals to do his taxpayer funded job? If you don't get an email from us in the next couple of days, Tony Abbott led "conservative resistance movement", targeting sitting state and federal Liberals whom he doesn't like, knowledge of the use of taxpayer resources for Sukkar's political activities, https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/liberal-mp-michael-sukkar-pledges-to-crush-partys-left-termites/news-story/8e8392633ae048f0f2e924d29c331ea3, https://www.theage.com.au/national/sukkar-uses-taxpayer-budget-to-employ-friend-who-also-designed-smear-sheets-20200824-p55osu.html, https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/factional-machinations-sukkar-plotted-to-block-liberal-colleague-s-career-20200828-p55qah.html, https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/michael-sukkar-knew-of-scheme-that-misused-public-funds-to-boost-faction-20211104-p5960i.html, https://www.crikey.com.au/2021/10/27/michael-sukkar-taxpayers-paying-legal-fees/, Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, could cost up to $150 million in their first year, stifle criticism of Sukkar and government policy, https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2017/08/19/nobbling-the-charities/15030648005086, https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2017/12/16/the-gary-johns-appointment/15133428005650, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/25/charities-slam-government-plan-to-deregister-organisations-that-may-commit-crimes, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/may/28/australian-government-crackdown-on-charities-will-stifle-political-advocacy-experts-say, 'Bank of Mum and Dad' is now the FIFTH largest lender in the country, https://www.realestate.com.au/news/bank-of-mum-and-dad-is-fifth-biggest-lender-in-country/, https://singlemum.com.au/homebuyer-deposit-discount-for-single-parents, https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/homelessness-sector-unable-to-secure-meeting-with-minister/13330778, https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/soaring-house-prices-an-economic-threat-eating-away-the-future-20210614-p580s2.html, don't want a federal anti corruption body, https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/five-commuter-car-park-projects-scrapped-by-morrison-government/news-story/8d64a740ff8d702819384497e226a7e4, https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2021/06/28/car-park-rorts-government/, https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/pain-for-melbourne-commuters-as-morrison-governments-station-pledge-in-disarray/news-story/87bf1075511c5b3db0061dfa71e5fdc2, https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2021/07/13/carporks-carparkrorts/, https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/former-judge-labels-660-million-car-park-fund-corruption-20210721-p58bo3.html, Andrew Hastie always said they would never vote for the bill, "in accordance with the majority view of Australians", https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/east/deakin-mp-michael-sukkar-abstains-from-samesex-marriage-vote/news-story/f0b723b8b1550cd613bfab70834793cb, key player in the removal of Malcolm Turnbull, trying to rally support and influence the outcome, https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/michael-sukkar-faces-backlash-over-role-in-liberal-leadership-crisis-20180828-p5004y.html, https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-texts-threats-and-lies-that-will-haunt-the-morrison-government-20180831-p500xr.html, https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/changing-the-guard-inside-the-battle-for-prize-liberal-seat-of-menzies-20210126-p56wzo.html, launched an extraordinary attack on the Victorian judiciary, explain why they shouldn't be charged with contempt of court, https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/the-texts-that-could-cost-three-government-ministers-their-jobs-20170621-gwv6g3.html, https://www.afr.com/politics/greg-hunt-alan-tudge-michael-sukkar-face-contempt-charge-20170615-gwrf34, https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/programs/drive/rob-stary/8618480, https://www.crikey.com.au/2017/06/20/what-hunt-sukkar-and-tudges-sentencing-comments-reveal-about-conservatives/, Voting against building dedicated quarantine facilities, Voting against treating the COVID-19 vaccine rollout as a matter of urgency, Voting to decrease availability of welfare payments, Voting against increasing the aged pension, Voting for making university more expensive, Voting against making housing more affordable. Maybe there is a reason that Josh Frydenberg wouldn't confirm his trust in Sukkar. They claimed it was advocating lighter sentences for terrorists as part of 'ideological experiments'. CEO,Averda December 5, 2018 July 7, 2021. by Staff Writer December 5, 2018 July 7, 2021. Unsurprisingly Sukkar's word is worth no more than a press release. Graphic designer Matt Pham, who chose Mr Sukkar as one of the groomsmen at his 2014 wedding and has been a close personal friend of the minister for more than a decade, was paid from Mr Sukkar's electorate office budget between 2016 and 2018. "I very much doubt that Sukkar can or should remain a minister of the Crown. Mr Sukkar told factional allies he had read through the very long, indulgent and quite frankly bizarre post. Under Sukkar's proposed rules, if the ACNC, headed by a Sukkar appointed charity hater, thinks a charity will commit a crime, it can be deregistered. When Sukkar became the minister responsible for the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), he refused to meet with, or reappoint the then head of the ACNC Susan Pascoe. Documents filed in the Federal Court allege Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar misused taxpayer funds. Given Michael likes to criticise others' use of calculators, perhaps he should take the log out of his own eye when it comes to doing basic sums. It was outsourced to the major law firm Ashurst, where Sukkar worked for seven years. If he breaks one promise, what other promises does he not intend on keeping? The people of Deakin deserve to know the truth about these shady looking backroom dealings. The flyers were never distributed, said one source. Maroondah councillor and Liberal figure Nora Lamont said she had not paid for a printer to produce her campaign materials for the 2016 council election, but rather had paid Mr Sukkar's office. It was reported that Michael Sukkar seemingly endorsed a memo that outlined a scheme to build a stronger Sukkar-controlled faction from inside the electoral office of Kevin Andrews. Funding for Indigenous programs has been a yoyo. Mitchell Brophy (Canberra) 10. