This story will be FRONT PAGE news tomorrow. Did Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan both mislead parliament ? And will Julia Gillard have to make a quick return home from her Israel trip ?
Emotional official admits PM OzCar link
Article from: AAP
June 19, 2009 04:22pm
A TREASURY official says the prime minister’s office contacted him regarding an Ipswich car dealer who’d previously given Kevin Rudd a ute and was seeking Federal Government assistance.
The official in charge of the OzCar scheme, Godwin Grech, has told a Senate inquiry he realised the “sensitivity and import’’ of his statement.
“My understanding (was) the initial contact that I had with respect to John Grant was from the prime minister’s office,’’ Mr Grech told the inquiry.
Treasury officials had previously said they’d been unable to locate representations from Mr Rudd’s office to Treasury regarding John Grant, who is a neighbour of Mr Rudd’s.
Labor senators and fellow Treasury official David Martine spent more than 10 minutes trying to stop Mr Grech answering a question about whether Mr Grech had seen a document from Mr Rudd’s office regarding Mr Grant.
Liberal senator Eric Abetz, who asked the question, said he accepted Treasury hadn’t been able to find such a document, but that didn’t mean one hadn’t existed in the past.
When Mr Grech finally answered the question he was clearly emotional.
He prefaced his reply by saying no public servant should be placed in the position in which he found himself.
Mr Rudd has previously said neither he, nor his office, made representations on Mr Grant’s behalf.
“Neither I, nor my office, have ever made any representations on his behalf,’’ the Prime Minister told Parliament earlier this month.
The short answer is No. Of course he won’t resign.
Mr Grech did state that he wasn’t sure that the contact came from the PM’s office, and the PM is emphatic that it didn’t come from him or his staff. He has referred it to the AG for investigation—he wouldn’t do that if he didn’t know that his own hands were clean.
It is quite possible that someone DID ask for assistance, and may have dropped the PM’s name and/or implied that the PM wanted it-that does not mean that the PM asked for it.
Then WHY did the Labor party go to such lengths in order to try and stop Mr Grech answering a straight forward question if there was nothing to hide ?
Labor senators and fellow Treasury official David Martine spent more than 10 minutes trying to stop Mr Grech answering a question about whether Mr Grech had seen a document from Mr Rudd’s office regarding Mr Grant.
I thought that they would welcome the truth - or were they trying to NOT let the truth come out. The other implication from this matter is that document shredding took place. ( Reminder of what happened in Queensland when Kevin Rudd was head of the state’s public service - and the destruction of all the Heiner Affair documents took place. )
I watched the questioning on A-Pac today ......was like questioning 3rd graders about who saw what and whos cricket ball was it!
What a joke…....someone even broke out in laughter it was so ridiculous how much stammering was done over each answer and just how much of the 4 hrs allowed was taken up with ums and arrs and consideration of every word. Really needed Sister Mary Stigmata there with her ruler to get any straight answers out of those beaurocrats.
Sister Marys first lesson would be to sit up straight and stop talking into your book.
Anyone else catch the show? i thought it was shorts of Judge Judys show at first heheheheeee .....but it was our govt at work :)
I’m with you Jean, they (they that hate Kev) are clutching at straws this time and is really a bit embarrassing how often they do this.
Your mixing ‘im up with the other little guy Nick! ......the other guy was the one with the eyebrows ......this is the fair haired bloke, youknow the vegie, he the one we are talking about ‘ere!
COMMENT: Lenore Taylor June 20, 2009 Article from: The Australian
THE Rudd government is facing a political crisis.
The evidence against Wayne Swan suggests he has misled parliament, despite the Treasurer’s assertion that this is not technically true.
The evidence against Kevin Rudd is shakier, essentially resting on the memory of a public servant who admits his recollection may be faulty, and an email allegedly in the possession of the opposition, which the government says is an elaborate hoax.
It says its entire information technology resources cannot unearth it. Even so, the Prime Minister has been forced to establish an Auditor-General’s inquiry into allegations that he has also misled the house. He may even have to appear before it.
Coming just two weeks after the forced resignation of defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon, the allegations of cover-ups and favours for a political donor and mate will further erode voters’ trust.
Mr Rudd has insisted to parliament that neither he nor his staff has done anything to help his friend, neighbour and political donor, car dealer John Grant. But dedicated Treasury official Godwin Grech told a Senate inquiry yesterday he remembers a short email about Mr Grant from the Prime Minister’s office.
