Thursday 26th of December 2024
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toxic apology...

pyne comes clean...

 

This week, Parliament made an apology to some very surprising people — one of whom is awaiting sentencing. Peter Wicks from Wixxyleaks reports on a reprehensible absurdity.

This week in Federal Parliament something unprecedented occurred.

The Coalition passed a parliamentary motion for an apology.

Now, it may seem odd that the same mob who grimly refused to apologise to the Stolen Generation when they held Government for over a decade during the Howard years, now want to rush out an apologise in their first few frantic months in power.

Those of you thinking that this apology could be related to the tragic debacle that Manus Island has become since secretive Scott Morrison took over the portfolio would be sorely disappointed.

In a move that is in equal measure both bizarre and hypocritical, the very same Government that recently announced a Royal Commission into the Union movement now wants to apologise to some union officials for comments made by an MP in parliament in 2012.

The motion was put forward by Christopher Pyne who has some apologising to do himself regarding his broken Gonski funding election promise.

The motion was to apologise for the speech made by Craig Thomson on 21 May 2012 in parliament after months of constant harassment from the Coalition to do so. Thomson’s speech can be read in full here.

 


In particular Pyne wanted to address:

''The former member for Dobell used parliamentary privilege to defame individual members of this House and also individuals outside the Parliament and to mislead the Parliament with a fantastic story that he then did not repeat in court when he had the opportunity to stand by it.''

As an amusing aside, the current Liberal member for Dobell, Karen McNamara, now finds herself embroiled in an ICAC enquiry into non-disclosure of election funding.

The individuals outside Parliament Thomson mentioned in his speech were former HSU branch secretaries Kathy Jackson, Marco Bolano and Michael Williamson.

That’s right — Michael Williamson.

That’s the same Michael Williamson who is awaiting sentencing for several charges, including fraud, related to using members’ funds for personal reasons in a case that sent shock waves through the union movement.

While I’m sure Michael Williamson appreciates the Coalition’s support in issuing this apology, I don’t think he holds much hope that it will lessen his sentence.

As I understand it, part of Williamson’s bail conditions mean he is unable to comment on matters related to the HSU and, as such, won’t be able to send a personal thanks to Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne at this time — but if he ends up in prison, maybe he can scrawl something on a piece of toilet paper then.

Michael Williamson’s former friend and close ally in HSU business, Kathy Jackson, was apparently defamed by Thomson’s “fantastic” allegations such as;

“Kathy Jackson drives a union paid for Volvo. It is alleged she has child care and gym fees paid for by the union.”

Below is the receipt for the Volvo and the letter sent to the dealer enquiring about the close to $5,000 of members funds that went missing during the transaction that Jackson handled.

Letter From Mylan to Volvo Dealer

This is not really an allegation, it is a known fact.

As for the child care “allegation”, Jackson admitted in court that her child care was paid for by the HSU for over four years, despite her denying the claims for years in various media interviews:

Thomson also stated:

“Within weeks after I left, her salary almost doubled from the salary that I received, allegedly now being around some $270,000.”

This is also true and the HSU has recently announced that they will be taking legal action against Beth Jensen, Jackson’s close friend and the husband of Jackson’s barrister. 

Jensen is the supposedly “independent” person who recommended to enormous and unprecedented pay rises to her factional members, also including Marco Bolano.

Marco Bolano also deserves an apology as far as Pyne is concerned.

Bolano is doing it tough at the moment sitting at home on workers compensation payments of over $200,000 per annum for bullying after a Federal Court Judge stood him down as a Union branch secretary.

Thomson alleged that Bolano threatened to set him up with hookers in a heated exchange; Pyne suggests that since Thomson didn’t bring this up in court, it should be apologised for.

As Pyne would be well aware of the court action involving Thomson is not yet complete — Thomson has not been sentenced and there is still the very real possibility of an appeal.

But, what the hell? Let’s not let due legal process get in the way of a bucketload more political smear.

Pyne would also be aware that the defence strategy of proving authorisation that was taken after the Magistrates opening statements claiming this was what the case hinged on didn’t involve Bolano’s alleged threat.

Since publishing so much documentation that support allegations of wrongdoing by Kathy Jackson and her Branch Committee of Management (BCOM) cronies, many have asked me “who is protecting Jackson and why?”

If there is some kind of protection racket ‒ and it would appear there is ‒ the absurd actions in Parliament this week would seem to suggest who may be running it.

Jackson’s fiancé Michael Lawler who evidence would suggest is deeply embroiled in union matters was after all appointed to his position as vice president of the (now) Fair Work Commission by none other than Tony Abbott himself.

