So, it’s not just NSW Labor that has political scandals now. It’s Black Friday for the ALP in Queensland today.
In a curious piece of timing the tenth anniversary of the Queensland Labor government has been, to use the media cliche, overshadowed by the release of a letter from Nationals MP Rob Messenger to the Crime and Misconduct Commission. The letter, obtained by Crikey and viewable here [pdf], refers allegations made by a deceased staff member of Merri Rose, a former Minister who lost her Gold Coast seat of Currumbin in 2004 and was subsequently convicted of and imprisoned for blackmailing former Premier Peter Beattie. Bernard Keane writes:
The Queensland Opposition has referred to the Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission serious allegations relating to attempts to conceal a relationship between then-Premier Peter Beattie and his Tourism and Racing Minister Merri Rose.
In May 2007, Rose was sentenced to eighteen months gaol for attempting to blackmail Beattie. She was released after three months. There was considerable speculation at the time about the nature of Rose’s blackmail threat.
Yesterday, Nationals frontbencher Rob Messenger wrote to the Crime and Misconduct Commission with allegations from a former Rose staff member that Rose forced staff “to shred official documents, sign off on invalid overseas and intrastate trips, schedule unofficial business and official business and process false parliamentary leave requests to conceal a relationship between former Premier Peter Beattie and Merri Rose.”
As Keane notes, the transcript of the conversation between the former staff member, Barbara Daddow, and Messenger, does not contain any allegations against Peter Beattie. The substance of the blackmail against Beattie by Rose has been what you might call an open secret in Brisbane for a long time, but I understand that for legal reasons, it still can’t be disclosed. I can probably say that there were widespread rumours in political circles - confirmed to some degree by reading betwen the lines of media reports of interviews with Heather Beattie - that Beattie’s resignation in 2007 was related to a desire to avoid further disclosure of whatever relationship he had with Rose and to contain possible personal as well as political fallout.
I must say the timing is curious. Since Daddow died in May 2006, presumably unless they were conducted via a ouija board, her conversations with Messenger took place prior to this. Yet he waited until yesterday to refer the allegations to the CMC.
Keane writes:
The real story here is how a Premier could decide that a women like Rose was capable of performing effectively as a Minister – or whether her appointment reflected other motivations on the part of Beattie.
That’s putting it wrongly. It was no great surprise that Rose became a Minister - it was the geographical balance thing - she was the first MP to break through for Labor on the Gold Coast and the subsequent election of six MPs in Gold Coast seats in 2001 showed that the formerly National party territory was ripe for Labor gains. Another Minister, Chris Cummins, was appointed basically only because he was a Sunshine Coast MP, and was the subject of considerable ridicule because he wasn’t even given a department to administer. He also lost his seat of Kawana in 2006, though he didn’t have the scandal problems Rose had when she was defeated in 2004. The correct question to ask might be why Rose was continued in office.
Anna Bligh’s previously argued - with regard to another dodgy former Minister, Gordon Nuttall, who’s before the courts on corruption charges - that he’s out of Parliament and that she wasn’t responsible for his elevation to the Ministry. But Bligh has limited her ability to distance herself from Beattie by appointing him to what many see as a highly paid sinecure - a “Trade Commissioner” in the US. That may be the biggest political mistake she’s made, and the eruption of the Rose saga might sheet that home to her.
Update: Bernard Keane in Crikey looks at the workplace angle.
Update #2: The CMC has dismissed Messenger’s claims as old news and already investigated and found to be groundless, and chair Rob Needham has been scathing about whoever leaked Messenger’s letter. Messenger denies it was him.
Oh dear.
hell hath no fury…..
no connection to that mary rose which the aquatic historians raised up from the watery depths in pommyland a few years ago? i bet that one ponged to high heaven when it first emerged, covered in slimy mud, stinking fish etc.
Thanks for this Kim - a real Friday afternoon story eh???!
One would think that the current state of politics in QLD provides a perfect opportunity for the QLD Govt to get its house in order.
Look at Morris Iemma for inspiration, if needed.
We, the people, demand ethical, honest and open government! If there are skeletons in the closet, bring them out.
PS: Given LP’s “influential” status, and SE QLD orientation, I wonder if there are any readers out there who could shed a bit more light on this story?
Rose and Beattie? Don’t even want any sort of mental image of that union.
Does Rose have anything to do with the letter Messenger sent?
I know a fair bit about it, but it’s very difficult to say much because of the prohibition on discussing the matters at issue in the blackmail case.
A little like Belinda Neal, no one much will be “surprised” at the allegations about Rose’ staff management, just as no one much was surprised at Gordon Nuttall being involved in what he’s been involved in. But the allegations made haven’t been tested, and I’m wondering if any legally trained reader out there can enlighten us on the significance or otherwise of the fact that the person making the allegations is dead.
