Date February 12, 2014 – 12:56PM

• Chief of staff married to lobbyist for junk food industry

A senior government staffer who demanded a healthy food website be taken down owns shares in a company that lobbies for the junk food industry.
Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash revealed in a late-night statement to the senate on Tuesday that her chief of staff, Alastair Furnival, owns shares in the lobbying company Australian Public Affairs – only hours after she had first told Parliament there was “no connection whatsoever” between her chief of staff and the company.

Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash is under fire over the withdrawal of a food rating website. Photo: Katherine Griffiths

Australian Public Affairs is listed on the lobbyist register as representing the Australian Beverages Council and Mondelez Australia, which owns the Kraft peanut butter, Cadbury and Oreo brands, among others.

The latest development comes after Fairfax Media reported Mr Furnival is also married to the head of the company. A spokeswoman told Fairfax Media that Mr Furnival had “no role whatsoever in his wife’s business”.

In Parliament last night, Senator Nash stated that “for the sake of completeness” she was updating her earlier statements to include Mr Furnival’s shareholding.

A screen grab of the website before it was discontinued.

She said that he had no active involvement with the company, and “arrangements” had been put in place so that his business activities would not conflict with his role. His wife had committed to not lobbying the health minister, assistant health minister or health department.

Health groups have condemned the intervention of Senator Nash and Mr Furnival in the health star rating food site, which set up a system that enabled food manufacturers to label their products with easy-to-understand nutritional information.

The site was developed through a Council of Australian Governments process run by state ministers, and was launched last Wednesday with the wide support of health groups, including the Heart Foundation, CHOICE, and the Public Health Association of Australia.

Fairfax Media understands that Mr Furnival insisted staff take the website down – a directive that was refused, only to have Senator Nash intervene with the same request. The site was taken down by 8pm that same night.

Public Health Association head Michael Moore said the decision to take down the site was inappropriate.

“The disappointing thing to me was that it was a unilateral decision that overrode a decision of the food ministers,” he said.

LABOR is claiming a conflict of interest and possible breach of parliamentary conduct on the part of a senior federal government staffer over his links to the junk food industry.

Late on Tuesday, Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash told the Senate her chief of staff Alastair Furnival remains a shareholder of Australian Public Affairs (APA), a company operated by his wife, Tracey Cain.

The business represents the Australian Beverages Council, Mondel?z and Cadbury which opposed a new website providing nutritional information about food.

The website was removed 20 hours after it began operation last week and Labor have questioned Mr Furnival’s involvement.

“Prior to working for me Mr Furnival was APA’s chairman and because of that previous position he has a shareholding in the company,” Senator Nash told the Senate.

But before his parliamentary appointment “arrangements were put in place” to prevent his work history conflicting with his obligations under the Statement of Standards for Ministerial Staff, she added.

Ms Cain subsequently gave undertakings that neither her nor APA would make representations to Health Minister Peter Dutton, the health department, or any commonwealth minister in relation to the health portfolio, Senator Nash said.

“On the advice available to me these undertakings have been honoured in full.

“Indeed, neither he nor my office has met with Mondel?z, formerly Kraft, and owners of Cadbury with whom he worked as a chief economist,” Senator Nash said.

Opposition Senate leader Penny Wong said Senator Nash’s response required further explanation.

“She’s in fact conceded that her chief of staff had a direct pecuniary interest in a firm which… had a commercial interest in the policy decisions in her portfolio,” Senator Wong said.

“There are some very serious questions to be answered by the minister, and frankly by the government, about how that arrangement can possibly comply with the ministerial standards and the standards applicable to ministerial staff.”

Senator Wong said Mr Furnival’s involvement in the website removal is yet to be explained.

She also asked to be told when Mr Furnival declared his interest to Senator Nash, the health department and the prime minister’s office.