Sunday 4 May 2014
NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption questions second member of Abbott Government
Has Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s notoriously bad judgment come home to roost again?
The Sydney Morning Herald 24 February 2014: Tony Abbott with Karen McNamara
Central
Coast Express Advocate 27 April 2012:
Ms McNamara
lost the preselection battle at a local level last year to Garry Whittaker.
At the
weekend, Liberal Party chiefs decided to parachute Ms McNamara in to
number one spot.
"All
good things come to those who wait," Ms McNamara said.
"I am
excited and enthusiastic about being selected.
"It's an
honour Tony (federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott) and the party have
confidence in my abilities," she said.
The
Daily Telegraph 27
May 2012:
So on the
Central Coast, Abbott decreed, there would be no more shed men. In fact, there
would be no men at all; instead, two "strong women". In Dobell, it
was Karen McNamara, who is backed by Hartcher, while in Robertson, it was Lucy
Wicks of the Alex Hawke "soft Right" faction.
The Sydney Morning Herald 2 May 2014:
In other dramatic evidence on Friday, federal Liberal MP Karen McNamara was accused of participating in electoral fraud over her involvement in raising funds for Central Coast MP Darren Webber, the state member for Wyong, while the NSW Liberal Party's former chief fundraiser, Paul Nicolaou, was alleged to have taken a secret cut of all the donations he collected.
Transcript of the evidence given to the NSW Independent Commission of Inquiry by Karen McNamara Federal Liberal Member for Dobell on 2 May 2014. Evidence begins at Page 35.
UPDATE
Australian
Financial Review
7 May 2014:
Meanwhile
Lusted had shared his growing concerns with Hughes about his $5000 donation to
Eightbyfive.
“I advised
him to get whatever paperwork he had available to him in his business, to get
on a plane and to go and talk to Bill Heffernan in Canberra,” Hughes told
ICAC.
State
director Mark Neeham wrote to Lusted on March 14, 2012, noting that
all political donations must be disclosed but that, “I confirm that
the Party has investigated your claim to the fullest extent permitted by your
request that it preserve your anonymity during the course of its
investigations. I confirm the Party has not been able to prove or disprove your
claim.”
What to do
about it was Lusted’s decision. Neeham suggested he talk to a lawyer.
But Lusted
had already declared the $5000 and by mid-April the Electoral Funding Authority
was investigating. By May 12 Koelma and Carter would be forced to stand aside
as Hartcher staffers.
So it seems
remarkable, given the questions about what McNamara knew of the hidden
payments, that on April 20, 2012 the NSW state executive replaced Whitaker with
McNamara as candidate for Dobell. Lusted the whistleblower was ignored.
Abbott would
have been aware of the Eightbyfive investigation because it was his representative
on the NSW state executive, Bill Heffernan, who reported it.
What were
they thinking?
McNamara may
be entitled to presumption of innocence but politically her appointment has now
become a problem.
In the middle of the bad news coming out of the NSW ICAC corruption inquiry the Australian Prime Minister is selling access to himself for $11k a person
The Guardian on 30 April 2014 reveals that not only is the Prime Minister selling access to his 'august personage' - none of those paying over $11,000 a pop will ever have their names revealed:
The Liberal party federal director, Brian Loughnane, has offered “business observers” a breakfast with the prime minister, Tony Abbott, and access to his ministers’ chiefs of staff for $11,000, at the same time as New South Wales Liberal party members face scrutiny in the Independent Commission Against Corruption over influence peddling.
The $11,000 price tag – including GST – is pitched just below the $12,000 threshold at which political donations have to be disclosed to the Australian Electoral Commission.
Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson continues to make a parody of himself
Labels:
right wing politics
Saturday 3 May 2014
Ex-serviceman takes cravenly anonymous letter writer to task
The convention has always been that in the print media, as opposed to the anonymity allowed on digital platforms, one must correctly identify oneself by name and town.
This is John Edwards response on 29 April 2014 to one cravenly anonymous letter writer given space by The Daily Examiner in its letters to the editor section:
Labels:
Clarence Valley,
media,
newspaper,
The Daily Examiner
Quote of the Week
“A police operation is planned to take place at Bentley to both facilitate a lawful protest and ensure normal operations at the gas exploration site” [NSW Police spokesperson quoted in The Daily Telegraph on 30 April 2014 explaining the intention to use riot police against a peaceful demonstration at Metgasco Limited’s Bentley ‘tight gas’ drilling site]
Labels:
Metgasco,
Northern Rivers,
people power,
police,
protest action
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