It was clear even to the rankest of outsiders that Merri Rose had “the goods” on Beattie.
It was equally clear that this was behind his resignation.
In the abscence of hard facts on the matter, most people thought it was much more serious than would be indicated by the above.
So there won’t be gaol for Beattie after all. The scandal being of a “soft” nature rather than of the “hard” variety. Disappointment will reign supreme among those who thrive upon being deliciously scandalised.
So he couldn’t keep his pants up and she her skirt down, big deal.
Darlene wrote:
Are you kidding? I’ve been rickrolled, twogirled, goatsed and tubgirled - I have to see a video of this to approach some kind of normal again.
Ah joy of joys, thank god for something north of the border to take our minds off the night at the Iguana. Can I suggest Beattie was ‘doing it for Queensland’ sort of.
Kudos to Kim for putting this out into the public domain. I have checked The Courier-Mail at 11:49PM Friday (Its 9:49AM in the US)and there’s no reference to it whatsoever. So much for Queensland’s newspaper being on the ball!
The Curious Snail gets there eventually Terry.
[But the woman who was the source of the information supplied to the CMC by Mr Messenger expressed anger that the MP had referred the matter to the watchdog.
“It was a private conversation,” she said. “I don’t know where Rob Messenger is getting off on this, but if I wanted our discussion about my previous encounters with members of the Queensland Parliament to be raised with the Crime and Misconduct Commission, I would have raised them with the CMC myself.”]
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23859955-952,00.html
Terry @ 9
But it’s all over the print ed’s front page, & our version of the CM “goes tom bed” before 9.00pm
CM is notoriously slow on-lining its stories.
Its a very old fashioned way to approach news. A lot more people get their news online than from newspapers nowadays, as LP and Crikey have shown in this case.
I have heard people from Fairfax estimate that about 15% of their readership now access Fairfax publications online from outside Australia.
Google News doesn’t wait until midnight Australian time to aggregate a story onto its site.
Fun it might be to read about the personal shenanigans if Labor politicians, whether its The Night of the Iguana or this Beattie nonsense. But maybe the Libs/Nats should be a bit more restrained. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.Labor, in Opposition federally was very restrained about the personal peccadilloes of an ex-Lib who recently lost a seat that has a high Asian demographic.Maybe its time for payback, but Rudd is probably too decent a bloke to want to.
The letter contains enough allegations for Mr Messenger to make his political point without having to go to gutter depths that he has chosen. Why he would do such a thing is really beyond comprehension, hopefully everyone on his side of politics has nothing to hide.
steve at 10 - Evidently Messenger has another (reluctant) informant? Since the Crikey story says that his letter was based on allegations made by a staff member who’d passed away.
Always thought Merri Rose was rather a good looking sort.
Wonder was she the only mare in the stable of the King?
“Labor, in Opposition federally was very restrained about the personal peccadilloes of an ex-Lib who recently lost a seat that has a high Asian demographic.Maybe its time for payback, but Rudd is probably too decent a bloke to want to.”
Heh. If you’re referring to the “secret” about Howard and Pru Goward, Paul, I have to tell you that it’s probably been the most publicly discussed secret in Australian history and most recently got a run in Mark Latham’s diaries. It even features in Pru’s Wikipedia entry and she has publicly discussed - and denied - it on about 300 occasions. FWIW, I’d believe many things about JWH but an affair with Pru Goward isn’t one of them.
Beattie’s lawyer has denied that there was any relationship with Rose:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/beattie-affair-may-be-investigated/2008/06/14/1213321660889.html
Sigh.
It is a good thing Peter Beattie and wife Heather and children are out of the country. Hope they keep the kids’ ears covered! Why on earth would a woman Like Ms Rose try to blackmail some one for a job though. Did she get it??
No, she was reported to the police.
Oh, she was, was she. Well, Peter Beattie has nothing to fear then.
It’s by no means clear that either Keane in Crikey nor Messenger actually have anything in the way of evidence other than prurient interest and innuendo. For starters, the deceased former staffer spelt her name Daddow, with a ‘w’ - something you’d get right if you actually had a document by or about her in your possession.
Merri Rose, it should be remembered, finished Bob Gibbs’s program to shake up the Queensland racing industry and thereby offended a lot of people with the motives, resources, connections and time to dig up whatever dirt could be found or fabricated to discredit her. She also offended a whole load of dodgy developers by cracking down on real estate scams (’marketeering’) as fair trading minister. Her successors in these portfolios have clearly learnt well the lesson - don’t actually do anything and you’ll be rewarded.
