No Cash Only; Credit Where Credit’s Due!
Ok, a lot of people have been distracted by all the excitement around discovering that our Deputy Prime Minister has been misleading us. I, of course, am referring to the fact that he stayed on in his position even though he admitted that the was doubtful that the High Court would rule in his favour. Malcolm Turnbull assured us that there was no need for him to stand down and if you can’t take the assurance of our PM then what’s the National Energy Guarantee worth… Probably no more than the guarantee about having everyone connected to the NBN by 2016.
Anyway, the High Court decision had everybody talking. Pauline Hanson told us: “I lost a great man in Malcolm Robertson”, which must have been quite upsetting. Particularly for poor Malcolm Roberts standing behind her, who must have been wondering who this RobertSON guy was. However, I’d like to return to Michaelia Cash for a moment.
In the heat of the moment where people are arguing about whether or not she misled Parliament and should therefore resign, or whether the defence that when you are misled, then repeating the incorrect information isn’t misleading anybody is enough, it’s easy to overlook exactly what happened. Of course, she has an ironclad defence because she herself was misled. Imagine you’re buying a car. The salesman tells you that your repayments will be $100 and you sign up. He later tells you that, in fact, head office has misled him and your repayments will actually be $150 a week. I mean, who could have a problem with that?
So the issue is not whether she misled Parliament. The issue is whether she was lying or not. And so we should forget everything else and just examine how events unfolded according to the Cash version of events.
The ROC want the AFP to raid the AWU offices because they are concerned that the AWU has recorded incriminating evidence ten years ago. There is some urgency to do this because there is a concern that they will suddenly decide to destroy this because it has never occured to them before that it would be a good idea – if such evidence exists – to destroy it.
The AFP seek permission from a magistrate to raid the AWU offices.
At this stage, only the ROC, the AFP and the magistrate know of the raid.
Somebody, presumably from the ROC or the AFP alert somebody in the media. I’m presuming that Senator Cash wouldn’t believe it to be the magistrate. I could be wrong, because she grew very upset with the idea that anyone connected with the ROC or the AFP could be politically motivated. Anyway, somebody from this group alerted somebody in the media. It’s unclear whether they alerted one media person or several.
This media person was concerned that nobody in Senator Cash’s office knew about this, so they contacted David De Garis, the senior media adviser there. I don’t know the motivation for this. Perhaps, the media person was concerned that his or her organisation didn’t have enough cameras and they hoped that Mr De Garis would pass the message on so that the story could be viewed from a number of angles. Media people hate being the only organisation to have the news. One thing they all try to avoid is getting what’s called “an exclusive” because it makes them sound so elitist.
David De Garis was so excited by receiving the news that he passed it on to other news outlets, but he didn’t feel any need to share it with anyone in his office. Apparently, he wandered around the office, smiling smugly and saying to himself , “I know something you don’t know”. Think about this in terms of your own workplace. You get a call telling you that something relevant to your organisation will be on the news and what do you immediately do? Tell the people you work with? Of course not. You make sure that it’s an even bigger story by ringing other news outlets.
The next day, Senator Cash is asked if she, or anyone in her office, tipped off the media. She says no. Mr De Garis doesn’t see the need to tell of his phone calls. She gets asked again. She says no. Mr De Garis doesn’t think that this may be a good time to tell her. And again. And again. She becomes quite indignant.
She, and David De Garis, speak to the Prime Minister who asks her – but not David De Garis – if she tipped off the media. She says that she didn’t. Mr De Garis doesn’t get asked and being a polite sort of chap doesn’t like to interrupt the conversation and say, “Oh, about that, it might have been me.”
At the dinner break, after everybody is aware that various people have been telling various other people that it was David De Garis who rang them, he suddenly remembers the events of the previous day and tells that because of a failing memory, he needs to resign.
Senator Cash congratulates him on his failing memory and goes into the Senate to correct the record.
Malcolm Turnbull tells us that she corrected the record, so what’s everyone’s problem?
