An ACT government agency sought funding from the Middle East to pay for infrastructure projects worth more than $2 billion, including a new stadium, light rail lines and a convention centre.
A consultant was authorised by a contractor working in the Land Development Agency to begin discussions with countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to gauge whether the countries would issue loans for territory projects, The Canberra Times can reveal.
The agency was prepared to discuss naming rights on the buildings in exchange for financial backing.
But a subsequent arms-length approach from countries prepared to spend $US 600 million on a stadium in Canberra in exchange for naming rights went nowhere after the government's international engagement commissioner failed to follow up the possible deal, two people involved in the matter have said.
The commissioner, Brendan Smyth, disputed their account and said no offer was made.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr has recently walked away from the government's intention to build a new stadium in the city centre, but public debate has continued on the merits of alternative stadium proposals and how the territory would pay for the project.
The Land Development Agency on September 2, 2014 authorised Alan Riely, of Australian Agricultural Resources Group Pty Ltd, to confidentially discuss a list of infrastructure projects with potential financiers in the Middle East.
"We understand your key relationships in both the Middle East and the [Gulf Co-operation Council] and are happy for you to progress discussions with various sovereign wealth funds that you will have exclusivity in dealing with for a period of ninety (90) days from date of execution," the letter, marked "commercial in confidence" and seen by The Canberra Times, said.
The letter was signed by the Land Development Agency's City to the Lake project director, Tim Xirakis.
The letter also said: "We are also keen to pursue more detailed discussions on naming rights to some of our key proposed buildings.
"The Territory would like to explore the potential of direct international flights into Canberra's new international airport by Middle East or Gulf Co-operative Council (GCC) carriers."
The letter included a list of projects in the ACT that "may form part of a finance package":
- A light rail system (stage 1 up to $900 million, further stages in excess of $1 billion);
- A new non-acute hospital and education centre ($200 million);
- A major arterial road realignment (up to $350 million);
- A new international standard convention centre ($400 million);
- A new elite rectangle football and entertainment centre ($350 million); and
- A new aquatic and wellness centre ($100 million).
The list of projects align with the now-abandoned city to the lake proposal, which had been announced in 2012.
An earlier unsigned draft letter, also seen by The Canberra Times, said the ACT was "keen to explore alternative funding structures" for a list of infrastructure projects with a "minimum investment requirement in excess" of $2 billion.
The letter was sent less than two weeks before then chief minister Katy Gallagher announced much of the project was on hold.
Mr Riely, who died in October 2022, was joint director of Australian Agricultural Resources Pty Ltd, a now dormant company which then was involved in grain and wheat trading and had interests in agricultural technology, agricultural education and a horse racing network.
Terrence Johnston said he, Mr Riely and lobbyist Peter Conway attended a meeting with the ACT government's Land Development Agency in late August 2014, at which funding for a new stadium, conference centre and light rail was discussed.
Mr Conway, a long-term Canberra-based lobbyist, said the meeting canvassed Middle East investment in general terms and the desire for countries in the region to invest in safe democracies during periods of instability.
The Gulf Co-operation Council, established in 1981, represents Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Mr Johnston said Mr Riely had worked in the Middle East for 15 years and had personal connections that would enable him to secure funding for infrastructure projects.
"Alan had a very good relationship with a number of people over there naturally from a lot of years trading in the UAE," Mr Johnston said.
But Mr Johnston said he was unsure whether Mr Riely had previously negotiated loans between governments in the Middle East and in Australia. "He was consulting to all sorts of people at the time," Mr Johnston said.
Mr Johnston said there had been no intention to keep any deal secret and if any deal had been made it would have been done out in the open.
"It was nothing secret because we didn't want to end up on the front pages of The Canberra Times," he said.
Mr Johnston said "everyone was concerned about the effect of not looking like another 'Khemlani', but these were going to be documented loans".
In 1975, resources minister Rex Connor was sacked after he stayed in contact with Pakistani banker Tirath Khemlani to discuss securing a loan from the Middle East after the prime minister, Gough Whitlam, had dropped the plan that would have circumvented standard Australian government loan processes.