Her ministerial tenure also coincided with a rather nasty divorce in which her ex-husband was head of security at Jupiters’ casino - and therefore moving in the same circles as the aforesaid embittered racing and developer identities. All this was well-known in Queensland political and meeja circles, but who among the sharks is interested in context when there’s blood in the water?
Very interesting! Peter Beattie says he is sick and tired of rumours of an “affair”. Just why was Merri Rose jailed then. Must look up details to see.
Beattie has denied the affair and threatened Rob Messenger with legal action:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/beattie-denies-affair/2008/06/15/1213468215284.html?s_cid=rss_news
Good, hope Peter Beattie gets on with it and sues good and hard. No wonder Peter and family are in the USA. Good advice would be to stay there and enjoy life too. Come back here and it will be on for young and old.
Hear hear, lyn! I hope he also takes defamation action against Messenger, his informant, the Courier Mail & other media for beating it up!
Messenger’s timing leads me to assume that things must be going badly for the Nats in their attempts to swallow the Libs, and / or there’s a big scandal brewing somewhere, and / or the Nats need leverage for something their big backers want. Why else would the info - allegedly already thoroughly investigated and discredited by the CMC - be sent to the CMC and be “leaked” to the CM now, instead of kept for a more propitious time?
BTW - any bets on how long before Piers A does a “Heiner affair” on this too?
It is not as if Ms Rose (due respects to Ms Rose) is a flowering beauty. Nothing like Heather. It would be a thorn in my side if I were Peter Beattie! Years ago I joined the Nats and found them a bunch of liars and fraudsters (some). Never had anything to do with politics again. It did seem if one played their game there was benefits to be gained. Never was i so disgusted.!! Not only that, a big wig tried to get a bit too friendly.
The other parties are different. They are. Women and the Lib’s meetings have pearls, they serve sausages at the ALP and tofu at the Greens.
.
Apart from that it’s pretty much the same.
….The other parties are different. They are. Women and the Lib’s meetings have pearls, they serve sausages at the ALP and tofu at the Greens.
And the Dems serve vegetarian, so half complain about the lack of meat and the other half complain that it’s not vegan.
Political parties are pretty much all the same because people are pretty much the same, or human nature is.
I think the gossips amongst us would like to know who that big wig is, Lyn, but we better leave it.
The prizes for the raffles are different depending on the party. For the ALP NSW Right, you are guaranteed to win “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Ms Neal and Mr Della Bosca.
Kinda somes up their problems yes.
I should add that at at Labor branches dominated by the AWU the sausages you are served are always made from the entrails of your closest friends.
.
By you
Text of Peter Beattie’s letter of complaint to the CMC:
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,23866820-952,00.html
Peter Beattie would be better advised maybe, to just ignore the whole saga re the affair. He has said his piece and see what happens now. Dirty work isn’t it?
It looks as though Messenger might have got this horribly wrong and being another of our well trained Conservative ABC presenters would have known to check his story before making such a serious allegation. He might need deep pockets to pay for this costly error.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/beattie-to-cmc-charge-him/2008/06/15/1213468207130.html
Peter Beattie also finds himself in an awful situation as he can’t prove he did of didn’t as there simply is no way out for him in this matter. Not many people would like to find themselves in his situation. Not nice at all.
This whole thing has already been thrown out by the CMC previously and the Member for Burnett is trying to give the impression that one dead plus another reluctant witness who didn’t want the matter referred to the CMC, will somehow prove that the affair occurred. This is a dubious proposition which leaves the Member for Burnett not only open to being sued by Beattie and Rose but he could be charged by the CMC with making a false complaint. Not a smart piece of work it would seem.
Oh Dear, now Messenger is is on about ‘contempt of Parliament’. This no doubt was bought on by the suspension of the Independent Member for Nicklin, Peter Wellington for 21 days in the last sittings of the Queensland parliament. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing sometimes.
[Mr Messenger says he was duty-bound to pass on the allegations and he will not be bullied.
“Peter Beattie should be reminded of the fact that there’s such a thing called contempt of Parliament,” he said.
“Now people who are found guilty of contempt of Parliament when they are deemed to improperly interfere with the free performance of a Member of Parliament, they can face a fine or a jail sentence.”]
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/16/2275453.htm
http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/committees/documents/MEPPC/reports/Report%2090.pdf
Bernard Keane in Crikey looks at the workplace angle:
http://www.crikey.com.au/Politics/20080616-Beattie-Rose-2.html
As I understood it, the CMC/Messenger issue was about Rose’s instructing electorate officers to destroy documents and fabricate. The “relationship” with Beattie was something the MSM ran with. And Pete seems to protest too much on that side issue…
Update #2: The CMC has dismissed Messenger’s claims as old news and already investigated and found to be groundless, and chair Rob Needham has been scathing about whoever leaked Messenger’s letter. Messenger denies it was him.