As one can see, this is all totally plausible and I don’t see how anyone could suggest that there’s the slightest problem with what Senator Cash is asking us to believe. All the negativity is coming from the same sorts of people who are doubting that energy prices will fall after the next election or don’t see the need for the vote on marriage equality to be delayed until well into 2018 in order to work out the legislation to protect religious people and ensure that anti-discrimination laws don’t take away their right to discriminate.
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Brenton
Return to home pageIt would have to be called Cashgate and it is illegal to launder money.
“There is some urgency to do this because there is a concern that they will suddenly decide to destroy this because it has never occured to them before that it would be a good idea – if such evidence exists – to destroy it.” This is a good point!!
Would it be hard to find someone to lie for you @ $ 188k pa.
I forsee a cashless society
So, David De Garis was acting – in contemporary parlance – as a loan wolf.
He alone orchestrated the media scrum but he had to be acting in concert with somebody at the ROC or at the AFP to first obtain the information on timing.
I don’t believe that De Garis would front a meeting with the Prime Minister together with his Minister and neglect to mention, when she denied it, that is was he who had coordinated the media and that he did so off his own bat without first having been given the OK from his boss : It beggars belief !
Cash is in witness protection and won’t be saying anything but De Garis has been hung out to dry and his career has been destroyed and he is facing prosecution by the AFP.
Under the Crimes Act De Garis faces prosecution under section 70 (1) :
The Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years.
The question is, will De Garis be prepared to cover for Cash and plead guilty to being a loan wolf. If his Minister has thrown him under a bus, how much would he need to be paid to keep quiet ?
This matter has a long way to go !
Who made thee phone call that alleged the union would either hide or destroy documents? Was not a whistleblower going on evidence given Senate Estimates. Who made the call that sent ROC off to the magistrate? AWU had no history of not cooperating. Suspect someone from FWC.
Why is MSM downplaying fact that AWU has gone to the court asking the warrant be withdrawn. Asking matter be dropped.
No mention of Friday’s of the court setting hearing day. Not sure when?
This issue far from over.
Florence. ROC is saying it was an anonymous tip off from ‘a caller’. love to see the affidavit accompanying the application for the warrant most likely a masterwork of high fiction.
Rossleigh. u left out one important material fact. De Garis was redemployed to the public service 2 hrs after resigning. He really got hauled over hot coals for misconduct that was deemed to be sufficiently serious to warrant his dismissal or resignation.
Probably the same source as the raid source.
@Oppose the Majour Parties. Source for your information on De Garis’ redeployment?
I had visions of David De Garis being some inexperienced, lacking judgement, over ambitious, eager to please 20 something staffer who just put their foot in it.
How WRONG I was!
It defies all credulity that he acted as a lone wolf, the infinitely more plausible explanation is that there were some incredibly poor architects, lacking any judgement whatsoever, behind this debacle – Now WHO do we know that matches that description?
Anyone?
Anyone?
That graphic makes me want to revisit my lunch.
Rossleigh. Trying to confirm that statement. Have requested confirmation from the person who stated it to me. Haven’t heard back from them yet. If you can find out anything on this possibility that would also be good.
Shutterbug. Looks like the he-man budgey smuggler is the poster boy for the LNP trollops. OOOOOH Tonyyyyy!
Don’t get too excited about de Garis being prosecuted under the Crimes Act (Cth), s 70(1):
“A person who, being a Commonwealth officer, publishes or communicates, except to some person to whom he or she is authorized to publish or communicate it, any fact or document which comes to his or her knowledge, or into his or her possession, by virtue of being a Commonwealth officer, and which it is his or her duty not to disclose, shall be guilty of an offence.”
A Ministerial staffer is not a Commonwealth officer; and
It was his duty to disclose rather than not to disclose.
Please? Ross? That photo?? I nearly woofed my cookies!
Is karma more than just a concept?
How is this for hypocrisy:
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au
So far I have gleaned it was the AFP who leaked to De Garis who then spilled his guts to the media. (But then again it was probably plotted by Cash, De Garis and the AFP)
The AFP are investigating the leak. LOL
Standard operating procedure for cops when involved in a cover up is to drag out the investigation for as long as possible in the hope folks will forget about it or that they will die waiting.
And when they’re finally pushed to end the investigation there stock standard findings are ‘insufficient evidence’.