This is the one the entire resources of the federal government cannot find and the opposition has so far refused to make public. As for Mr Swan, we know in June he told parliament his office had “made representations” to Treasury on behalf of Mr Rudd’s friend but that Mr Grant had been treated “just like everyone else” and that he (Mr Swan) had “no idea what the outcome of that was”.
Mr Grech told the Senate inquiry that because the representation had come from the Treasurer’s office he had given Mr Grant’s case “priority”; he “had the impression (Mr Grant) wasn’t your average constituent” and the Treasurer’s staff had “made it clear (Mr Grant) was an associate of some type with the Treasurer and the Prime Minister”.
And Mr Grant’s case got astonishing attention for a small town Queensland car dealer.
Two emails from Mr Grech about the case, released yesterday, were sent to Mr Swan’s home fax and to Treasury chief Ken Henry, as well as to senior public servants and ministerial staff. In one Mr Grech mentions in only three paragraphs Ford Credit’s need for $500 million of finance to save its entire car dealership business, but devotes 10 paragraphs to whether Ford Credit will take on Mr Grant’s business.
And he promises that if Ford shows “concerns or resistance” to taking on Mr Grant he would speak to them again to “push it through”.
The government’s problems are as much about Mr Rudd and Mr Swan’s categoric denials as about what they and their staff have done. This is as much about the obfuscation or the cover-up as the alleged crime - that the government asked public servants to give priority to a prime ministerial friend and political donor.
Looking for truth in a uteful of lies Michelle Grattan June 20, 2009
KEVIN Rudd’s future hinges on whether an email allegedly from his economic adviser to Treasury asking it to help the PM’s car dealer friend is a fake or genuine. Rudd last night staked his credibility on the document not being genuine. He stuck to his parliamentary denial this month that neither he nor his office had made representations for John Grant, a supporter who generously gives him a ute for his electorate work. Treasury official Godwin Grech, who runs the scheme, thinks he saw such an email from Andrew Charlton, although yesterday he couldn’t be absolutely sure. Searches have turned up no trace of it. It’s a mystery, one now before the auditor-general to try to unravel.
The strength of the PM’s repeated denials — backed up by the denial that Charlton has reportedly given his boss — must give the benefit of the doubt to Rudd. He’d have to be extraordinarily brazen and foolhardy — quite apart from dishonest — to maintain this line if in fact the alleged email had come from his office.
He still surrounds his comments with the qualification that this is what he has been advised, but if the email turned out to be genuine this would not save him. His job would be on the line, or he would be at the very least incredibly tainted. Yesterday’s performance at the Senate committee was extraordinary.
One would expect Labor senators to try to be obstructionist. But why would David Martine, the boss of Godwin Grech, the man making the allegation, try to hinder evidence being given? Grech was the only one who claimed to have seen the correspondence, but at every turn Martine tried to stop him casting further light on what he might know. Martine’s motives are obscure.
The motives of Treasurer Wayne Swan were absolutely clear at his bizarre performance yesterday morning before the Senate hearing. Swan’s claim that Malcolm Turnbull had threatened a Rudd staffer was absolute nonsense from anything that we know. He only further discredited himself by his refusal to give details of the threat. He explained the lack of detail by saying that he had to catch a plane and that the staffer would put out a statement.
The transcript issued by Charlton immediately after read more like a homily from the Opposition Leader to the economist than a threat. “Andrew, integrity is the most important thing in a man’s career,” Turnbull is noted as saying, telling Charlton to be truthful.
“Thank you for the advice. I don’t feel any pressure to lie,” Charlton is recorded as replying.
Anyone who has lied in this affair will be in an appalling position.
KEVIN RUDD ordered an inquiry last night after accusations he and Wayne Swan had misled Parliament over assistance given to a Brisbane car dealer who is a friend of the Prime Minister and supplied him with a free ute.
Emails, as well as testimony from a senior Treasury official produced during a tense Senate inquiry, undermined previous statements to Parliament by both Mr Rudd and his Treasurer about helping the car dealer John Grant.
The Treasury official, Godwin Grech, said Mr Grant “wasn’t your average constituent” and he dropped a bombshell by saying Mr Rudd’s office had referred Mr Grant’s case to the Treasurer’s office, something the Prime Minister has denied in Parliament.
The Government stood by its previous statements and accused Mr Turnbull of bullying Mr Rudd’s chief economic adviser Andrew Charlton over the issue at Canberra’s Midwinter Ball.
