Future of NSW minister Damien Tudehope in doubt over shares in toll giant Transurban

The New South Wales finance minister, Damien Tudehope, has resigned from cabinet after it was revealed he held shares in major toll road owner, Transurban.

The senior minister and leader of the government in the upper house on Friday confirmed he held shares in Transurban, whose portfolio of Sydney toll roads includes WestConnex, NorthConnex and the M2.

The premier, Dominic Perrottet, on Friday evening said legal advice from the Department of Premier and Cabinet had cleared the Tudehope of “knowingly” breaching the ministerial code of conduct, but he had accepted his resignation anyway.

Tudehope said he did not want to be a distraction for the Coalition as it asks voters to return it for a fourth term in the state election, which will be held in five weeks.

“During the course of the day I have had the opportunity to consider my position and I value my own integrity and the integrity of the government to be something that is not the subject of repeated political attacks,” he said on Friday evening.

“The events of the last 24 hours have provided an unnecessary distraction for the government at a time when the most important thing for the people of NSW is to be concentrating on the choice before them.”

He maintained that he did not know about the shares until this week, at which point he had talked with the premier and sold them, donating the profits to charity.

Perrottet described Tudehope as a “person of integrity and honesty”.

“At all times he has undertaken his responsibilities as a minister with the highest of standards,” he said.

“My department provided advice to me earlier today which cleared Damien, saying he did not knowingly breach the ministerial code of conduct.”

The premier will take on the finance and employee relations portfolios until the election.

The opposition had insisted it was a “significant breach” and it “beggars belief” that the minister in charge of the state’s finances would not have known about the shares.

While Tudehope had presented letters to the premier each year disclosing the assets in his fund, as is required, he said he wasn’t aware of the Transurban shareholding until a journalist from the Daily Telegraph contacted him earlier this week.

He had been involved in government discussions involving Transurban during his time in cabinet.

In a snap press conference earlier in the day, Tudehope said he had not known about the shares, which had been within a “diversified” fund in his superannuation.

“I didn’t know about the holding of the shares,” he said.

“I’m aware there was a profit made and I’ve given an assurance to the premier, I will donate any profit … to charity.

“I say absolutely, categorically that in relation to any decision-making I have been involved in that it has been in the interest of the people of this state and never with an eye to any possible interest I may have.”

Perrottet also said on Friday that another Liberal, Peter Poulos, had notified him of his resignation as a parliamentary secretary, after the upper house MP apologised for circulating explicit photos of a female colleague about five years ago.

“He obviously has made a mistake,” Perrottet said.

“He doesn’t want to be a distraction. I’ve accepted his resignation.”

Transurban reported record half-year earnings of $1.66bn recently, having collected $835m in tolls from Sydney drivers in six months.

Ten of the toll giant’s 21 Australian toll roads are in Sydney, making up most of the city’s network of tunnels and motorways.

Tudehope stressed he was not involved in any discussions about the sale of the government’s centrepiece WestConnex motorways and tunnels to Transurban in 2021 for $11bn.

“I was never, ever involved in any discussions relating to WestConnex,” he said.

“I was not on the relevant committee or relevant cabinet meetings.

“If I had known I had shares in Transurban at the time … I would have felt obliged and I would have disclosed that.

“I did not know.”

When pressed, the minister estimated the value of the shares had increased by about $6,000 since he became a minister in 2019.

The opposition frontbencher Penny Sharpe said there had been a “significant breach” of the ministerial code of conduct.

“It beggars belief that a minister with such important responsibilities was unaware, or made no inquiries into the shares that he owned, and therefore let potential conflict of interests in government decision making arise,” she said.

“This was a self-managed super fund and his ownership of controversial shares was publicly reported three years ago.”