mate
Patron Meritorious
Here is a curious piece concerning the CofS from a major newspaper, the Adelaide Advertiser
Martin Hamilton-Smith humiliated by forged 'Labor invoices'
Article from:
RUSSELL EMMERSON, STATE POLITICAL REPORTER
April 30, 2009 02:00pm
GOVERNMENT heavy-hitter Pat Conlon has called on Martin Hamilton-Smith to reveal the source of forged documents used to attack the Government.
Mr Conlon - the state Transport Minister - said the Labor Party would not refer the matter to the police, but wanted to know who provided the documents to the Liberals.
"We're not talking about a whistleblower here, we're not talking about someone who helped find a hidden truth - we're talking someone who allegedly interpreted false documents," he said. "They must have known they were false."
Mr Conlon said he had "absolutely no fear who the Leader of the Opposition might identify" when asked whether there were concerns that the Liberal Party's source could be inside the ALP's state headquarters.
He dismissed the argument that the Labor Party had the most to gain from Mr Hamilton-Smith's humiliating backdown.
"I do not accept the Government benefits from it. I think the Leader of the Opposition suffers," he said, "It has also damaged innocent parties who may not be able to recover.
"Out there, people may listen to the radio one day and not the next, and there are people who have been accused of doing things that are essentially corrupt.
"People who have heard one news show and not the other, they've heard names (and) those people have suffered."
It is understood ALP state secretary Michael Brown, former ALP senator and current lobbyist Nick Bolkus and Labor state treasurer John Boag will take legal action over the affair.
They were named in a series of false emails supposedly organising "special treatment" for a company linked to the Church of Scientology which would donate $20,000 to Labor.
Premier Mike Rann has also indicated he is seeking legal advice after the emails named him as having discussions with the company, Applied Scholastics Australia.
Mr Rann told Parliament on Tuesday that he "would never do a favour for the Church of Scientology".
Applied Scholastics Australia spokesman Bernard Merrick told The Advertiser the company had not met with the Premier or any other South Australian government minister and did not make any political donations.
Mr Hamilton-Smith apologised to Parliament yesterday afternoon and admitted he now accepted the documents were false.
Who was the source?
Today, Mr Hamilton-Smith has refused to reveal the source of forged documents he used to accuse Premier Mike Rann of corruption.
Speaking on ABC Radio this morning, Mr Hamilton Smith was keen to put the issue behind him.
"I think at the end of the day people are more worried about water, more worried about jobs and a few other things," he told Matthew Abraham and David Bevan.
"I would very much like to know the identity of the forger because I think (that) is the key.
"We fully acknowledge the information in these documents cleverly put together is incorrect ... I've apologised to the House. I'm the leader - I take responsibility.
"We get a lot of information. It comes up in a variety of ways, a lot of it we discard. On this occasion we felt it was worth asking the questions."
Mr Hamilton-Smith told Parliament on Tuesday that Mr Rann had a meeting with Applied Scholastics, an education company linked to the Church of Scientology, in Melbourne to smooth the way for "special treatment" in return for a $20,000 donation.
The Opposition produced a series of emails purporting to be between Mr Brown, Mr Bolkus and Mr Boag that detailed an "under the radar" donation of $20,000 – and seeking four separate invoices in an apparent bid to avoid federal donation disclosure laws.
But Mr Hamilton-Smith was forced to apologise after Mr Brown released the invoice numbers in question – each for a different amount, dated one year earlier than invoices released by the Opposition.
"I'm happy to accept the invoices and emails have been discredited so I will go on and apologise to everybody," he said.
"We get drops from time to time from the Labor Party and some of them you run with and some you don't, and in this case we made the decision (that) we'd ask the question. You're making calculated judgments all the time from Opposition about information you get, about which ones to run with and which ones not to run with. I accept that based on the statements made today the invoices have been discredited so I apologise."
Liberals angry at blunder
The incident has sparked unrest within the Liberal Party.
Senior Liberal sources said the public backdown was "very damaging for Martin Hamilton-Smith".
They said the Scientology attack distracted from a very obvious target – the traffic offences of former Road Safety Minister Tom Koutsantonis. This was reflected in Parliament. The Opposition failed to follow up its own questions on the Scientology donations.
Liberal deputy leader Vickie Chapman previously said she would not challenge for leadership unless Mr Hamilton-Smith made a major mistake. A March poll of AdelaideNow readers found 40 per cent supported Mr Hamilton-Smith, with only 12 per cent backing Ms Chapman.
Premier Mike Rann, at a gathering of Commonwealth and state leaders in Tasmania yesterday, posted messages on Twitter calling Mr Hamilton-Smith to account.
"(It) shows he lacks not only experience but judgment to be Premier," he wrote. "Will he tell Parliament / police the name of the crook".
Mr Hamilton-Smith refused to reveal the name of the Liberals' source.