Victorian government ministers won't be ordered to put their investment shares in blind trusts, even after the assistant treasurer was ensnared by a conflict of interest "error".
Danny Pearson has admitted it was an error to announce a lucrative government services contract in 2021 while he held up to $100,000 in Commonwealth Bank shares.
He was a shareholder in the big four bank when the Andrews Labor government included it on a three-bank panel to deliver the state's banking and financial services.
Mr Pearson said he played no part in the decision-making process, adding the contract was independently assessed by senior independent public servants and signed off by a probity auditor.
Nonetheless, the Essendon MP conceded it was an "error of judgment".
"I recognise this could give rise to a potential, of a perception, of a conflict of interest and for that I unreservedly apologise," Mr Pearson said at state parliament on Tuesday.
He has spoken with Premier Daniel Andrews and advised him he will place all of his shares in a blind trust.
A blind trust involves the owner appointing a trustee to control and manage holdings without their knowledge.
In July, federal government ministers were banned from holding shares in public or private companies under a new ministerial code of conduct unveiled by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Mr Andrews stopped short of declaring he would ask all ministers to audit their shareholdings and place them in blind trusts.
"There might have been an assumption that those arrangements had taken place. They clearly hadn't," he said.
"I don't own any shares myself. But I'm sure this will be a reminder to people that it's not just about acting appropriately, it's also making sure that they can never be called into question."
Mr Pearson had disclosed his Commonwealth Bank shares holding to parliament, saying he held them for more than a decade.
Mr Pearson said the issue did not occur to him when announcing the five-year deal with Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac.
Previously, Westpac exclusively provided banking services to government agencies under a contract worth an estimated $120 million a year.
Shadow treasurer Brad Rowswell said the decision directly benefited Mr Pearson.
"The bloke's been effectively caught with his hand in the cookie jar," he said.
The opposition held the assistant treasurer's feet to the fire during question time on Tuesday.
Opposition Leader John Pesutto noted the government's own website stated all department accounts would be transitioned to the new contract "under an umbrella purchase order contract approved by the assistant treasurer".
Mr Pearson repeatedly reiterated he didn't execute the contract, including when Mr Pesutto asked if he had misled the house.
Damien Tudehope resigned last week as NSW finance minister after declaring he owned shares in Transurban, the toll road giant responsible for operating most of Sydney's toll roads.
In 2019, Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas offloaded his Transurban shares, held in a Westpac BlueChip20 fund, after his government awarded the company billions to build Melbourne's West Gate Tunnel.
Mr Andrews disagreed that Mr Pallas should follow the lead of the NSW minister, saying the issue had been dealt with.
