Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has batted away questions about his meetings with Australia’s richest woman, stating the pair spoke about the weather, while insisting his government alone made decisions, “not billionaires”.

In a testy media conference after this masthead revealed one of mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s websites said he attended the recent national swimming championships as a member of her “party”, Bleijie pushed back on that suggestion.

“Well, just as I don’t control your website, I don’t control her website,” Bleijie said.

His office later released an email that confirmed he was invited to the April event on the Gold Coast by Swimming Australia chief executive Rob Woodhouse.

This masthead reported on Wednesday that Bleijie was the only Crisafulli government minister to have met with Rinehart or associates involved in the business activities of her Hancock Prospecting firm and its subsidiaries since the 2024 election.

Revelations of the mining magnate’s dealings with the most senior conservative government in the country came amid a well-publicised break in her backing for the federal Coalition in favour of Pauline Hanson’s Queensland-based One Nation.

Both Rinehart and Bleijie had previously refused to answer this masthead’s questions about the nature and subject of their two meetings, or how she had lobbied for Olympic venues not recommended by the infrastructure authority.

Speaking to reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday, Bleijie again refused to outline whether Rinehart’s letter lobbying for rowing in “beef capital” Rockhampton arrived before the government went against the advice of its own 100-day Games venue review.

Asked if her intervention influenced his decision, Bleijie replied “not at all”, but said “regional Queensland” had, after the former government’s plans meant areas beyond the Brisbane 2032 Games’ namesake city were getting “diddly squat”.

“So we’re very proud that we have changed it, and through our 2032 delivery plan – and the government made the decisions. The government made decisions, not billionaires,” he said, adding “what does it matter” if the letter came before the government’s call.

Bleijie said Rinehart – patron of the Australian Dolphins swim team, Swimming Queensland, and Artistic Swimming Australia – wrote no similar letter to him regarding the government’s other break from the review, to pursue a new National Aquatic Centre.

“I’m not sure why it’s so surprising that the patron of Swimming Australia would want a National Aquatic Centre or rowing in Rockhampton, because she’s the patron of rowing. I’m not sure, I’m not sure what the surprise –what’s the issue?” he said.

“[Is it] any surprise she supports rowing in the mighty Fitzroy River in Rockhampton? She supports regional Australia, great. Invests in regional Australia, great. She’s the richest person in Australia. Do we want her money investing in Queensland? Absolutely.”

Sunshine Coast-based Bleijie sits on the right of the state LNP party room, with significant sway in cabinet and control of the key state development, infrastructure and planning portfolios and their associated powers to fast-track and approve projects.

Perth-based Rinehart, who also owns properties in Brisbane and on the Sunshine Coast, has business interests in Queensland through Hancock subsidiary Queensland Coal Investments, along with beef producers S. Kidman & Co and 2GR.

In a lengthy response to this masthead on Tuesday, a Hancock Prospecting spokesperson also did not address specific questions on similar matters, or the nature of Rinehart’s meetings with Bleijie last October and in January this year.

The spokesperson said any suggestion Rinehart’s advocacy was motivated by an improper or financial purpose was false, and this masthead makes no such suggestion. They also praised any government effort to “reduce roadblocks” for critical mineral projects.

Asked at his media conference if Rinehart had spoken to him about such matters before he introduced a controversial bill boosting state approval powers, Bleijie said “no”, before noting Hancock’s involvement in the resources sector.

“That’s something I think resource companies would talk to government about, and we’d be more than happy to have those discussions, particularly if it leads to investment in the state,” he said.

“I’d be more than happy to talk to Mrs Rinehart – anyone that wants to invest in critical minerals, employ Queenslanders, get more of the critical minerals out of the ground. The whole point of that legislation is a fast-track approval process.”

On what the pair had discussed in their meetings, Bleijie said he had already answered that question, before ending the media conference part of his appearance at the RNA Showgrounds to announce detail about a planned Olympic-related overhaul.

“We talked about the weather. How’s that? We talked about the Brisbane Times misinformation,” he said.

At a later parliament house media conference, Labor’s shadow treasurer, Shannon Fentiman, said Queenslanders deserved to know when the rowing letter arrived and how much influence Rinehart held.