The Brough investigation took a whopping 18 months and I lay claim in having the matter being resolved, I posted a pic on Twitter with Turdball & AFP Colvin sitting at a table with a caption of Turdball saying “The Brough Case?” with Colvin replying “It’s a never ending investigation”. Less than 2 weeks later the findings of ‘insufficient evidence’ was announced.
There’s no doubt in my mind anyway that the AFP are controlled by the LNP even when Rudd/Gillard was in power. The AFP turn a blind eye to LNP abuses to wit Brough who fessed up to a crime on National TV but when it comes to Labour their fangs are bared.
Here is an interesting link
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/awu-raids-leaking-through-the-australian-federal-police-sieve-20171026-gz9bfr.html
It seems quite common for the media to be “invited along” on drug or terrorist busts to promote the Government as being tough or being used to humiliate political opponents (such as the Craig Thomson arrest).
This tip-off information must come from somewhere and for a specific political reason.
The police – and especially the Federal police – aren’t supposed to be tools for the convenience of elected officials or extras in some media entertainment and propaganda extravaganza. They aren’t political weapons and the countries that use them in such a way aren’t ones we should be emulating.
Re David De Garis, he was only doing what a media staffer is paid to do. And that applies across the political spectrum. They are paid to manage the media. Leaking on a daily basis is essential in fulfilling that role. It’s somewhat incestuous.
My understanding is that David De Garis is/was a long time servant of the Liberal Party and NOT a Public Servant. That the Minister didn’t know is hilarious.
Alphonse. Interfering with a police investigation or with a police officer in the course of executing his/her duties?
Meh. Cash is an LNP minister. Ergo: she is a liar.
Reply post on The Conversation. Not looking good for the ROCommissioner at all. Could have been a media staffer inside the Fair Work Commission who tipped off De Garis. Here’s a link: https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-cash-takes-a-hit-in-the-governments-pursuit-of-shorten-86416#comment_1440170
“…. the ROC obtained the warrants on Tuesday morning. It had been investigating a possible breach of rule 57 of the AWU’s rules.
Search warrants issued by courts authorise police officers to do things that under other circumstances would be unlawful – enter premises without permission, seize documents, computers, etc, prevent people from interfering in the search, etc. These are coercive powers to be used when materials cannot be obtained in less intrusive ways. In this case, the justifications given by the ROC for using coercive powers were (1) that an anonymous caller had told a ROC staff member that the union was or intended to destroy or conceal documents and/or (2) that the union had refused to comply with ROC’s requests for the documents.
The second claim was made by Mr Mark Bielecki, the ROC commissioner, during estimates hearings. He later admitted that the claim was false and said that he had confused the AWU with a different organisation. Its worth noting, I think, that the ROC’s current workload is 1 inquiry and 6 investigations and that Mr Bielecki would have received comprehensive briefings on the AWU matter in preparation for the hearing and had other ROC staff with him. I think that is a very strange explanation.
Anyway, the anonymous tip-off was sufficient to justify the execution of the warrants because destruction or concealment of material relevant to an investigation is an offence under section 337 AC of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009.”
Must watch this. Great Stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dzJimBbgAs
OTMP is definitely on the right track and the contrived and tightly managed anti union campaign has been central to the LNP and its IPA managers.
http://www.corrs.com.au/publications/corrs-in-brief/registered-organisations-bill-passed-into-law-with-unexpected-whistleblower-protections/
It is astonishing how single and bloody minded the Abbott and Turnbull governments, microscopically compliant to Murdoch, have been in pursuing the unions as a catspaw to wipe out organised opposition to the Right and its “Road to Serfdom” agenda. Brandis’ fingerprints are allover all of it and that is the quality of mind and soul that best represents what has been going on until that whistleblower journo lifted the lid on the whole putrid mess last week.
Max Gross, your contention is absolutely correct.
Also, notice who voted the thing into being in the Senate.
Don’t tell me these souls didn’t understand exactly what was going to be attempted and that this had nothing to do with alleged irregularities in the trade union movement, these were only the specious pretexts for an incredibly bigoted and myopic power-grab.
Ok, I understand what everyone is saying here. But lest we forget…
Whoops, sorry, Yassmin.