 


I would love to be able to praise the Labor Party for pointing these things out, but alas I think I saw a jellyfish yesterday that had stolen their spine.

Bill Shorten, in particular, knows just how slippery Jackson can be after she made wild accusations against him in an affidavit she tried to have entered into evidence in Federal Court in 2012.

The judge suppressed it and ruled it not be released however it mysteriously found itself into many hands in the media, although the Financial Review was the only major publication to lower its integrity enough to publish it.

If it is suddenly Parliaments duty to correct the record and apologise for wrongdoing and words that may defame others, I have a suggestion.

Why not start with Peter Slipper?

Peter Slipper has been slandered, defamed and made a mockery of since James Ashby made his wild allegations via Mal Brough and Christopher Pyne.

Anybody not across this black period of our political history should check out the brilliant investigative reporting on what has become known as Ashbygate on Independent Australia.

When Kathy Jackson and her faction finally face court for the allegations against them, should they be found guilty I know what we will call it.

Coalition sponsored corruption.

read more: http://www.independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/the-pungent-pyne-scented-apology,6220

 

it looks like conflict of interest... defending it is pig manure

 

Federal Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash has rejected accusations she misled the Senate over her former chief of staff's lobbying links.

Senator Nash's senior adviser, Alastair Furnival, quit after being accused by Labor of having a conflict of interest over his links to a company that lobbied for the food industry.

The Minister initially told the Senate he had no links to the company but later said he had a shareholding.

Senator Nash has told a Senate hearing why she made the clarification.

"My mind, I do have to say, was turning to the substance of the issue, which was the separation between my chief of staff and the business," she said.

"Now when I went back to my office and reflected on the comments that I'd made in the Senate, I recognised that I did need to provide additional information."

She says when Mr Furnival was employed he agreed to remove himself as a director of a lobbying company, but according to documents, that only happened recently.

"If there has been some administrative error that left him on the website, that is a matter to be determined," she said.

"But in terms of the processes of my office, he was not acting as a director and there was a strict separation between he and the business."

Labor Senator John Faulkner did not accept her explanation.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-26/fiona-nash-rejects-claims-she-misled-parliament/5285038

 

the government should apologise...

 

The Labor leader, Bill Shorten, has accused the government of engaging in “kindergarten, flag waving, faux patriotism” as parliament descended into uproar over claims about the conduct of the military commander of the operation to stop asylum seeker boat arrivals.

The lower house passed a motion admonishing Labor’s defence spokesman, Stephen Conroy, for criticising the commander of Operation Sovereign Borders, Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, while government ministers argued Shorten had failed an important leadership test by not demanding an apology.

The parliamentary debate stemmed from Conroy’s contribution to a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, when he accused Campbell of engaging in a “political cover-up”.

Conroy withdrew the remarks but government ministers said he should offer an unqualified apology for attacking a serving military commander.

The assistant defence minister, Stuart Robert, said during parliamentary question time on Wednesday that Conroy “couldn’t man up” and apologise.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/26/shorten-accuses-faux-patriotism-campbell-cover-up-

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In fact, it's the Abbott regime that should apologise for dragging the army into the political arena... If there is some flack falling on Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, so be it... The government dragged him into the front line of political fudge, lies and cover up... 

UPDATE:

 

It is understood Mr Shorten made it clear to Senator Conroy the military commander deserves respect, but did not demand he apologise.

The ABC has been told this has surprised and disappointed several Labor MPs, with one saying the party should not defend the indefensible.

Defence Minister David Johnston yesterday defended Lt Gen Campbell and called on Mr Shorten to "discipline" Senator Conroy.

Senator Conroy said on Tuesday evening it was the Government who should be apologising for placing the military in a highly partisan position during.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-26/general-deserves-respect-shorten-tells-labor-senator/5286518

The rest of the article has been truncated. Who by?... Censorship? Accident...? Let me know...

 

more apologies about cheap shots...

 

'Therefore, I wish to correct the record and I apologise to the Special Minister of State.''

Mr Shorten got the ''coward'' tip from his Victorian Labor colleague David Feeney. Mr Feeney had passed a note to the Opposition Leader telling him about Senator Ronaldson's alleged exchange with the Chief of Army in 2011.