Yesterday’s inquiry heard testimony that contradicted claims by Mr Swan that Mr Grant was given the same treatment as other credit-squeezed car dealers who were seeking assistance from a special purpose fund called OzCar, which is funded by the Government and the big banks.
And despite Mr Rudd telling Parliament his office made no representations to Treasury on Mr Grant’s behalf, Mr Grech, under intense questioning, told the inquiry he could recall an email from the Prime Minister’s office.
“There was a short email from the PMO to me which very simply alerted me to the case of John Grant,” he said.
Mr Grech’s Treasury colleague David Martine told the inquiry there was no record of the email and “I am personally satisfied that no such document exists”.
The Government released another email which questioned the veracity of Mr Grech’s assertion.
In an email that Mr Grech sent to the Prime Minister’s office yesterday after a story about the hearing appeared in newspapers, Mr Grech says he denied to the journalist that there was any communication between the Prime Minister’s office and the Treasurer’s office concerning Mr Grant. Mr Grant is the dealer who supplied Mr Rudd with a free second-hand ute in 2007 for use in his electorate. The men are old friends and the Opposition has been alleging he has received special treatment.
Malcolm Turnbull said Mr Rudd and Mr Swan had misled Parliament and should justify their actions or resign.
“[They] have used their offices and taxpayers’ resources to seek advantage for one of their mates and then lied about it to the Parliament.”’
Under parliamentary questioning in recent weeks, Mr Swan has said repeatedly that Mr Grant received the same assistance as other car dealer seeking assistance from OzCar.
But emails between Mr Swan’s office and the department, which was charged with assisting dealers, show Mr Swan and his senior staff, as well as the Treasury secretary, Ken Henry, were kept apprised of the developments.
Two emails were sent directly to Mr Swan and all were copied to his home fax. Other car dealers referred to Treasury by Coalition MPs did not receive anywhere near this level of assistance.
Mr Grech told the inquiry that helping Mr Grant was “labour intensive”. “I certainly had the impression he wasn’t your average constituent.”
“This is going back four months but I was certainly left with a general understanding that Mr Grant had some relationship of some type with at least the Treasurer.”
Mr Rudd last night disputed Mr Grech’s claims about the email. He said exhaustive searches had been conducted of Mr Charlton’s computer and emails and the Government’s position remained unchanged. “I have no basis before me which changes that position.”
The issue also threatens to engulf Mr Rudd’s senior economic adviser Andrew Charlton. The Coalition believes he sent the email to Mr Swan’s office to which Mr Grech referred. Mr Grech was blocked by Mr Martine yesterday from saying who it was from.
According to Mr Charlton, when Mr Turnbull confronted him at the ball he said there was “documentary evidence” that Mr Charlton had been lying to protect his boss and “this whole OzCar issue will be very damaging for you”. Mr Charlton replied: “Thank you for the advice. I don’t feel any pressure to lie.”
with Mark Davis
If nothing had happened, WHY was Mr Grech blocked by Mr Martine yesterday from saying who the email was from ? This gets curiouser and curiouser. Why all the blocking manoeuvres by Labor Senators and Mr Martine ? Are they afraid of an honest answer ? Unless they’re trying to hide something then why all this intrigue and obstruction ? It’s not a good look at all.
Labor will just tough it out, despite whether Rudd has misled Parliament or not.
The opposition will just do its job, trying to point out Rudds errors. But they just could be asking for a truthful answer on behalf of all Australians. The question is, what kind of man is Rudd: truthful or untruthful. What kind of party is Labor, etc.
Labor voters will not be interested in whether Rudd did something wrong or not. They just want things their way regardless of errors their party does. It’s a Labor at all costs mentality which will not go away.
The truth will not be of interest to Rudd Labor Party supporters.
PS: It’s a bit like getting Catholics to see how wrong their church is regarding its acceptance of the truth. Dogma wins out every time.
I just hope the media gives this issue air, and not sweep it under the carpet. The media is usually Labor slanted overall, I think.
I just hope the media gives this issue air, and not sweep it under the carpet. The media is usually Labor slanted overall, I think.
Well Ken, it is getting plenty of air. Just a few minutes ago, it was the lead item on Channel 9’s Today : Weekend Edition news. And, as you can see above, when ( glued-to-the-left ) journalists such as Michelle Grattan continue the search for truth, then Labor has a real problem :
One would expect Labor senators to try to be obstructionist. But why would David Martine, the boss of Godwin Grech, the man making the allegation, try to hinder evidence being given? Grech was the only one who claimed to have seen the correspondence, but at every turn Martine tried to stop him casting further light on what he might know. Martine’s motives are obscure.
