{"id":818,"date":"2013-02-02T04:41:04","date_gmt":"2013-02-02T04:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/australiansforhonestpolitics.wordpress.com\/?p=818"},"modified":"2019-04-13T23:24:23","modified_gmt":"2019-04-13T13:24:23","slug":"liberals-ashby-wall-of-silence-cracks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/liberals-ashby-wall-of-silence-cracks\/","title":{"rendered":"Liberals Ashby wall of silence cracks…."},"content":{"rendered":"

First Labor – Liberal media debate on the Ashby Affair: Lateline transcript February 2,<\/strong><\/p>\n

David Bradbury-v-Christopher Pyne
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\n<\/a>http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/lateline\/content\/2013\/s3681711.htm<\/a><\/p>\n


\nMargo Kingston comments in red<\/span><\/p>\n

DAVID BRADBURY: … Can I make the point, there is one word I would like to
\nremind Chris of and that’s Ashby and his involvement in the Ashby affair, but
\nmore particularly the way in which Tony Abbott continues to stand by Mal
\nBrough. Now, whatever people say about Craig Thomson, these are very
\nserious matters and they will be progressed through the court system, but
\nwhen it comes to Mr Brough, he is a man that has an adverse finding from a
\nFederal Court case, he is not in the Parliament, he is not there as a result of
\nthe people electing him into that place, he is out there as a Liberal candidate,
\nMr Abbott has within his power the authority to bring that to an end, to send
\nMal Brough walking if he wanted to do that, and in fact the sort of, the moral
\npurity that you have Chris pretend that the Coalition have on this issue would
\ndictate that that is exactly what Mr Abbott should do.<\/p>\n

EMMA ALBERICI: Christopher Pyne, how comfortable are you then sitting
\npotentially next to Mal Brough in a Liberal Government<\/p>\n

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: There are two factual things that David Bradbury has got
\nwrong and I can understand that in desperation to hide the fact that he was a
\ngreat supporter of Michael Williamson and Craig Thomson and that is that
\nCraig Thomson still is a member of the Labor party. He’s simply been
\nsuspended from membership.<\/p>\n

DAVID BRADBURY: Tell us about the drink that you had had with Ashby that
\nyou didn’t have and the email that wasn’t sent, tell us about those things. I
\nwon’t be lectured by you, Christopher Pyne, someone who has been outed for
\nhaving lied on that issue when it comes to questions of moral propriety. It is
\nabout time you answered a few questions on those issues. And frankly…<\/p>\n

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, you are sounding a little hysterical.
\n(Pyne is projecting – he\u2019s freaking out.)<\/span><\/p>\n

DAVID BRADBURY: … we have a Federal Court judgment that implicates Mr
\nBrough. And you and Mr Abbott…<\/p>\n

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, are you sounding a little hysterical.
\n(Interrupting to soak up time…)<\/span><\/p>\n

DAVID BRADBURY: … you and Mr Abbott are standing by that man. If you had
\nany decency and you wanted to apply the same standards to yourself that you
\ndo to others, then you would pull the pin on him and you’d preselect someone
\nelse for that seat.<\/p>\n

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: In terms of Mal Brough, Mal Brough has been
\npreselected by the LNP to be the candidate for Fisher. It is up to the electors of
\nFisher whether they choose him next year – or this year now of course,
\nSeptember 14th, to be their member. They will have all the information placed
\nbefore them by, I’m sure, the Labor Party about his involvement in the matters
\nto do with Peter Slipper. I’m sure that he will be elected. I think he was a fine
\nCabinet minister and if he gets to serve in the Parliament again, he’ll be a fine
\nmember of the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

(Weird stuff – who cares what he\u2019s done, it\u2019s a safe seat. Although this line<\/span>
\n explains why Libs kept pre-selecting Slipper despite what Brandis has called<\/span>
\n more than a decade of notorious salacious rumours.)<\/span><\/p>\n

But let’s not forget that this all came up because the Labor Party and Julia
\nGillard’s judgment caused her to make Peter Slipper the Speaker over Harry
\nJenkins.<\/p>\n

(The ends justify the means + we\u2019re all as bad as each other + I don\u2019t want to<\/span>
\n answer these questions so I\u2019ll change the subject)<\/span><\/p>\n

EMMA ALBERICI: So, Christopher Pyne, we’ll just confirm that you’re…
\nbecause you haven’t exactly answered the questions around Judge Rares’
\ncomments in the Federal Court who criticised Mal Brough as someone who was
\nso keen to advance his own interests in the Liberal Party that he would act with
\nJames Ashby in a conspiracy to bring down the Government?<\/p>\n

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Well, all of those matters are contested, of course,
\nEmma. Mal Brough contests them, James Ashby has appealed against Justice
\nRares’ decision. All of those matters will need to be aired in the court, in the
\nsame way that Craig Thomson matter’s need to be aired in court. And if he is
\nfound to be innocent, well, good luck to Craig Thomson. He has the
\npresumption of innocence. This argument is about the Prime Minister’s
\njudgment in standing by a person who…<\/p>\n

(Brough has not contested them – he has said nothing and refused to take<\/span>
\n questions since the judgement. There is no appeal – Ashby has asked the<\/span>
\n Federal Court to let him appeal and they haven\u2019t decided whether they\u2019ll let<\/span>
\n him. The judgement stands – Pyne now claiming that on Ashby no-one can<\/span>
\n comment until the appeal process is exhausted but on Thomson everyone can<\/span>
\n go for it before his trial. Quickly changes the subject.)<\/span><\/p>\n

DAVID BRADBURY: What does it say about Tony Abbott’s judgement?<\/p>\n

CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Graham Richardson warned the Labor Party about years
\nbefore he was preselected. David, it might be fair if you let me finish my
\nsentence. Graham Richardson warned the Labor Party about Craig Thomson
\nyears before he was preselected and nobody paid any attention to him.<\/p>\n

DAVID BRADBURY: And Justice Rares…<\/p>\n

EMMA ALBERICI: Hold on, David Bradbury, let’s move on.<\/p>\n

Memo to media: The Libs don\u2019t want to answer questions on Ashby. Your job is<\/span><\/strong>
\nto ask questions politicians don\u2019t want to hear and insist on answers. Please do so.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr Pyne refuses to explain what he means by “no specific knowledge”<\/strong>
\n