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Anika Wells could have violated ministerial disclosure regulations by not revealing her husband’s position at a lobbying company that contributed to her election campaign and was under her ministerial responsibilities.

The company also prepared content for her official messages, as Wells authorized a one-million-dollar government contract with one of its clients.

From June 2019 until February 2024, Finn McCarthy, the husband of Wells, was employed by SEC Newgate, a lobbying company registered with the federal government, which represented entities linked to the sectors that Wells was responsible for during her time as Minister for Sports and Aged Care.

According to the Ministerial Code of Conduct, officials must report modifications in their personal interests, such as a partner’s job.

Nevertheless, Wells’ list of interests did not include McCarthy’s position at SEC Newgate while he was with the company.

Other senior officials also provided similar information on their own. Mark Butler mentioned his wife’s job as a self-employed communications advisor, whereas Chris Bowen revealed his wife’s previous position at Sydney Water. Wells did not make a comparable statement.

Even though Wells did not mention her husband’s involvement in her interests register, her office recognized possible conflict of interest issues when she joined the ministry following Labor’s victory in the 2022 election.

Back then, she mentioned that ‘internal procedures and management arrangements’ were established to guarantee ‘the highest degree of integrity.’

But even so, SEC Newgate contributed $1,500 to Labor’sQueenslandbranch in August 2021 for Wells’ Lilley electorate campaign, during the period when McCarthy was working at the company.

The lobbying company McCarthy was associated with also had several clients involved in industries closely linked to Wells’ ministerial responsibilities – such as aged care provider BESIX Watpac, betting company Tabcorp, Westpac, Surf Life Saving Australia, and the Sydney Swans.

SEC Newgate also actively lobbied Wells’ office on behalf of a company associated with the Future Fit Program, a government project worth $8.74 million designed to upgrade Meals on Wheels Australia.

A SEC Newgate client, the consulting company Miles Morgan Australia, received contracts from the Morrison administration in 2021 to assist in modernizing and reorganizing Meals on Wheels Australia.

Nevertheless, even though there were earlier worries regarding Miles Morgan Australia’s management of the $7.4 million funded by the Morrison administration, such as not completing parts of the Meals on Wheels transition initiative, Wells still approved an additional $1.69 million for the consulting company in 2024.

“A report from the Attorney-General noted that Health did not record whether Miles Morgan Australia’s quoted price was cost-effective, or if there were alternative ways to reach the desired results,”.

SEC Newgate also advocated directly for Miles Morgan Australia, reaching out to Wells’ office to provide guidance on promoting the Future Fit Program publicly.

In July 2023, a staff member from SEC Newgate’s Melbourne branch sent Wells an exact script for a ministerial video message promoting the Future Fit Program at Queensland Meals on Wheels town hall events.

An additional email contained a ready-made Instagram caption for Wells to share following one of the events, although the caption was eventually not utilized.

SEC Newgate informed the Daily Mail that McCarthy had never been involved with the Future Fit Program, and that a conflict-of-interest management procedure had been put in place and shared with the government at the time Wells was appointed as minister. The company did not comment on the 2021 political contribution.

‘McCarthy worked at SEC Newgate Australia from June 2019 until February 2024. While with the company, his responsibility was to assist clients in Queensland. McCarthy was not involved in the Future Fit Program,’ a representative stated.

McCarthy has recently assumed a well-compensated lobbying position at Suncorp, which appears on Wells’ list of financial disclosures.

His position involves facilitating interaction with important governmental representatives.

The political editor of the Daily Mail, Peter Van Onselen, stated that Wells had turned into a burden for the government and that she should step down.

Enough is enough. This recent failure in disclosure might not be the most severe issue involving Anika Wells, but it contributes to a pattern that has become impossible to justify. Ministers are expected to demonstrate judgment and a sense of appropriateness. Wells continues to demonstrate that she lacks both.

Whether Anika Wells can legally remain in her position is now irrelevant. She has turned into a problematic political burden for Albo. If she refuses to step down, the Prime Minister should dismiss her right away. If he doesn’t, he will share in her unpopularity.

This is no longer focused on a single flight, a single statement, or a single error. It’s about the ongoing impact of repeated bad decisions and questionable actions by a minister who appears incapable of grasping what proper ministerial conduct entails. This renders her position unsustainable.

After Wells took on the role of a minister, the expenses for numerous trips and gatherings her husband McCarthy participated in, such as air travel and associated costs, have also been covered by taxpayers.

Wells billed taxpayers approximately $7,000 to transport McCarthy to three AFL grand finals.

Wells also charged nearly $3,000 for a family vacation to Thredbo, claiming she was employed at a Paralympics event, while McCarthy and their three children went snowboarding.

Tennis Australia provided Wells and McCarthy with passes to the Australian Open final, while taxpayers funded a $958 luxury car, hired for over seven hours, that remained unused throughout the day.

She also asserted that flights were arranged for herself and her spouse to the 2022 and 2024 Boxing Day Cricket Tests, charging the public for her husband’s $1,885 and $984 round-trip flights on the same day under ‘family reunion’ benefits.

She charged taxpayers nearly $1,800 for herself and her spouse to go to the Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix last year, following the receipt of four complimentary tickets from Motorsport Australia.

Wells has also secured tickets for herself and McCarthy to the AFL, NRL, and NRLW grand finals, as well as an Oasis concert at Accor Stadium in Sydney on November 8.

McCarthy has made several visits to Canberra, with the expenses covered by public funds.

Van Onselen stated that taxpayers should not have covered the costs of Wells’ husband’s travel – even if the trips adhered to the regulations, considering he was a lobbyist.

If your spouse is a high-level lobbyist earning what is likely a six-figure salary, it’s inappropriate for taxpayers to cover his travel expenses to sports events. He should be able to afford it himself. It’s concerning that a member of the government failed to recognize this basic principle.

The visual presentation is poor because this is not merely a spouse accompanying a minister. The minister’s husband works in government affairs as a lobbyist. This makes the disclosure and conflict issues much more significant than a typical family travel expenses case.

The exact income of the couple’s household remains undisclosed, but it is probable that it exceeds $600,000 annually.

Wells receives an annual ministerial salary of $403,064, and the Daily Mail reports that McCarthy is well-compensated at Suncorp.

Wells and McCarthy have substantial real estate holdings in Brisbane, such as a large residence in the northern part of the city within her electoral area of Lilley, which is believed to be worth approximately $1.85 million, along with another investment property valued at roughly $1.3 million.

Wells has encountered increasing criticism since December, after it was disclosed that she spent $90,000 on a journey to New York to support the government’s contentious social media restriction. The debate subsequently expanded to involve multiple taxpayer-financed travels linked to her relatives.

She was required by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority to return $10,116 following a five-month investigation that identified four violations of parliamentary travel regulations during several trips between 2022 and 2025.

Within the Parliamentary Business Resources system, Members of Parliament and ministers are eligible to claim costs related to travel, lodging, and family reuniting trips, provided that the expenditure is mainly for ‘parliamentary purposes’.

Government officials may be eligible to reimbursement specific expenses related to family travel when the journey is deemed essential to maintain ‘family life’ during their legislative responsibilities.

Travel that includes official functions, legislative sessions, discussions with interested parties, or ministerial responsibilities may be eligible according to the regulations.

Nevertheless, a number of the costs she reported were determined to be in compliance with the regulations, including a significant portion of McCarthy’s travel expenses.

In a statement, Wells stated: “All Ministers adhere to the Prime Minister’s Code of Conduct for Ministers. The Minister provided the necessary disclosures.”

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