Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn facing. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn facing. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng

Thứ Ba, 19 tháng 3, 2013

Qld MP Driscoll still facing allegations

A QUEENSLAND MP facing questions over business dealings says he's done "absolutely nothing wrong" apart from forgetting to declare an interest to parliament.

Rookie Redcliffe MP Scott Driscoll said he and his wife have been unfairly attacked.

But he said he would update his wife's interest register on Tuesday to show she receives income of more than $500 ($500) from her company.

"I regret this oversight and will rectify this today," he told parliament.

Mr Driscoll said he was proud of his wife.

"She doesn't deserve the politically-driven personal vilification she has received in recent weeks," he said.

"All for being the wife of a member of the Queensland LNP government."

Premier Campbell Newman said he understood the pressure Mr Driscoll and his wife had been under.

Mr Newman said his family was the target of similar attacks during last year's election campaign.

The latest allegations against Mr Driscoll involve claims he used his electorate office as a secret base to run operations for the Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association, of which he was formerly president.

He's also been criticised for failing to show the books for the association to explain where $700,000 had gone.

His wife has also come under fire for receiving money for consultancy work she did for the Regional Community Association of Moreton Bay, amid claims Mr Driscoll was secretly running that organisation too.

Mr Driscoll said he had referred all the issues to the Integrity Commissioner, despite being confident he has done nothing wrong.

He said his only mistake was failing to indicate his wife received more than $500 in income from a private company she runs.

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk asked Communities Minister Tracy Davis to publicly release all investigations and audits into allegations surrounding the misuse of taxpayer funds to the Regional Community Association of Moreton Bay.

Ms Davis said investigations were underway into allegations that were raised anonymously last year.

"They will be investigated in full and I will receive the results from that," she told parliament.

"When that occurs will be at the discretion of the department, because it will be a full investigation."

Mr Newman said the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) had already been investigating some of the claims and had found no evidence of wrongdoing.

The premier said he'd had a similar experience to Mr Driscoll.

"I myself, and my wife, know only too well about ... trial by media, but particularly the tactics of the Australian Labor Party to use the CMC as a political weapon to attack people," he told parliament.

"To attack people, to take their reputations down."

The premier said he expected the media and opposition to pursue the issue further.

"But what I say to them is ... everyone deserves a fair go," he said.

Mr Newman said he had seen nothing that indicated Mr Driscoll was unfit for office.

Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie accused the opposition of using parliament for "gutter politics".

He said if there were concerns about Mr Driscoll or other government MPs, they should be raised through the appropriate channels.

Ms Palaszczuk called on Mr Driscoll to respond in detail to all of the allegations against him.

She posed several questions, ranging across claims of sexual harassment, financial mismanagement and inappropriate dealings, for Mr Driscoll to answer before 5pm (AEST) on Tuesday.

She also called for Mr Driscoll to publicly release his, and his wife's, unedited pecuniary interest registers.

"We have heard today a very brief explanation from the member for Redcliffe ... and it does not go to the root of all the questions that need to be answered," she said.


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Chủ Nhật, 17 tháng 3, 2013

PM Julia Gillard 'facing landslide loss'

Julia Gillard

PM Julia Gillard has no hope of winning the federal election with just 31 per cent of the primary vote, a new political poll has found. Picture: Kym Smith Source: News Limited

THE latest Fairfax Media/Nielsen poll offers no glimmer of hope for Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her government which shows the Labor Party seemingly entrenched at a 31 per cent primary vote.

With the Tony Abbott-led coalition unchanged on 47 per cent, it represents electoral oblivion for the government at the September 14 election.

The two-party-preferred split has the government on 44 per cent and the opposition at 56 per cent - a six per cent swing to the coalition from the 50/50 result in 2010 and a landslide victory if carried through to the election.

Fairfax says a telephone survey of 1400 people taken last week also showed Ms Gillard's satisfaction rating continuing to slide and Mr Abbott's continuing to improve.

