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Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese arranged PwC internship for his son

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Australia’s prime minister arranged for his son to complete a two-week internship at PwC in 2021 in the latest sign of the close ties between the country’s government and the consultancy industry.

Anthony Albanese, the Labor party veteran who was elected as prime minister in 2022, discussed an internship for his son with Sean Gregory, PwC’s former head of strategy, risk and reputation, in early June 2021, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. Albanese was then leader of the opposition.

The politician’s son completed the two-week unpaid internship in June that year in PwC’s economics and policy unit, the people said. The internship was first reported by the Australian Financial Review.

The internship took place two years before it was revealed that a senior partner in PwC’s tax practice had leaked confidential government information to colleagues both in Australia and overseas about plans to crackdown on tax avoidance by multinational companies. 

The scandal has embroiled PwC and led to the sale of its lucrative public sector consulting business to Allegro Funds for A$1 ($0.64) earlier this year. A number of top PwC partners, including Gregory, have since left the consultant. Although not directly involved in the tax practice, Gregory was head of risk and reputation and, according to PwC, failed to adequately exercise his leadership or governance responsibilities.

Albanese on Monday refused to comment on the AFR report. “My son is not a public figure,” he said at a press conference in Melbourne. 

Albanese has in recent months described PwC’s conduct as “completely unacceptable” and his government has said it wants to bring expertise that has been outsourced to the consultancy industry back into the public sector. 

The prime minister’s involvement in the internship follows a separate revelation that he had asked airline Qantas for membership of its exclusive “Chairman’s Lounge” for his son. Neither move has been declared on the parliamentary register of interests. Albanese said on Monday that he had complied with the requirements of the register. 

The latest revelation “has particular resonance as large consultancy firms are under the spotlight, particularly their closeness to government, and the mechanisms that facilitate that closeness that are not open to everyone”, said Mark Kenny, a politics professor at the Australian National University, about the internship.

PwC declined to comment. The FT was unable to contact Gregory.

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Australia’s prime minister arranged for his son to complete a two-week internship at PwC in 2021 in the latest sign of the close ties between the country’s government and the consultancy industry.Anthony Albanese, the Labor party veteran who was elected as prime minister in 2022, discussed an internship for his son with Sean Gregory, PwC’s former head of strategy, risk and reputation, in early June 2021, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. Albanese was then leader of the opposition. The politician’s son completed the two-week unpaid internship in June that year in PwC’s economics and policy unit, the people said. The internship was first reported by the Australian Financial Review. The internship took place two years before it was revealed that a senior partner in PwC’s tax practice had leaked confidential government information to colleagues both in Australia and overseas about plans to crackdown on tax avoidance by multinational companies. The scandal has embroiled PwC and led to the sale of its lucrative public sector consulting business to Allegro Funds for A$1 ($0.64) earlier this year. A number of top PwC partners, including Gregory, have since left the consultant. Although not directly involved in the tax practice, Gregory was head of risk and reputation and, according to PwC, failed to adequately exercise his leadership or governance responsibilities. Albanese on Monday refused to comment on the AFR report. “My son is not a public figure,” he said at a press conference in Melbourne. Albanese has in recent months described PwC’s conduct as “completely unacceptable” and his government has said it wants to bring expertise that has been outsourced to the consultancy industry back into the public sector. The prime minister’s involvement in the internship follows a separate revelation that he had asked airline Qantas for membership of its exclusive “Chairman’s Lounge” for his son. Neither move has been declared on the parliamentary register of interests. Albanese said on Monday that he had complied with the requirements of the register. The latest revelation “has particular resonance as large consultancy firms are under the spotlight, particularly their closeness to government, and the mechanisms that facilitate that closeness that are not open to everyone”, said Mark Kenny, a politics professor at the Australian National University, about the internship.PwC declined to comment. The FT was unable to contact Gregory.
https://www.ft.com/content/ee94feb7-b8e9-46be-9841-9abf7a22bd68 Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese arranged PwC internship for his son

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