A silver pin from Indonesia’s president, a book by an ABC presenter, boxes of Estonian and Lithuanian chocolate, five Slovenian crocheted lace doilies and a lot of pens.

That’s just some of the booty gifted to Treasury staff in the past financial year.

A $4,850 ticket for Lynn Kelly of the Retirement Income Policy Division to attend an Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) conference earlier this year was the most valuable item received. But most items were in the range of between $10 and $50.

Conflict of interest?

Last week Treasury was hit with a barrage of questions about its use of embattled consulting firm PwC.

A former partner, Peter-John Collins is under criminal investigation after the Tax Practitioners Board disqualified him for allegedly using confidential knowledge of government tax plans to help multinational companies get around the new laws.

But the gift register obtained using the Freedom of Information (FOI) process reveals the brutal calculations of maintaining fearless advice and avoiding potential conflicts of interest within Treasury.

Essentially, if a gift is of significant value you can't keep it.

No pin for you

A silver pin from Indonesian president Joko Widodo was presented to Luke Yeaman of the Macroeconomic Group at the G20 Economic summit. The pin, worth $500, was put in the lobby, not on Mr Yeaman’s lapel.

“CFO agreed for the pin to be displayed in the Executive area,” the document states.

Mr Yeaman did get to keep a glass plaque, leather satchel, pen, luggage tag, fan and some small coffee bags from the Indonesian delegation at the G20 and G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meetings in Bali.

Lead by example

Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy turned down seven gifts and kept just one in the past financial year (from July 2022 to now).

Surrendered were a pen, notebook and wooden box from economics professor Martin Richardson after Dr Kennedy gave a lecture at ANU.

“Items placed in stationery cupboard for use by staff,” the documents note.

Also given up were books Lessons From History, Rise of the Extreme Right, Black Belt and Tax and Government in the 21^st Century.

All went to the Treasury library.

A notebook from the joint managing partners of lobbyists Bespoke Approach – Andrew Butcher and Ian Smith (the ‘did the worm in front of Rita Ora’ guy) – went to the Treasury stationary cupboard.

Dr Kennedy is however sporting a $50 "cotton-collared top" courtesy of Professor Garry Barrett – the head of the economics school at the University of Sydney – a gift given after speaking at an event.

Generous countries

Many foreign delegations have been generous to Treasury representatives.

A visiting delegation from Vietnam brought Vietnamese coffee.

At a visit to a temple in Pune organised by the Indian G20 team, an unnamed staff member received a "small gold-coloured elephant statue". 

At the conclusion of tax treaty negotiations, the Estonian delegation gave five boxes of chocolates.

Slovenian crotched lace doilies were retained by five unnamed staff involved in tax treaty negotiations held in Slovenia in October last year.

There was an "exchange of gifts between the Australian and Slovenian delegation" and while we don’t know what we gave, Treasury staff got a magnetic pin, a notebook and a doily each.

Good evening

One unnamed Treasury staffer did get a good night on the couch courtesy of work.

In August 2022 the gift of “Rocky Road chocolate and The Land Before Avocado book" was given to a [redacted] member of the Macroeconomic Group from the Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy Division within the Fiscal and Monetary Policy Branch of Treasury.

The gift was from [redacted] Economic and Business Educators (EBE) NSW at a presentation to Economic and Business Educators (EBE) NSW. The value was $40.

The book by ABC presenter Richard Glover, detailing life in 1970s Australia and contrasting the changes to now, was "retained by the recipient".

So was the chocolate.

Top boss

Nghi Luu, who is listed as the assistant secretary for capital markets, payments in the financial systems division, is a good boss.

After receiving a $70 food hamper from financial services company Cuscal after speaking at a conference she shared it with staff.

"Nghi will keep and share with her division," the document notes.

Still human

Names of staff below senior executive level were redacted from the documents, meaning we don’t know who they are.

But they are human as well as public servants.

The list shows that 10 boxes of chocolates and one bottle of wine (a $39 bottle of Robert Oatley Cabernet Sauvignon) were given to these unnamed Treasury staff.

All of these items were kept by the person who received the gift.