Tim Wilson holds undisclosed shares in climate advisory firm through family trust

Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson holds undisclosed shares in a climate advisory firm through his family investment trust, ASIC records show.

While Mr Wilson has disclosed his directorship of two trusts — an investment trust with his partner Ryan Bolger and a holding company named Dynamic Sunrise — shares held in those trusts were not disclosed on his parliamentary register.

MPs are required to notify interests in any shares, including those held indirectly through a trust or self-managed superannuation fund.

Mr Wilson's investment trust holds 15,000 shares in a small company called Gondwana Carbon, which helps companies to develop emissions reduction projects, earn carbon credits and then trade them.

The climate advisory says it has traded more than 372,000 carbon credits, including trades through the "Safeguard Mechanism" credit scheme for big polluters, a scheme the Coalition has vowed to scrap.

Gondwana Carbon also promotes the opportunity for landowners to make money from the push towards net zero emissions.

"The drive towards net zero is a significant opportunity to reduce the impacts of global warming by developing high-quality carbon emissions reduction and removal projects at scale," Gondwana said on its site.

The now-shadow treasurer's trust held a directorship of Gondwana Carbon until May 29 last year, 26 days after Mr Wilson's second election to parliament.

While that directorship ceased, the shares continue to be held.

Mr Wilson, through a spokesperson, refuted the need to disclose shares held in his family trust.

"Mr Wilson's declarations are in order. Mr Wilson has declared the trust. Mr Wilson has not owned those shares," the spokesperson said.

MPs are required to "notify any relevant interest in any shares" whether held directly or indirectly, and "this includes shares held by a family or business trust", according to the rules for MP statements of registrable interests.

Multiple shareholdings not disclosed

Mr Wilson and his partner's trust, Bolger Wilson Investments, also held shares in a critical minerals advisory firm called Spektrum Holdings until February this year. Those were also never disclosed on his interest registry.

The Spektrum shares were sold to political campaigning firm The Ad Department, run by former Howard adviser Toby Ralph, which has aided several Liberal campaigns (though the ABC understands it did not assist Mr Wilson's election bid).

That sale occurred the day before Mr Wilson became shadow treasurer, which was lodged with the financial regulator ASIC a few weeks later.

In separate documents lodged with ASIC, Mr Wilson also notified that the day before he became shadow treasurer he had sold his stake in political campaign agency Narractive, again to The Ad Department and lodged in March.

The ABC previously reported Narractive's links to a "grassroots" childcare group advocating for childcare subsidies to be expanded to nannies, grandparents and others, supporting the Coalition's campaign for more childcare "choice".

Mr Wilson has previously come under fire for his shareholdings.

In March, the shadow treasurer said he had sold his holdings in an exchange-traded fund that makes money when Australia's sharemarket falls, an investment that drew criticism from Labor that Mr Wilson was betting against the economy.

Mr Wilson defended that holding, saying he could have made a larger profit selling those shares during the COVID pandemic but chose instead to "maintain my integrity".

The Liberal MP said he did make a "modest profit" from its sale in March, which he donated to the International Railroad for Queer Refugees.

The shadow treasurer continues to hold a number of other investments which he has declared, including shares in Wilson Asset Management run by his distant cousin Geoff Wilson, a former ally in the Liberal MP's campaign against franking credit changes.