❓ Opposition questions the Premier about potential conflict of interest due to Woodside executives advising him. Premier denies the claim and accuses the Labor Party of being incapable of dealing with major corporations.
AnsweredQoN 235Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WOODSIDE — RELATIONSHIP WITH GOVERNMENT
I have a supplementary question. In light of the Premier’s intense involvement in this matter and the obvious conflict of interest in his office, will he now remove from his office the two Woodside executives who are advising him on this matter? Mr C.J. BARNETT
I have a supplementary question. In light of the Premier’s intense involvement in this matter and the obvious conflict of interest in his office, will he now remove from his office the two Woodside executives who are advising him on this matter? Mr C.J. BARNETT
AnswerView source ↗
They are not advising me on this matter at all. Mr M. McGowan : Not at all? Not at all? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are not. Mr E.S. Ripper : Have you had no conversation with them at all? The SPEAKER : Members! Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: They are not advising me on this matter at all. Mr M. McGowan : Not at all? Not at all? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are not. Mr E.S. Ripper : Have you had no conversation with them at all? The SPEAKER : Members! Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
They are not advising me on this matter at all. Mr M. McGowan : Not at all? Not at all? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are not. Mr E.S. Ripper : Have you had no conversation with them at all? The SPEAKER : Members! Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr M. McGowan : Not at all? Not at all? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are not. Mr E.S. Ripper : Have you had no conversation with them at all? The SPEAKER : Members! Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are not. Mr E.S. Ripper : Have you had no conversation with them at all? The SPEAKER : Members! Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Have you had no conversation with them at all? The SPEAKER : Members! Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
The SPEAKER : Members! Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: They are not advising me on this matter at all. Mr M. McGowan : Not at all? Not at all? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are not. Mr E.S. Ripper : Have you had no conversation with them at all? The SPEAKER : Members! Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
They are not advising me on this matter at all. Mr M. McGowan : Not at all? Not at all? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are not. Mr E.S. Ripper : Have you had no conversation with them at all? The SPEAKER : Members! Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr M. McGowan : Not at all? Not at all? Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are not. Mr E.S. Ripper : Have you had no conversation with them at all? The SPEAKER : Members! Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : No, they are not. Mr E.S. Ripper : Have you had no conversation with them at all? The SPEAKER : Members! Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Have you had no conversation with them at all? The SPEAKER : Members! Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
The SPEAKER : Members! Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr M. McGowan : Do you understand the message this sends? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, Woodside executives? In the case of Mr Wedgwood, I do not think he has worked for Woodside for five or six years, or longer. Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr M. McGowan : Does he own shares? Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Pontifex has been out of Woodside for over a year; I do not think he actually even owns any shares today. I mean, what a joke! This is a relatively small town, and if the member thinks people of that standing are going to be conflicted, or I am going to be conflicted, he lives in fairyland. This actually tells members of the house something about the Labor Party. It behaved so inappropriately in the 1980s—it repeated some of that in the 1990s—that it is now so spooked that it is incapable of dealing with major corporations and major issues about the development of this state. It is absolutely spooked! Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Absolute rubbish! Tell the truth! Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : It cannot deal with the big policy issues; it is incapable of doing it.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.