Rudd lacks courage on ministerial standards

3 Comments

1. 1
   Spam Box
   Posted March 28, 2009 at 9:37 pm | Permalink

   He failed to mention two trips , 4 and 8 years ago.

   Not a good look sure, but hardly a hanging offense

   Combined with the way it has come out, sanction(done).

   The boot? – how unfair would that be?

2. 2
   Thomas Paine
   Posted March 29, 2009 at 12:42 am | Permalink

   So if a Department engages in an activity to smear it’s head because of proposed reforms and refuses to accept standards of accountability, then that head should be sacked. Good message for those that engaged in illegal activity and for any Department that doesn’t want to change.

   An opposition MP years ago had a Chinese friend, a family friend who helped out their friend.

   I am guessing if the friend wasn’t Chinese this would have died down pretty quick. But no, we got the Liberal party doing an implied dog whistle on the Chinese, and old Howard govt trick. This same Chinese woman also shown in photograph with John Howard on Channel 7. So she is obviously known personally to both sides of politics.

   BUT what is even more disturbing (apart form Liberal Party racism) in this is that we have a Department well known for its intransigence and unwillingness to change or cooperate with any Minister of the past, possibly engaging in illegal activity for the purpose of playing politics.

   In a Democratic country we have the Military possibly using its powerful resources and lack of accountability to engage in domestic politics. That is possibly illegally spying on a Minister and, then illegally releasing the same to the public. Something you would hope was constrained to countries like Zimbabwe, Fiji and so on.

   On the contrary,unless there is further information the Govt should make a point of retaining JF and also looking at some Judicial or other high level inquiry into certain areas of Defence. We cannot have in a healthy Democracy the military engaging in politics.

   Now if it is shown from intereal investigation that there was no spying the military would have to then question whoever published the information as to where they obtained it.

   Since they claim it comes from Defence they cannot claim any protection as they normally would with whistle blowers. Defence matters are of national security and the allegation that military intelligence is leaking intelligence is a criminal offence with severe punishment.

   Journalists do not have protection in these instances and can be charged with abetting a crime and the receiving and leaking of military intelligence; a quite serious offence.

   It has to be incumbent on Defence to route out this rogue spy and remove them from Defence after charging them and sentencing them for any confirmed crime.

   There hast to be zero tolerance when it comes to the behaviour of our military inteligence / ’spies’. Any allegation has to be rigorously examined and prosecuted robustly. And this is what the papers are suggesting has happened.

3. 3
   Trevor Cook
   Posted March 29, 2009 at 7:17 am | Permalink

   The point is that Fitzgibbon mislead the parliament, by failing to disclose, and compounded that by telling the media that he had only had ‘minor’ gifts and then reversing that position the next day after being reminded of the trips. Ministerial accountability, and much of our parliamentary system, relies on Ministers telling the truth. That’s Fitzgibbon’s ‘crime’ and that is what Rudd should sack him for. Rudd was strong on ministerial accountability when he was prosecuting the AWB case against Downer and others he seems less concerned about accountability in relation to his own ministers. Of course that is a well-worn trajectory in our politics but it does him no credit at all