When Fairfax Media called Mr Feeney on Thursday morning, the member for Batman admitted he might have unwittingly misinformed his leader.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/bill-shorten-apologises-over-mistaken-comments-to-parliament-in-defence-on-stephen-conroy-20140227-33jbi.html#ixzz2uTSAWjdc


More and more, Shorten — chosen by the Labor Caucus above the wish of the people — is placing his foot in his mouth... Let's faced it. Shorten is 1000 times more honest than Abbott, but this is politics were one needs real ammos, not hear-say, even if it sounds plausible. realistically, SHORTEN IS UNABLE TO BITE INTO ABBOTT'S CHOCOLATE FUDGE... On this occasion such as this either his staff is not doing its job, he's too gun-ho without guns or one of "his" mates tries to embarrass him, which is a possibility, but most likely the information my have been fed to Mr Feeney by devious means from the Liberal (CONservative) ranks. I can smell a good con job here... It does not take long to CHECK something like this... I check and double check things all the time and I have a staff of one — my good self. I make rare mistakes still, though I don't use words like liar and con-artist lightly in my satire — which sometimes borders of sarcasm — well-founded sarcasm.
Shorten appears to be a victim of "Catholic" education... By this I mean, he seems to have a reticence to practice fudge and that's a good thing but when he does use fudge, he does it badly. Meanwhile Abbott is a MASTER OF COMPLETE FUDGE. Abbott is using his catholic education of sinning and confessionaling to the max...

 

that country sucks...

General Angus Campbell is a soldier. He follows orders. He cannot seriously question those orders without resigning his commission. He cannot even reflect on government policy without resigning his commission. General Angus Campbell, like the men and women under him effectively has no opinion on the government’s use of the military to intercept and turn back asylum seekers.

And be not mistaken, this is a good thing.

You do not want to live in a country where the military makes policy.

But living in a country where the worst sort of people, the liars and scum and vicious misanthropes make policy, and where they use the armed forces of the nation not just to enforce that policy, but to surround it with the reflected aura of Anzac, that is not such a good thing.

Because that country sucks. That’s a not a country to be proud of. That’s not a country to love.

That’s the sort of country that gets called out for lulz by egregious hypocrites like China and Iran ‘for violating the human rights’. That’s right, you’re living in a country that the worst regimes in the world feel comfortable criticising as a human rights abuser. Nice work, Australia.

That’s the sort of country that forces decent men and women who have taken an oath to serve, to not serve the national interest but rather sectional, partisan interests that are deeply destructive to the esteem in which that service would otherwise be held.

So Senator Conroy is right to call General Angus Campbell to account for the lack of transparency in the use of Australian military forces to seal the borders against the hungry and the wretched and the damned, even if Conroy and his party played their own ignoble role in turning away the seekers.

In free, decent countries, where the military stays quietly in its barracks, and callous deceivers and hypocrites do not debauch the public offices and discourse, in those countries it is considered a matter of no great import for tendentious policy and those who implement it to be questioned with the utmost vigour.

In this country though, that is not the way of late. In this country the worst are full of a passionate intensity, the best lack not conviction, but the means to effect that conviction in any way beyond gathering in their thousands, impotent and grieving with candles to mourn the murder of one such as Reza Barati, his head smashed to a pulp of bone shards and blood and grey offal as a consequence of public policy.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/blogs/blunt-instrument/conroy-right-to-highlight-lack-of-transparency-20140227-33j6r.html#ixzz2uV3P3D2r

69...

 

A new Fairfax investigation has shown self-professed HSU whistleblower Kathy Jackson as spending more than $1 million of Union money on personal credit cards. Peter Wicks from Wixxyleaks, who has been investigating and reporting on Jackson and her cronies for several years, reports and adds new revelations.

There is a saying some would have been best to take note of:

"Beware the crow that coos like it's a dove"

This week, the walls moved in a little closer again on the Coalition's darling girl, who loves to blow her own whistle.

I speak, of course, of Kathy Jackson — and it's about time too.

Further evidence has come to light from the excellent work of Fairfax investigative journalists Nick McKenzie, Ben Schneiders, and Richard Baker. This evidence supports my investigations and backs some of the claims I made here over a year ago.

With this new evidence of the seemingly systematic bleeding of the union members hard-earned money under Kathy Jackson, let's have a quick refresher of what Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne think of her.

 

Tony Abbott and I differ greatly on what makes a brave and decent woman — however, oddly enough, I agree with Tony Abbott on some things.

The 70,000 members do deserve answers and it's about time Jackson and her Branch Committee Of Management cronies gave some for her unauthorised use of credit cards and unauthorised expenditure.

Let's not also forget others from the Coalition have showered Jackson with praise.

Eric Abetz and George Brandis leap to mind, and who can forget the cosy feed she had with Peter Reith, before making a speech to that bastion of union love, the HR Nicholls Society.

 

read more: http://www.independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/jacksonville-69-the-age-exposes-whistleblower-jackson--much-more-for-still-to-be-revealed,6550

 

See toon at top...