❓ Mr. Hughes questions the Attorney General about the CCC report on Liberal MPs' misuse of electorate allowances, particularly regarding members of the Standing Committee on Procedure and Privileges. The Attorney General accuses members of corruption and names Hon Simon O'Brien.
AnsweredQoN 984Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
''REPORT ON
ELECTORATE ALLOWANCES AND MANAGEMENT OF ELECTORATE OFFICES''
984. Mr
M. HUGHES to the Attorney General:
I refer to the Corruption and Crime
Commission's recent report on the misuse of electorate allowances by
Liberal members of Parliament. Can the Attorney General outline to the house
what the report revealed about the activities of some of the members of the
Standing Committee on Procedure and Privileges in the Legislative Council?
ELECTORATE ALLOWANCES AND MANAGEMENT OF ELECTORATE OFFICES''
984. Mr
M. HUGHES to the Attorney General:
I refer to the Corruption and Crime
Commission's recent report on the misuse of electorate allowances by
Liberal members of Parliament. Can the Attorney General outline to the house
what the report revealed about the activities of some of the members of the
Standing Committee on Procedure and Privileges in the Legislative Council?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the member for Kalamunda for the question, and it is a very important
question he asks. When the ''Report on Electorate Allowances and
Management of Electorate Offices'' was published by the CCC last week, a
lot of the publicity surrounded the titillating revelations that members of the
Liberal Party were using public funds for
sex holidays in Japan and wine tours in South Australia. Although that is
shameful and scandalous enough , beneath
that, when we dig down into the report, there is corruption at the highest
echelons of the Liberal Party, and it is absolutely shameful.
Dr D.J. Honey interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Cottesloe!
Mr J.R. QUIGLEY : On 1 April
2019, whilst Mr Edman was under orders from the CCC not to tell anyone about
the inquiry, he warned a number of people, including a member of the Liberal
Party, Mr Brian Ellis, Mr Hallett and Hon Ricky Mazza, of the CCC's
inquiries and what it was inquiring into. On 16 August this year, Mr Edman received a text from a member of the privileges
committee, not being Hon Ricky Mazza , offering support. When this report was
handed down, the Premier was briefed, as the Leader of the Opposition was
briefed, upon its contents, and the Corruption and Crime Commission was asked
by the Premier: ''Was any member of the Labor Party involved, because we
don't want any member of the Labor caucus involved in corrupting the
inquiries into this?'' An assurance was given that the unnamed members
in this report were either Liberal Party or Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party
members.
Paragraph 437 of the report states that Mr Edman received a text
message from a member of the procedure and privileges committee—a male
person, so that excludes the President. This must be Hon Simon O'Brien.
Indeed, in the Legislative Council on 5 September 2019, Hon Simon O'Brien
said —
I might add that I feel some empathy
for anyone caught in the situation that Mr Edman and his family seem to be
caught in at the moment.
He was expressing support publicly
in the Parliament for Mr Edman, who we know is corrupt on the findings of the report. Only two days before Hon Simon O'Brien telephoned support for Mr Edman, on 14 August,
the procedure and privileges committee tabled the report.
Point of Order
Mr P.A.
KATSAMBANIS : The Attorney General is making unsubstantiated
allegations against a member of the other place. Unless there is
substantiation, he does not have the availability to refute that. I seek your advice
as to whether he is able to do that.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! That is
a point of order. Attorney General, under standing order 92, you have to be
very careful when making accusations about the other house, as long as you have
facts to back it up.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr J.R. QUIGLEY : Thank you,
Mr Speaker. I thank you for your advice and I will be careful.
Just
two days before the text message went from the member of the privileges
committee, not being Hon Ricky Mazza and not being a female, therefore being a member
of the Liberal Party, just two days before that, the procedure and privileges committee tabled their fifty-fifth report banning Darren Foster from
handing over the former Liberals emails to
the CCC. We can all recall what Mr Edman said should happen to that computer
and those emails, because in the previous report, Mr Edman said that the
best thing that could happen to that computer is that it should be thrown in
the river. At the moment, it is locked in the safe of the Parliament in the
upper house.
