WERE IT NOT FOR THE DAILY TELEGRAPH AND ITS NSW POLITICAL REPORTER, ANDREW CLENNELL, THE ICAC INVESTIGATIONS OF 2013 MIGHT LOOK REAL.
THEY ARE ACTUALLY VERY FAR FROM IT, AS THE FOLLOWING CITATIONS FROM THE TELEGRAPH SHOW:
The Daily Telegraph 16 JUNE 2013
CORRUPTION IN THE LOOKING-GLASS 1.
Premier Barry
O'Farrell’s prestige will suffer if Greg Pearce keeps his job
• ANDREW CLENNELL
• THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
• JUNE 14, 2013 12:00AM
HE came to office promising higher standards and today that promise has to be
delivered on by Premier Barry O'Farrell, who will release the report from his
top bureaucrat on Finance Minister Greg Pearce's alleged travel rorting.
It's not just that Pearce turned up to parliament drunk during a vote on
reducing victims of crime compensation - although many think that alone is
enough to warrant getting rid of him.
It's not just that Pearce then told the Premier's office and the media he was
off sick once the story broke, then told The Telegraph that he was down in
Canberra that day to visit Tralee - an empty site - as part of inspecting the
"housing acceleration program", before admitting it was a private
trip to attend Liberal mate Michael Photios' function.
It's that Pearce breached ministerial travel guidelines to book flights and
accommodation for what he had to admit was a "private trip". This,
together with his lies and behaviour should be enough to see the minister no
longer enjoy the Premier's confidence, regardless of what competence he's shown
in his portfolio up until this point.
The Premier is either after higher standards than Labor in this government. Or
he's not. There's no grey area here.
Nor is there a grey area in the rules.
Pearce has been spinning government colleagues and even the odd journalist that
he will get off today on a "technicality" - that the ministerial
travel guidelines state that the government's transport contractors "
should not be used to book private travel" - rather than cannot - but this
is lawyer speak.
And it's unlikely to get past a straitlaced public servant like Chris Eccles,
who very much likes to go by the book.
The more we find out about this minister, the more questions are raised with
the way he appears to operate.
When Sports Minister Graham Annesley, or Major Events Minister George Souris,
travel to sporting events such as the Melbourne Cup and Grand Final on the
taxpayer, both have a reasonable argument that they are going down for business
and both try to return either the same or the next day.
Not for Pearce.
And he stays the long weekend...on one
occasion, with his wife and his chief of staff.
If O'Farrell sacks Pearce today, he looks like a strong leader with a zero
tolerance policy to rorting and untoward activities in his government. He would
be minimising the chance of other ministers committing similar offences.
He would be making an example of someone who has done the wrong thing with our
taxpayer dollars – of which, as Finance Minister he is the supposed to be the
custodian.
If the Premier doesn't sack Pearce, this issue will bleed into budget week,
into a parliamentary sitting week.
It invites more scandal, more political problems, more comparisons to Labor and
even the suggestion that he will not let his troubled minister go because he
has been an important figure in the moderate faction with ties to powerbroker
Mr Photios, who helped install O'Farrell as leader in 2007.
It would send a message that it is anything goes in this government. The
Premier should act today.
CORRUPTION IN THE LOOKING-GLASS 2
Premier Barry O’Farrell has failed to live up to his promise on dealing with corruption in Greg Pearce ‘scandal’
• ANDREW CLENNELL STATE POLITICAL REPORTER’
• THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
• JUNE 14, 2013 3:38PM
THERE goes the argument that Labor are worse because of the ICAC scandal. As far as I’m concerned the Premier’s handling of the Greg Pearce scandal means his reputation on dealing with corruption lies in tatters.
According to what Barry O’Farrell said today, when it comes to politicians’ entitlements, if you only steal $200 it’s OK, if you steal millions you have a problem.
[The Advocate expresses the concept a little differently: the point at issue is not the quantum of money involved; it is the quality of Pearce’s action: the amount involved is not in question, only whether an offence was created.]
