Stuart Robert’s Canberra data centre policy could deliver former minister windfall:Liberal Party insiders line up pay day from Morrison government policy
Stuart Robert’s Canberra data centre policy could deliver former minister windfall:Liberal Party insiders line up pay day from Morrison government policy
Controversial former Coalition minister Stuart Robert has been leveraging his work as Australia’s inaugural digital minister as part of a $500 million venture to build a giant data centre to store defence secrets and other sensitive government information.
Leaked documents reveal that Robert has spruiked his stewardship of Australia’s data onshoring policy to help him negotiate a private business proposal for a data centre on private land owned by an ex-Defence official next door to the HMAS Harman military base in Canberra.
In the confidential documents, Robert argued the need for a data centre in Canberra was “being driven” by the policy he introduced as minister that “all Australian government data is housed on-shore”.
The deal, if realised, could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars and deliver a windfall to Robert and his backers.
According to one of Robert’s confidants, the venture also involves figures in ex-prime minister Scott Morrison’s inner circle, including lobbyists David Gazard and Scott Briggs.
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Robert’s new business venture is a case study of what integrity advocates describe as the “revolving door” phenomenon involving former politicians joining the corporate sector in areas over which they previously wielded significant policy and political influence.
But it also comes with Robert still embroiled in a major scandal – first exposed by this masthead in late 2022 – over allegations he used his political influence to help his friends win consulting work with government contractors who specialise in IT, data and national security, and whom Robert was dealing with as a minister or MP.
The scandal prompted a parliamentary referral to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and dragged in several large federal government contractors, including Salesforce and Oracle, over allegations they enjoyed privileged access to Robert after hiring one of his friends as their consultant.
This masthead can confirm that Robert has claimed that both contractors engaged with his firm this year as part of the data centre proposal.
According to briefings prepared by Robert in July and August and circulated among financiers, the ex-minister described discussions with “Oracle and Salesforce, for the provision of additional data centre capacity for their government operations”.
Robert was Australia’s first digital transformation minister, a post he held from 2018 to May 2022, and was previously assistant defence minister.
Robert has also sought to raise $500 million in private capital to develop the data centre, according to briefings prepared by the ex-minister.
In the documents, Robert explicitly links his previous work as a Morrison government minister to the commercial data centre proposition offered by his company, Coram Deo Capital Pty Ltd. Robert registered the company in 2022 after losing his ministerial posting and moving to the opposition backbench.
In an August 2024 letter, Robert states that Coram Deo Capital is the “lead partner for a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)” with “a deep understanding of the Australian digital technology sector and a specific expertise in the operation of data centres in Australia”.
The letter details how Robert served as Australia’s first digital transformation minister and “had responsibility for the Commonwealth government’s Hosting Certification Framework for data centres, the onshoring of all Australian government data in certified strategic data centres, the development and execution of the first whole-of-government digital strategy and the Digital Transformation Agency”.
“Coram Deo Capital is currently in confidential discussions with Blackstone Inc in relation to a direct investment in the development and operation of a Data Centre complex of circa $500M in CAPEX,” the letter states.
“We are also in discussions with [another company] on a potential lease with Defence of the site under a build, own, operate arrangement. Finally, we are in discussions with global SaaS providers, Oracle and Salesforce.
“All of this is being driven by the exponential requirements for secure data storage in the prevailing digital and AI age and the Australian government requirement that all Australian government data is housed onshore.
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Controversial former Coalition minister Stuart Robert has been leveraging his work as Australia’s inaugural digital minister as part of a $500 million venture to build a giant data centre to store defence secrets and other sensitive government information.
Leaked documents reveal that Robert has spruiked his stewardship of Australia’s data onshoring policy to help him negotiate a private business proposal for a data centre on private land owned by an ex-Defence official next door to the HMAS Harman military base in Canberra.
In the confidential documents, Robert argued the need for a data centre in Canberra was “being driven” by the policy he introduced as minister that “all Australian government data is housed on-shore”.
The deal, if realised, could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars and deliver a windfall to Robert and his backers.
According to one of Robert’s confidants, the venture also involves figures in ex-prime minister Scott Morrison’s inner circle, including lobbyists David Gazard and Scott Briggs.
Loading
Robert’s new business venture is a case study of what integrity advocates describe as the “revolving door” phenomenon involving former politicians joining the corporate sector in areas over which they previously wielded significant policy and political influence.
But it also comes with Robert still embroiled in a major scandal – first exposed by this masthead in late 2022 – over allegations he used his political influence to help his friends win consulting work with government contractors who specialise in IT, data and national security, and whom Robert was dealing with as a minister or MP.
The scandal prompted a parliamentary referral to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and dragged in several large federal government contractors, including Salesforce and Oracle, over allegations they enjoyed privileged access to Robert after hiring one of his friends as their consultant.
This masthead can confirm that Robert has claimed that both contractors engaged with his firm this year as part of the data centre proposal.
According to briefings prepared by Robert in July and August and circulated among financiers, the ex-minister described discussions with “Oracle and Salesforce, for the provision of additional data centre capacity for their government operations”.
Robert was Australia’s first digital transformation minister, a post he held from 2018 to May 2022, and was previously assistant defence minister.
Robert has also sought to raise $500 million in private capital to develop the data centre, according to briefings prepared by the ex-minister.
In the documents, Robert explicitly links his previous work as a Morrison government minister to the commercial data centre proposition offered by his company, Coram Deo Capital Pty Ltd. Robert registered the company in 2022 after losing his ministerial posting and moving to the opposition backbench.
In an August 2024 letter, Robert states that Coram Deo Capital is the “lead partner for a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)” with “a deep understanding of the Australian digital technology sector and a specific expertise in the operation of data centres in Australia”.
The letter details how Robert served as Australia’s first digital transformation minister and “had responsibility for the Commonwealth government’s Hosting Certification Framework for data centres, the onshoring of all Australian government data in certified strategic data centres, the development and execution of the first whole-of-government digital strategy and the Digital Transformation Agency”.
“Coram Deo Capital is currently in confidential discussions with Blackstone Inc in relation to a direct investment in the development and operation of a Data Centre complex of circa $500M in CAPEX,” the letter states.
“We are also in discussions with [another company] on a potential lease with Defence of the site under a build, own, operate arrangement. Finally, we are in discussions with global SaaS providers, Oracle and Salesforce.
“All of this is being driven by the exponential requirements for secure data storage in the prevailing digital and AI age and the Australian government requirement that all Australian government data is housed onshore.