Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas has offloaded his shares in Transurban, the toll road giant in line to haul in billions from its deal with the state government to build the West Gate Tunnel.
It was revealed in March Mr Pallas held the shares as part of a Westpac BlueChip20 fund, which holds stock in up to 20 companies, but he maintained there was no conflict of interest.
However the register of MPs' interests tabled in parliament this week, showed Mr Pallas sold his BlueChip20 shares.
"Given the Treasurer previously said there was no conflict of interest in his owning this fund, why did the Treasurer sell it?" Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien asked during question time.
Mr Pallas reaffirmed he had complied with all reporting requirements.
"So why is it that I have divested my shares? I can tell you why. Because if you're a Victorian and you want to help the Victorian economy, now's the time to get into the property market. Now's the time, and that's what I'm doing," Mr Pallas told the chamber.
But when asked if he sold his BlueChip20 fund before or after the report was raised, Mr Pallas replied: "There was no conflict of interest, so the answer is meaningless."
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