Spender Denies Maserati Claim

The Age

Tuesday September 24, 1996

LINDSAY MURDOCH

Canberra.

A former Liberal MP, Mr John Spender, last night angrily denied an Opposition claim that he had asked for a Maserati to be provided when he took up his position as Australia's ambassador in Paris, saying he is perfectly happy with a Government-supplied Renault.

The claim, made in a Senate committee, provoked an angry exchange between Government and Opposition MPs, with Liberal Senator Robert Hill saying that details of private job negotiations should not be made public, and Senator Cook accusing him of a cover-up.

However Mr Spender, speaking from France, said he did not know what lunatic thought up the idea of a Maserati. "It is positively absurd. I don't know where this fairytale sprang from," he said.

Senator Cook told the committee he had information that Mr Spender, the former member for North Sydney, had offered to pay the difference between a normal ambassadorial car and a Maserati, after the request was refused.

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials told the budget estimates committee that Mr Spender was now in France on a four-week French course at taxpayers' expense. The course and accommodation were costing about $10,000.

Mr Spender had also been provided with a hire car, believed to be a Mercedes-Benz, an official said.

Senator Cook asked Senator Hill, who was representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Alexander Downer, whether Mr Spender already spoke French. Senator Hill replied that he believed the ambassador-designate was reasonably fluent.

Mr Spender's appointment as ambassador in Paris, one of the most sought-after diplomatic postings, was the first political appointment of the Howard Government.

NSW Senator Michael Baume is being sent to New York as consul-general, and an announcement is imminent of Mr Andrew Peacock being the next ambassador in Washington.

Senator Hill told the committee he would ask Mr Downer whether he was prepared to reveal the details of private negotiations regarding the appointment.

He said he had no knowledge of any request by Mr Spender for a Maserati.