Let’s not forget that the Liberals waste lots of their collective brainpower – and there isn’t a lot to waste – on trying to frame gotcha moments for the Labor Party. And it did work with the loans affair and Whitlam. Since then, not so much.
Off the top of my head, Utegate.
I’m sure that people can add plenty of examples to that.
The point is, they’d be better coming up with things that made people want to vote for THEM, rather than convince them that they shouldn’t vote for the Opposition.
Think about it like this: You shouldn’t go out with that person because they’re awful, so go out with me instead. “Why should I go out with you?” Because you shouldn’t go out with that other person! At this point, I think we should all wonder why the rise of the minor parties is happening…
Fair point, Ross Leigh. This is what Turnbull promised for the future, for the pitching of Abbott, not the constant flow of anti social, corrupted and irrational policy rubbish culminating in Turnbull’s “Gretch 2” event unmasked last week, unmasked by that whistleblower who was then pilloried in msm by some mainstream journalists for simply telling the truth about the (constructive) leaks.
Fn
Although there is not much brainpower wasted because of collective lack of brains, relalive to the amount of brains per unit, the wastage is mind boggling exponential,
Alphonse
Part of the definition of Commonwealth Officer includes :
So wouldn’t De Garis fit this description ?
Except Ministerial Staffers are employed under a different Act
Ministerial staff are employed under Part III of the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 (MoPS Act).(5) The MoPS Act also allows for the employment of consultants by Ministers (Part II). Not all MoPS Act staff are attached to individual ministers: some work for government support units, the first of which was established at least a quarter of a century ago.
There’s more here.
https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp0102/02RP19
Ministerial staffers are hated by senior Public Servants because they areout of control.
Hard to understand why Cash has not had to resign
Registered Organisation Commission(er) gave false evidence to obtain the search warrant against the AWU. It now appears from ROC’s statements in the Senate Estimates Committee that ROC told Cash’s office of the planned raid early in the day of the raid. This means she has lied and must go. Also ROC has made false statements in evidence before the magistrate to obtain the warrant. That’s a criminal offence. ROC has said to the Senate Estimates Committee that it was incorrect to state that the AWU had refused to comply with its previous notices to produce documents and records as the union had, in fact, done so. This falsity would need to have been stated in evidence before the magistrate for the warrant to be issued as a matter of urgency and to attract the jurisdiction of the magistrate to grant a warrant. ROC has lied to a court. Heads should roll! get ready for the cash-less and a ROC free society.
This government is illegal!
@ oppose the major parties I will be interested to see firstly, the outcome of the AWU court challenge, then hopefully the fallout which should precipitate quickly from other investigations.
The one prospective horror in store for us is the appointment of Cash as attorney general, Brandis was appalling, Cash promises to be utterly atrocious
How can a person like Murdoch Media’s Miranda Devine be taken seriously ? She descibes (Michaelia Cash) the Wonder Woman of the Turnbull government.Cash is an absolute dud and so is Devine.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/rendezview/unions-fears-shine-through-in-cash-assault/news-story/4be5f02b479ac468e27a943f98c339fe
@jack straw The only descriptions which adequately encapsulate Miranda Devine are whack job, nut job, kook or fruit cake – she has the art of alternative facts perfected
…and Pauline thinks Anastasia is being naughty by having elections while Ms Hanson happens to be India…?
What’s happening there in Queensland if it truly matters where Pauline is during elections, home or overseas… Anyhow I did not realise that she is eager to go anywhere where ‘them brown people live’.. as she does not like them coming here….
she’s slipping the tongue in and he’s saying sorry Margie with his eyes
Of course suddenly realising there was a “pre commitment” to a meeting on the other side of the country that would make her unavailable to answer any more question in estimates must have been terribly disappointing for Michaelia. I am sure she would have much preferred to clear up any of those confusing points that, well lets face it, only wacky conspiracy theorists would come up with. George Brandis must also be disappointed that he could not clear it up as the AFP are now investigating the AFP to ensure there was no messy handling of the information. And of course when the AFP investigate the AFP we all understand that we cannot ever raise the issue again because it has been dealt with. So there! Now go back to your knitting and take your pills.