The Land Development Agency, which was the subject of a damning audit report in 2016, was split into the City Renewal Authority and the Suburban Land Agency in July 2017. The agency had been involved with poorly justified land sales, questionable payments to a consulting firm and a "manipulated" document released under freedom of information laws, the audit found.
Mr Barr, who became Chief Minister in December 2014, was responsible for the agency as Economic Development Minister at the time the letter was signed.
A spokeswoman for Mr Barr said Mr Barr was not aware of the Land Development Agency's authorisation to begin talks about financing from sources in the Middle East and did not endorse that authorisation being made.
Mr Barr had never met with Australian Agricultural Resources Pty Ltd representatives and the Land Development Agency did not have the authority to pursue government loans, the spokeswoman said.
The Chief Minister was not aware of any other ACT government discussions with sovereign wealth funds to secure deals to pay for territory infrastructure projects, the spokeswoman said.
Mr Xirakis, the managing director of Elleven Project Coordination Pty Ltd, had been engaged as a contractor as City to the Lake project director in July 2014. His arrangement with the agency came to an end in September 2015.
Mr Xirakis did not respond to inquiries from The Canberra Times.
Mr Conway and George Wason, a former secretary of the ACT Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and former director of the CBus super fund, met with the ACT's Commissioner for International Engagement, Brendan Smyth, on March 15, 2018.
Mr Conway and Mr Wason have both told The Canberra Times they presented a preliminary offer of funding for a new stadium in Canberra.
Mr Wason said Mr Conway had invited him to the meeting because of his background in construction and investment and to have a witness "which was a good idea, obviously".
"From my recollection, Peter mentioned the clients were from the Gulf states and there was a sum of between $400 million to $600 million, which in their dollars is US dollars, to build a facility," Mr Wason said.
Mr Wason said Mr Smyth told the pair he would get back to them.
"He had his little notebook there and was busy writing away in his notebook. Let me assure you, the meeting was about the stadium," he said.
Mr Conway said he was unable to recall whether Mr Smyth took notes in the meeting.
Mr Wason said Mr Smyth was told the country behind the offer would send representatives to Australia to talk to the ACT government if they were serious about proceeding with the stadium, but the pair never got a call back.
"All governments have got a right to determine what its priorities are. If the stadium's not a priority, that's fine. I'd sit in the witness box and swear on the Bible that Peter and I spoke to him about a stadium," he said.
Mr Conway's Canberra Institute Pty Ltd is a registered lobbying firm, with publicly available returns showing it acted on behalf of Australian Agricultural Resources Pty Ltd at the time of the meeting with Mr Smyth.
A spokeswoman for the ACT government said the meeting canvassed investment in the territory at a broad level.
"A specific offer was not made at the meeting and as a consequence no further action was taken. The commissioner does not recall that any country was named to which the offer was connected with," the spokeswoman said.
"The global trend of sports teams building and owning their own stadiums as has been seen in the United Kingdom and North America has never been the case in Australia and is unlikely to be likely in the medium term as the most professional leagues still require significant public subsidy.
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"Inevitably 'private investors' are looking for a commercial return on their investments, it is hard to see how a stadium that hosts 25-30 football matches and another 25-30 non-sporting events could possibly make a commercial return."
A freedom of information request for any documents related to the meeting, including notes and minutes, produced no further material other than Mr Smyth's diary entry for the appointment.
Wealthy countries in the Middle East have in recent decades sought investment opportunities in Western countries as a way to shore up vast oil-driven wealth as reserves become depleted and the region faces geopolitical tension.
Saudi Arabia offered to pay for new stadiums in Greece and Egypt in exchange for the countries signing up to a joint bid to host the 2030 football World Cup, Politico reported in February.
The Saudi Arabian public investment fund holds assets globally worth an estimated $US 620 billion, including English Premier League football team Newcastle United FC. The fund bought the football club for $559 million in 2021.
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