Assistant health minister accused of misleading parliament

So far, Senator Nash has been toughing it out, including a laughable appearance before a Senate estimates committee, at which she stonewalled and simply refused to answer pertinent questions.
Senator Nash is under pressure over her former chief of staffer ‘s role (with her agreent) in the taking down of a website sowing health food ratings, which was criticised by some sections of the food industry because it showed up some of their products.
It has erged that her chief of staff Mr Alastair Furnival is a former chairman of a opposed to a new health star rating website, which provided nutritional information about food products, and was roved just 20 hours after it began operation, allegedly at the behest of Mr Furnival and others.
When questioned about roval of the website, the health department’s role in that, and the background and role of Mr Furnival, Senator Nash told parliament he was not in any way connected to any lobbying firm.
Several hours later, she informed the Senate that was not the case.
Soon after, Mr Furnival resigned his position.
Just as Insight was going to press, the special minister of state, Mr Michael Ronaldson, was refusing to say whether he had sent a letter approving Senator Nash’s chief of staff to start work while he was still director of a company that owned a lobbying firm representing junk food clients.
Senator Ronaldson was questioned by Senator Penny Wong in Senate estimates on 25 February about whether he knew that Mr Furnival still held a directorship and co-owned Strategic Issues Managent, one of the three companies that makes up the Australian Public Affairs partnership, when he took up the job late last year.
Under the statent of ministerial staff standards the special minister of state must send a letter of permission for a ministerial staffer to work while retaining a directorship of a company.
Paragraph six of the statent of standards for ministerial staff says ministerial staff must “have no involvent in outside ployment or in the daily work of any business, or retain a directorship of a company, without the written agreent of their minister and the special minister of state.”
Senator Ronaldson sits on the government staffing committee which vets and approves staff appointments to ministerial offices and took the question about whether he sent a letter of approval on notice.
Mr Furnival had three contracts which were signed off by the prime minister’s chief of staff, Ms Peta Credlin, two of th short-term and one ongoing.