The other day, I wrote about Campbell Newman’s botheration and bluster in the face of demands that he fully declare his pecuniary interests. The Bligh Labor government, the opposition declaimed, was preparing the ground for a “summer of sleaze” and Campbell Newman claimed that Anna Bligh presided over a regime of “punks, drunks and desperadoes” intent on dragging him through the mire.
He now finds himself standing in it.
Yesterday, the Courier-Mail revealed the existence of LNP “dirt files” on 49 Labor MPs, including MPs. The party machine had paid a former Labor staffer, Robert Hough, $3075 to compile rumours and gossip about ALP MPs’ drinking habits and alleged sexual peccadilloes.
Can Do Campbell, of course, disclaims any knowledge.
And the LNP machine is doing its headless chook impression, unclear as to whether the files have actually been shredded. That seems moot, as for reasons which are rather unclear (aside from selling papers), the Courier-Mail has published them all in today’s print edition.
$3075?
Why are our politicians so cheap?
I think it was ABC radio I heard it on – a couple (lib/lab) politicians on radio discussing this the other day. And they mention how they both do pretty deep investigations into their own candidates these days to minimise the risk that something will come out later.
btw sounds like the Courier Mail is setting itself up for a few defamation suits….
It was this strange backward talk about shredding the files that bugged me, what the PDFs?
And it would be nice if some of the media, say the ABC last night, had distinguished between drawing attention to potential conflicts of business interest, and sexual gossip.
I’m continually in awe of the LNP’s astonishing skill at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory…
@4, that’s because they just can’t resist sleaze.
Ok, I had a quick flick over the files in the paper today, but didn’t see anything too scandalous, was it really worth $3k to get that?
Of course there is the fact that most people don’t care about this nonsense and it will just continue to reinforce that feeling of convulsion people get the minute they hear the word ‘politics’. And why should they if this is the best that can be produced?
The Courier Mail says that the LNP’s major donor Clive Palmer
I guess we would all be surprised if neither side of politics was doing its homework on its own and others candidates.
John D @ 7, Annie Guest’s interview with Clive Palmer on Radio National’s PM program tonight covered this point too. He gave an awful interview (as usual) and was incredibly rude and patronising to the reporter. Apparently investigating the sex lives of Labor politicians is necessary because some of them may be peadophiles! This man is a total nutter.
PS. When a disgruntled Palmer tired of Guest’s insistent questioning RE the necessity of keeping tabs on the sex lives of Labor MPs, he said to her that she must have ‘sex on the brain’ (or something very close to that). Hmm…I suspect that for most people unfortunate enough to interview Clive Palmer, sex would be the last thing on their minds!
I’ll say this for Queensland politics — they make NSW politics look gooooood!
Geez,that evil Murdocracy rag is revealing news that damages the LNP, and yet they obviously want LNP to be in power.( being that demonic right wing mouthpiece that they are)
Oh, and the timing couldn’t be more damaging.
Struth, they’re so cleverly biased and their plan sooo fiendishly clever that it’s too difficult to comprehend .
Or
They’re just journalist doing their job unbiasedly.
Whichever ….
Jumpy @ 11
I wouldn’t say unbiased, I would say … oh I don’t know … Salaciously, with an eye on profits and self interest over the privacy and dignity of others.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
Looks like the sleaze files have opened some cracks in the LNP. More from the Courier Mail:
Perhaps Seeney wasn’t really impressed when Newman was forced upon the parliamentary party by McIvor?
@12
How many here have said ” I don’t believe anything News ltd prints” yet pick this up and run with it?
I was even under the impression that most refused to read the “crap”
seems i was wrong.
It’s the UQ student union elections writ large. Now all we need is a “free beer” party and a green party full of trots.
Oh, hang on…
Well, yes, but the interesting thing is surely how cheap sleaze is. At $3079 for the lot, that’s $62 per Labor member. At between $50 and $100 per day plus expenses, which is what Philip Marlowe charged way back in the fifties, that’s only two month’s work: at today’s rates, days. What could you really expect for that money? From me, a few day’s googling and a day’s writeup to prevent instant detection.
Darin @15, as James McGrath is the chief culprit it’s actually the Griffith University SRC elections c.1995 writ large.
Harrington
I heard the interview with Palmer – such a misogynistic attitude, she handled it well and he ended up cutting the interview off. Tellingly the question he was avoiding was whether he had done this at any time before – that is, dig dirt on sex lives etc.
@13 Seeney is making a fuss is because it’s now become obvious that he has been unofficially demoted (even to him), as Shadow Treasurer Tim Nicholls is now the main LNP representative in parliament. Seeney expected to benefit from Newman’s arrival, and now he’s just a loser who pissed off most LNP parliamentarians by helping McIver.