The government has defended an $80 million water buyback approved in 2017.Credit:Kate Geraghty
Concerns have been raised about the record-setting payment for the water and Energy Minister Angus Taylor's previous roles as a director and consultant for the company. Mr Taylor has denied ongoing association with the company and any financial benefit from the transaction.
Seizing on the heightened scrutiny,Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has renewed Labor's call for a federal anti-corruption body,saying the government has"a lot more questions to answer".
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is writing to the government's independent Auditor-General requesting an"urgent audit into all water purchases signed off by Barnaby Joyce". She also said there should be a federal royal commission into the state of the Murray-Darling Basin.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the terms of the buyback were"settled at arms-length"from federal government ministers.
Mr Morrison noted the Senate had previously inquired into the buybacks and been provided with documents from the government. He said there had been a"high level of transparency on that"and the issue had been addressed.
Claims about the propriety of the buyback have recently been circulating on social media,were subsequently picked up by journalist Michael West and broadcast on Channel Ten'sThe Project.
The purchase was approved by Mr Joyce,the agriculture and water minister at the time. In a statement issued on Saturday,a spokesman for the Nationals MP said he had"no role in determining the price or the vendor"under a process led by bureaucrats.