MP GIFT HAUL REVEALED
Beer, wine, spirits and tickets for Labor MP
LARA MP John Eren has received a treasure trove of gifts ranging from boxes of booze to Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift concert tickets, his private gift register has revealed.
The Labor MP has been showered with more than 120 gifts since the 2014 election, according to the register, obtained by the Geelong Advertiser under a Freedom of Information request.
The Minister for Sport, Tourism and Major Events — sometimes referred to as the Minister for Freebies — has received hard-to-nab concert tickets to Ed Sheeran ( two tickets), Taylor Swift (six tickets), Cold Chisel at Hanging Rock ( two tickets) and Cat Stevens (three tickets).
But, key details about the gifts remain a mystery, with the the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources redacting information from Mr Eren’s register, including who handed him the concert tickets to Taylor Swift and Cold Chisel.
A spokesman for Mr Eren dodged a series of questions from the Addy, including queries on who gifted him the concert tickets.
“All gifts received are properly declared in line with longstanding procedures,” the spokesman said.
The register includes dozens of bottles of wine, gin and beer, six Geelong Football Club jumpers, soccer and basketball jerseys, signed basketballs, soccerballs and even a water polo ball.
It also includes 10 tickets to watch Brazil take on Argentina at the MCG in June last year. A 2016 season pass to the V8 Supercars, and even ear muffs, goggles and a gun catalogue from firearms manufacturer Beretta.
The register also has two entire line items removed, and does not include dates or estimated values of the gifts.
The register also includes a bike “loaned” to the Minister from private company Signature Sport, understood to be a $2000 BMC Granfondo road bike.
In February 2016, Mr Eren was criticised for accepting the bike without declaring it, and Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said the excuse that the bike was on loan was “utterly unbelievable”.
“John Eren has become the minister for freebies,” Mr Guy said at the time.
Mr Eren’s gift register did not include expensive gifts listed on his publicly-available Register of Members’ Interests in September 30, 2017.
The register includes a number of ‘gifts exceeding $500’, which include two VRC VIP annual passes 2017-18, two Racing Victoria Annual Passes 2017-18, and memberships to the Qantas ‘Chairman Club’ and Virgin Australia’s ‘The Club’.
The Addy also obtained a copy of Police Minister Lisa Neville’s sparse gift register, which included a decorative plate from the Jiangsu Province Department of Housing and Urban Rural Development and a glass paperweight from the Hong Kong Police Force.
Both were received in November 2017, and are estimated to be valued at $50 each.