This is all about two things: O’Farrell’s determination not to lose a minister and look like the last mob and his concern that he will upset Pearce’s mate Michael Photios and his other backers in the Left faction by sacking Pearce.
By standing Pearce down on a month’s stress leave, O’Farrell hopes the scandal will die and Pearce can quietly slip back in the ministry. But, O’Farrell’s actions to cover for his Finance Minister blows out of the water the concept that the Premier is tougher on crime than other politicians.
The strait-laced head of Premier’s department, Chris Eccles, did the right thing in his report released by the Premier on Pearce’s trip to Canberra last Monday. This is the trip that Pearce first made out was government business, then was forced to admit was ``private; and pay back the cost, after inquiries by The Daily Telegraph.
Eccles finds:
``In my view, the two transactions (being the flight booking on 27 May and the accommodation booking on 29 May) were made in breach of the requirement in the Handbook in relation to the use of the TMC contract for booking private travel.
In arriving at this view, I consider the Handbook conveys the clear intent that the TMC Contract is only to be used for travel by NSW Government travellers in an official capacity
He also finds:
I am not aware of another case where the full cost of a private travel event by Ministers of the current Government was charged under the TMC Contract.
He finds that Pearce booked a $639.09 fare plus $27.50 booking fee and accommodation at the Hyatt in Canberra of $305 to the taxpayer. And then on June 6 - two days after The Daily Telegraph asked who paid for what Pearce was forced to admit it was a ``private trip”; and his chief of staff ``provided the Department of Premier and Cabinet with a copy of a memorandum ... [titled] “reimbursement private cost - Minister Pearce; with cheque
He also finds:
``I note that advice from CWT (the travel company) confirms that on this occasion there would have been a difference between the government rate and private rate when applied to the two transactions (fully flexible flights and accommodation) of $188.91 in total
On Monday night, June 3, Mr Pearce’s press secretary, Jan Le Maitre, left a phone message for The Daily Telegraph over why Mr Pearce was in Canberra when he said he was sick which says:
“I’ve spoken with Greg... Greg says ..he was in Canberra today inspecting the Tralee development down there as part of the housing acceleration program. If you need any more details, give me a call but that’s been the response from Greg.”
The next day his office advised in writing that he had visited Tralee before, but claimed he had visited it again, and admitted he had actually gone down there to attend Photios’s drinks function.
``The Minister was on his way to Tralee when he spoke to Andrew and told him this,” the statement said
Today, under the spotlight, the lies crumbled.
Pearce would not even say whether he had been to Tralee, just kept repeating it was a ``private trip.”
But Barry doesn’t seem to care that Pearce has lied, nor that he misused government travel entitlements - making use of an argument from Pearce’s office detailed in the Eccles report that he is saved by one phrase in the ministerial administration handbook; that ministers “should not”, rather than ``must not” book private travel through the government agency.
- O’Farrell campaigned on an anti-corruption platform.
- He has told parliament his government will act with honour and
- He. has made a ton of mileage out of the ICAC affair.
But he has now failed to uphold those standards at the critical moment.
The Advocate comments:
This is not a simple matter of corruption, of which Pearce is guilty.
The same rules have been breached as were allegedly breached by people who have spent months in front of the ICAC, like The Hon. Ian Macdonald: allegedly rorting government travel arrangements and allowances. Despite months in the ICAC, Mr MacDonald has not been proven guilty of any breach; nor can the ICAC determine that he is: it can only refer a matter to a judicial body for potentially further investigation.
At least ALP Premier Kristina Keneally removed MacDonald.
O’Farrell appears to have acted to protect Pearce. The next question: about what? What is being hidden from the people of NSW?
The Premier needs to explain why Pearce is not before the ICAC himself. And if he is not brought before that tribunal, the entire proceedings of the ICAC will look extremely shabby, and the Premier will look worse.
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