Nine Morning News

SUBJECTS: AWU scandal; Palestinian UN vote; Steve Gibbon’s sexist tweet

E&OE................................

Brett McLeod: For the Opposition’s perspective we’re joined now by the Manager of Opposition Business, Christopher Pyne. Good morning. Very strong allegations from Julie Bishop, the Government’s saying she should now be sacked. Should she go?

The Hon Christopher Pyne MP: Look, the Government is trying to create a distraction from the panic that they are feeling over the issue of the AWU scandal – the slush fund that is engulfing the Prime Minister. Let me just state very very clearly what this is about. We are asking the Prime Minister - did she take part in the establishment of a fund which was a criminal conspiracy to defraud, and did she benefit from that fraudulent activity. Both of those crimes are jailable offences. We have asked her many questions, which she refuses to answer, over the last two days, but the one question, the most important one, was whether she wrote to the Western Australian Corporate Affairs Commission to attest to the legitimacy of that fund, because we know at the time that she knew it was a slush fund, because she admitted herself that she knew it was a slush fund, but she refused to answer that question. Now, if she didn’t write the letter, why doesn’t she just say no?

McLeod: Yesterday Julie Bishop was asked about the extent of her communication with Ralph Blewitt, the man who’s led many of these negotiations. Here’s what she had to say yesterday.

(Excerpt from the Hon Julie Bishop’s interview)

McLeod: She said that was a chance meeting but now, Ralph Blewitt says he also spoke with Julie Bishop on the phone earlier in the week. Has she been caught out here?

Pyne: Well no, she hasn’t because she said herself that she spoke to a person who didn’t identify themselves as Ralph Blewitt and she didn’t know that he was Ralph Blewitt at the time, so there’s absolutely no contradiction. Julie Bishop has absolutely nothing to worry about at all but honestly, I would welcome any former dodgy union official coming forward and making a clean breast of their past misdeeds so we can get to the bottom of this very murky scandal about union corruption, sleaze and slush funds that is engulfing the government. It’s not just the Australian Workers Union, of course, it’s also the Health Services Union, so if any former dodgy union officials want to contact Julie Bishop, I’m sure she’ll take their calls because we want to know just how widespread this rancid behaviour has been.

McLeod: On another matter affecting the government, and in particular the Prime Minister. Julia Gillard was overruled by cabinet yesterday on her plans regarding a vote on Palestine. Is that a big enough blow for the PM to be risking her job?

Pyne: Look, it’s a big deal Brett, and it’s a big deal because when the Prime Minister makes the wrong call on something like the supertrawler, the caucus backs her. When she makes the right call on something like Israel, the caucus rolls her. This goes directly to her authority, when she can’t get the cabinet to agree to one of her very important priorities, apparently, and it shatters the bipartisanship that has existed over support for the state of Israel between Labor and Liberal going back to 1948, so it’s a very big deal. And Labor are doing it, of course, because they are terrified of the electoral consequences in Western Sydney of taking a principled position over the state of Israel.

McLeod: We’ve got to ask you about this very quickly, a tweet that we’ll put up on the screen from Labor MP Steve Gibbons this morning who said “Libs are led by a gutless douchebag and a narcissistic fool, and both the PM and deputy should be sacked” what do you think of that comment, particularly calling Julie Bishop a bimbo?

Pyne: Well look, it’s completely unacceptable and the Prime Minister has another test of her leadership today, because she said wherever she found sexism she would call it for what it was and deal with it. Well, in her own caucus there’s a Member of Parliament calling our Deputy Leader a narcissistic bimbo, and the Prime Minister needs to come out today, discipline Steve Gibbons, and make it absolutely clear that she doesn’t share those views. If she doesn’t, it’s just like everything else Julia Gillard says, all spin, no substance.

McLeod: Christopher Pyne, Thank you.

Pyne: Pleasure.

ENDS