Rudd's Infrastructure Chief Is New Anz Chairman

The Age

Thursday November 13, 2008

KATHARINE MURPHY, NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT, CANBERRA

SIR Rod Eddington - the busy business leader driving Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's multibillion-dollar infrastructure agenda behind the scenes - is set to become even busier when he becomes chairman of the ANZ bank.

The Rudd Government said last night Sir Rod could juggle his corporate commitments with his role of Infrastructure Australia chairman, and manage any conflicts of interest.

The ANZ, while not a major player in the sector, pursues infrastructure investments.

Sir Rod is also involved with other large corporations with an interest in infrastructure and is the architect of a multibillion- dollar transport plan in Victoria, which will need a major investment from Canberra's Building Australia Fund to proceed.

Last month Sir Rod resigned from the advisory board of a British corporate intelligence firm after The Age revealed his unpaid role advising Hakluyt & Co.

Sir Rod will replace Charles Goode as ANZ chairman in the second half of 2009, once he has unwound some of his corporate commitments, one of which is non-executive chairman of rival financial services firm JPMorgan.

Infrastructure Australia is the Rudd Government's policy adviser and will make recommendations about which projects should be approved through the Building Australia Fund.

The business executive did not tell the Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese he was taking on the ANZ chairmanship before yesterday's public announcement by the bank. But the Government was relaxed about the development and said the legislation underpinning Infrastructure Australia included detailed protocols for managing conflicts of interest.

"When drafting the Infrastructure Australia legislation, the Government was very mindful of the need to put in place measures that would prevent any real or perceived conflicts of interest," Mr Albanese's spokesman said.

"The approach adopted maintains appropriate safeguards while at the same time allowing individuals with a broad range of business experiences to be appointed to the Infrastructure Australia council."

The legislation requires members of Infrastructure Australia to disclose all conflicts of interest and not make decisions involving projects in which they have an interest.

A spokeswoman for Mr Rudd declined to comment.

© 2008 The Age

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