Dr D.J. Honey interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Cottesloe, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr J.R. QUIGLEY : The whole
procedure of the committee has been corrupted by someone within that committee
ringing up a former Liberal colleague who was a target of the CCC to offer
support for them whilst they were sitting on that privileges committee. It is
not good enough for the new Leader of the Opposition to go out and say, ''We
will not tolerate corruption at any level in the Liberal Party. We will not
tolerate corruption at any level.'' It is up to the new Leader of the
Opposition now to go out and ask Mr O'Brien whether it was he who sent
this text or voicemail message to Mr Edman, and, if it is, he should ask Mr O'Brien
to resign from the privileges committee and
the Liberal Party should throw him out of the Liberal Party room before
Christmas. Otherwise, there is no room for
the new leader of the Liberal Party to say, ''We are against corruption
at all levels.'' You will go into this election with a stinking
mess hanging around your neck like a dead albatross if you do not deal with
this corruption at this stage. This state cannot afford to return to a party
that tolerates this sort of corruption and this sort of cover-up, Leader of the
Opposition.
thank the member for Kalamunda for the question, and it is a very important
question he asks. When the ''Report on Electorate Allowances and
Management of Electorate Offices'' was published by the CCC last week, a
lot of the publicity surrounded the titillating revelations that members of the
Liberal Party were using public funds for
sex holidays in Japan and wine tours in South Australia. Although that is
shameful and scandalous enough , beneath
that, when we dig down into the report, there is corruption at the highest
echelons of the Liberal Party, and it is absolutely shameful.
Dr D.J. Honey interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Cottesloe!
Mr J.R. QUIGLEY : On 1 April
2019, whilst Mr Edman was under orders from the CCC not to tell anyone about
the inquiry, he warned a number of people, including a member of the Liberal
Party, Mr Brian Ellis, Mr Hallett and Hon Ricky Mazza, of the CCC's
inquiries and what it was inquiring into. On 16 August this year, Mr Edman received a text from a member of the privileges
committee, not being Hon Ricky Mazza , offering support. When this report was
handed down, the Premier was briefed, as the Leader of the Opposition was
briefed, upon its contents, and the Corruption and Crime Commission was asked
by the Premier: ''Was any member of the Labor Party involved, because we
don't want any member of the Labor caucus involved in corrupting the
inquiries into this?'' An assurance was given that the unnamed members
in this report were either Liberal Party or Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party
members.
Paragraph 437 of the report states that Mr Edman received a text
message from a member of the procedure and privileges committee—a male
person, so that excludes the President. This must be Hon Simon O'Brien.
Indeed, in the Legislative Council on 5 September 2019, Hon Simon O'Brien
said —
I might add that I feel some empathy
for anyone caught in the situation that Mr Edman and his family seem to be
caught in at the moment.
He was expressing support publicly
in the Parliament for Mr Edman, who we know is corrupt on the findings of the report. Only two days before Hon Simon O'Brien telephoned support for Mr Edman, on 14 August,
the procedure and privileges committee tabled the report.
Point of Order
Mr P.A.
KATSAMBANIS : The Attorney General is making unsubstantiated
allegations against a member of the other place. Unless there is
substantiation, he does not have the availability to refute that. I seek your advice
as to whether he is able to do that.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! That is
a point of order. Attorney General, under standing order 92, you have to be
very careful when making accusations about the other house, as long as you have
facts to back it up.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr J.R. QUIGLEY : Thank you,
Mr Speaker. I thank you for your advice and I will be careful.
Just
two days before the text message went from the member of the privileges
committee, not being Hon Ricky Mazza and not being a female, therefore being a member
of the Liberal Party, just two days before that, the procedure and privileges committee tabled their fifty-fifth report banning Darren Foster from
handing over the former Liberals emails to
the CCC. We can all recall what Mr Edman said should happen to that computer
and those emails, because in the previous report, Mr Edman said that the
best thing that could happen to that computer is that it should be thrown in
the river. At the moment, it is locked in the safe of the Parliament in the
upper house.
Dr D.J. Honey interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Cottesloe, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr J.R. QUIGLEY : The whole
procedure of the committee has been corrupted by someone within that committee
ringing up a former Liberal colleague who was a target of the CCC to offer
support for them whilst they were sitting on that privileges committee. It is
not good enough for the new Leader of the Opposition to go out and say, ''We
will not tolerate corruption at any level in the Liberal Party. We will not
tolerate corruption at any level.'' It is up to the new Leader of the
Opposition now to go out and ask Mr O'Brien whether it was he who sent
this text or voicemail message to Mr Edman, and, if it is, he should ask Mr O'Brien
to resign from the privileges committee and
the Liberal Party should throw him out of the Liberal Party room before
Christmas. Otherwise, there is no room for
the new leader of the Liberal Party to say, ''We are against corruption
at all levels.'' You will go into this election with a stinking
mess hanging around your neck like a dead albatross if you do not deal with
this corruption at this stage. This state cannot afford to return to a party
that tolerates this sort of corruption and this sort of cover-up, Leader of the
Opposition.
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