Federal politician Warren Entsch did not declare on his register of interests the income from an Airbnb hosted by his wife at his north Queensland farm for the past four and half years.
The LNP politician updated his register on Wednesday to disclose the "Romantic Rainforest Retreat" and his wife Yolande's involvement after the ABC queried why the $145-a-night apartment was not listed despite operating since May 2018.
Under federal parliamentary resolutions, MPs are required to declare the registrable interests of the member's spouse including any substantial sources of income and the activities of any company of which they are directors.
Any income over $1,000 per annum should be declared, according to parliament house explanatory notes for MPs dealing with the register of interests.
The Airbnb, which requires a minimum two-night stay, is located at the Entsch's cattle farm at Malanda, west of Cairns, features Ms Entsch as the host and lists more than 260 five-star reviews.
Mr Entsch previously declared Ms Entsch's only substantial sources of income as being contracting and consulting and that she is a director of YLE Enterprises, a company involved in "contracting and consulting".
Responding to the ABC's questions about why the Airbnb had not been declared, Mr Entsch said it was because, "it was declared under YLE Enterprises" as it was "run by YLE Enterprises".
"The return [from the Airbnb] is in no way a substantial source of income and also please note that YLE Enterprises meet all reporting standards required by the Australian Taxation Office," Mr Entsch said.
He said he would expand on his existing declaration to the register "in order to clarify the situation to satisfy those raising concerns".
His register was changed late on Wednesday to state that Ms Entsch had shareholdings in YLE Enterprises and that YLE Enterprises' purpose should include "hospitality".
Under the heading of real estate for the couple, Mr Entsch added "hospitality" for their farm at Malanda.
When the ABC contacted Ms Entsch to ask if she thought the Airbnb should have been declared, she said that was for her husband "to comment on".
Ms Entsch was announced as the Queensland LNP's candidate for the state seat of Cairns on Sunday.
Ms Entsch denied the Airbnb had not been properly declared.
"The Airbnb is located on a farm that Warren and I own together ... and it's all been declared,'' she said.
"But the business is part of a company and it's all declared … my company was declared."
Entsch found Airbnb advice 'very useful'
Mr Entsch has been involved in promoting North Queensland as a tourism destination and was chair of parliament's Joint Standing Committee Northern Australia when it undertook investigations into developing tourism in northern Australia including examining the potential of Airbnb operations.
In 2017, in his role as chair of the committee undertaking hearings to formulate a report into Opportunities and Methods for Stimulating the Tourism Industry in Northern Australia, Mr Entsch questioned Brent Thomas, Airbnb's then head of public policy for Australia and New Zealand about the accommodation business's operations.
He asked Mr Thomas about the tax implications of operating an Airbnb.
"I assume the income needs to be declared,'' he queried Mr Thomas.
Mr Thomas replied that there were tax issues that applied.
Mr Entsch then described Mr Thomas's evidence as "very useful".
In June 2018, when the committee chaired by Mr Entsch released its report titled Northern Horizons – Unleashing our Tourism Potential, it did not mention Airbnb.
It made recommendations to "ensure that the government programs related to tourism are appropriately targeted to meet the needs of small-to-medium enterprises".
Mr Entsch did not make any public mention of his wife's operation of an Airbnb on his property at the time.
In compiling the report, Mr Entsch and his committee had access to a wide range of information that came from holding hearings around northern Australia, receiving 93 submissions and private briefings from members of the Inland Queensland Roads Action Plan Working Group and the Outback Highway Development Council Inc.
Asked why he did not mention his wife's Airbnb business when the report was released in June 2018, Mr Entsch said his involvement in the committee had been to, "fight for better economic tourism outcomes in northern Australia".
"That's what I've spent 24 years in parliament fighting for. Please find that in the publicly available report on this inquiry. There were about 150 submissions from all interested stakeholders in the tourism industry,'' he said.