The Opposition Leader is now preferred prime minister by 49 per cent of voters against Ms Gillard on 43 per cent - down two points.

To make matters worse for the prime minister, voters prefer a Kevin Rudd-led Labor Party by two to one with 62 per cent against opting for Mr Rudd as opposed to Ms Gillard's 31 per cent.

But if Mr Rudd is not in charge there is less appetite for a change that would bring three other Labor leadership possibilities - cabinet ministers Bill Shorten, Greg Combet and Bob Carr.

Fairfax says that of the three, Foreign Minister Senator Carr had the most support with 41 per cent to Ms Gillard on 50 per cent.


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Thứ Hai, 11 tháng 3, 2013

Ex-priest facing child sex charges in Qld

A cross on the exterior of a Sydney cathedral

A retired Catholic priest is facing almost 60 charges of sexually abusing children in Queensland. Source: AAP

A RETIRED Catholic priest is facing almost 60 charges of sexually abusing children in Queensland.

The 77-year-old is accused of indecently dealing with children in the Brisbane, Logan and Gold Coast areas between 1977 and 1988.

The man, from Boronia Heights, is charged with 57 counts of indecent treatment of children and one count of common assault.

His case was mentioned in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Tuesday, but the man was not required to appear. The matter was adjourned until May 13.

Outside court, the man's lawyer told reporters his client was ill, and was shocked and upset about the charges.

Broken Rites, a group that supports victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic church, said the man had been a priest since 1960.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane told AAP the man was a retired priest.

The archdiocese expects to issue a media statement later in the day.

Lawyer Jim Coburn said his client was in hospital but hoped to be able to attend the next court hearing.

"We will wait for a full brief of evidence before deciding whether to challenge the charges," he told reporters.

"Obviously he's concerned. He's looking forward to his day in court."

One victim of the alleged abuse spoke to reporters outside the court.

She said she and five of her brothers and sisters were abused over a 15-year period, when they were pupils at a Catholic school.

"I never thought it would ever get to court. It's just been a big cover-up and a big hush-hush through the whole Catholic education system," she told reporters.

"It has encouraged parents to hush-hush, teachers, everybody.

"They just seem to have passed the situation on and don't seem to care about the children that are hurt in the process.

"The children were the victims and I think that's been the hardest thing for me and for lots of other people to have to deal with - the support went to him and not to us."

She said she would return to court when the matter resumed in May.


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Chủ Nhật, 10 tháng 3, 2013

Gillard-led Labor 'facing massacre'

Prime Minister Julia Gillard

Labor voters don't accept Prime Minister Julia Gillard as their leader, says Alannah MacTiernan. Picture: Don Arnold/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

LABOR faces an absolute massacre in the September federal election if it doesn't respond to voter dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Julia Gillard, a former West Australian state Labor MP says.

In the ongoing washup from the weekend state poll in WA, Alannah MacTiernan, now the mayor of the city of Vincent, said it could not be said that federal Labor lost the state election which returned Liberal Colin Barnett with a significant majority.

But she said the overwhelming sentiment from doorstops and shopping centres in Labor's heartland was that voters supported state Labor but not federal Labor and Julia Gillard.

"That was very strong," she said, adding that she would be very concerned if the federal members in WA were viewing Labor's good results in some areas and believing they were safe.

"That's not what people were saying. It's pretty simple and it's pretty brutal and they are saying they don't like Julia Gillard and they don't believe her," she told ABC television.

Ms MacTiernan said she took no pleasure in saying this as Ms Gillard had tried exceptionally hard, putting absolutely everything into it.

"But at the end of the day, the Labor voters have said we don't accept her as our leader. If we do not take note of this, there is going to be an absolute massacre in the federal election," she said.

Following the election, WA Liberals and the Nationals will form a coalition with a predicted 40 seats of 59, while Labor could slide from 27 to 19 seats.

Mr Barnett said it was a bigger than expected win, though he didn't think federal issues played a dominant role in his victory.
 


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