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg defended his colleague. You would think that such serious allegations would warrant a serious and thorough investigation. [39] Although initially stating he would follow the outcome of the survey,[40][41] Sukkar abstained from the vote despite his electorate voting 66% in favour, saying that he could not support the bill. "I think the party is very enthusiastic . On February 10, 2017, Mr Sukkar's office told Mr Pham to work on the flyer, stating in one email that he had "more work for you mate". There is a housing crises in Australia and growing homelessness. Browse Michael Sukkar news, research and analysis from The Conversation Michael Sukkar - News, Research and Analysis - The Conversation - page 1 Menu Close Michael Sukkar Australia votes Tight race in Deakin, 55 votes separate knife-edge Victorian seat Liberal MP Michael Sukkar is hanging on by a wafer-thin margin in his outer-suburban seat of Deakin as the count of postal votes continues. A "club" which does not lodge financial disclosures on the basis that it says it isnt an "associated entity" of a political party. The "investigation" by the Department of Finance was conducted by Ashurst. Mr Sukkar ceased working for Ashurst (then known as Blake Dawson Waldron) in 2013.. I have never authorised my staff to undertake activities contrary to applicable policies and guidelines when they are being paid to serve the constituents of the Deakin electorate.. However, he rebuked Mr Sukkar for disparaging remarks he had made about fellow Victorian Liberal Jane Hume, which were also aired in the reports. Michael Sukkar, left, with his good friend and sometime employee, Matt Pham. FB TW MAIL LN. Ms Lamont said she had an invoice outlining the arrangement, but did not supply it by time of publication. My online community survey takes just a few minutes to complete and you can also sign up to my e-newsletter to receive regular updates. Files obtained by The Age and Herald show that at the request of Mr Sukkar's office in early February 2017, Mr Pham created two flyers designed to smear conservative state Liberal MP Gary Blackwood by falsely claiming he was aligned to "socially progressive voters". Leaked messages are reported to have revealed how Sukkar and his office directed and endorsed the employment of party political staff. You can read my Deakin Community News Summer 2022 Edition newsletter HERE. Keeping in touch with your views and opinions helps me to represent you, and I encourage you to provide me with your regular feedback. Sign up to get our new Explainer newsletter here. Hardly responsible money management from the Assistant Treasurer. [4][5], In 2005 Sukkar worked as a taxation consultant at accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. But we don't know who is suing him, and why . He has even said he didn't making the commitment on the radio (~15:45). Wages haven't risen in over a decade, so it's harder and harder to get a deposit and service the mortgage. [44] They have two sons, Leo and Nathan.[2]. Sukkar attended primary school at Sacred Heart in Croydon and then secondary school at Aquinas College in Ringwood. Deakin returned a 66% Yes result for the Marriage Law Postal Survey yet when the bill was to be voted on, Michael Sukkar abstained. This was to be done by using electorate officers to engage in political recruiting activities. Posted in Uncategorized 2018 FM Power 50 Malek Sukkar. Other Liberals have also expressed concern with the shady looking activities of Sukkar and his electoral office. With flashy Facebook announcements - that have since been deleted. The revelations come as the fallout from the Liberal Party branch stacking scandal revealed on Sunday night by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes led to Monday's resignation from the party of powerbroker Marcus Bastiaan. The member for the east Melbourne seat of Deakin is facing calls from Labor to resign from federal cabinet, scrutiny from an internal Liberal Party probe as well as a departmental audit. Assistant minister Tim Wilson suggested the governments revised version of the legislation, yet to be made public, was stronger than previously proposed. R v Peter Julian Engel. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage Even the "First Home Whatever" grants that Sukkar is touting is an insult to the people of Deakin. The government has recently touted the "rule of law" as an excuse to not have an inquiry into the allegations surrounding another minister. [38], Sukkar opposed same-sex marriage during the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. The former Ashurst tax lawyer started his mission from God to impose his will on the Party. The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey to ask Australian's opinions on whether the Marriage Act should be changed was always going to be passionate. Ashurst told the Guardian it took its responsibilities seriously and acted in accordance with the highest standards of ethics and conduct at all times. "I paid Michael Sukkar's office for my own material," she said when asked why she paid a political office for printing rather than directly engaging a printing company. The court hadn't yet reached a decision on the case. Are you someone who is sick of the daily grind who is watching Sukkar and his mates get richer? 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