I have posted only a few of the newspaper articles that are around today. As I said earlier :
If nothing had happened, WHY was Mr Grech blocked by Mr Martine yesterday from saying who the email was from ? This gets curiouser and curiouser. Why all the blocking manoeuvres by Labor Senators and Mr Martine ? Are they afraid of an honest answer ? Unless they’re trying to hide something then why all this intrigue and obstruction ? ....
And then in the SMH article above was this puzzling fact :
The issue also threatens to engulf Mr Rudd’s senior economic adviser Andrew Charlton. The Coalition believes he sent the email to Mr Swan’s office to which Mr Grech referred. Mr Grech was blocked by Mr Martine yesterday from saying who it was from.
It seems strange indeed that Mr Martine went to so much trouble in order to block Mr Grech from answering a question about who sent an email to Mr Grech - which Mr Martine ( and it seeems Wayne Swan and Kevin Rudd - and their staffs ) INSIST DOES NOT EXIST !
A few questions arise :
If the email(s) do not exist ( NOW ) - did they ever, and if so, who DELETED/SHREDDED them - AND who erased them from all the computers involved ( senders and receivers - that’s a growing number of computers at various addresses - and reveals implications of a much wider conspiracy - and a deliberate attempt to obstruct justice -the search for the “truth” in this matter. )
Again, WHY did Mr Martine BLOCK Mr Grech from saying who had sent the key email ? Who is he trying to protect from the public glare - and the need for him/them to then give testimony to the enquiry UNDER OATH.
Today’s Weekend Australian has this key section : ( full article already posted on this thread ) :
Two emails from Mr Grech about the case, released yesterday, were sent to Mr Swan’s home fax and to Treasury chief Ken Henry, as well as to senior public servants and ministerial staff. In one Mr Grech mentions in only three paragraphs Ford Credit’s need for $500 million of finance to save its entire car dealership business, but devotes 10 paragraphs to whether Ford Credit will take on Mr Grant’s business.
And he promises that if Ford shows “concerns or resistance” to taking on Mr Grant he would speak to them again to “push it through”.
For the Labor Senators and Mr Martine to seek to BLOCK Mr Grech from answering questions openly makes me wonder what we are being blocked from knowing. As Shakespeare put it - “I think thou dost protest too much”.
( from the SMH article ) :
Mr Rudd last night disputed Mr Grech’s claims about the email. He said exhaustive searches had been conducted of Mr Charlton’s computer and emails and the Government’s position remained unchanged. “I have no basis before me which changes that position.”
Rudd’s use of the words “BEFORE ME” seem like a convenient way out in case evidence pops up. I see a worried PM trying to distance himself from any adverse revelations. It seems like he’s looking for someone else to take the rap and fall on their sword.
This is going to be a long and anxious weekend in both Parliament House, The Lodge and inside the Treasury Building. Where will all this end up ? Watch this space.
The truth will not be of interest to Rudd Labor Party supporters.
I think it works both ways. The number of online newspaper comments I have read in which people have found Rudd guilty until proven innocent would seem to confirm this.
Doorstop Interview 20/6/2009 - Wayne Swan basically says it was made up
It’s fairly obvious that yesterday News Limited was provided with a fake email about alleged representations made by the Prime Minister’s office to the Treasury. Now, I think the Opposition has a responsibility to come out today and to rule out any role in the creation, distribution or promotion of that fake email. Now, there have been reports today that the Opposition has sighted this fake email. So, I think Opposition Leader Mr Turnbull should provide a full detailing of when they saw it, and who gave it to them. This is absolutely essential to know, because we have this smear campaign against the Prime Minister, which has been mounted on the basis of a false email which has been sighted by the Opposition. And I think today Mr Turnbull has a responsibility to outline how he saw it, where he saw it, and who provided that to the Opposition.
Also, I welcome the opportunity today to clear up a few things that have been written and alleged about my participation and my statements to Parliament. I want to make this point really clear: I stand by the comments I made to Parliament, and nothing that has been raised in the last 24 hours contradicts what I said to the Parliament. Now, I told the Parliament I was unaware of the outcome of any of the discussions between Mr Grant and the Treasury, and I stand behind that statement 100 per cent. Nothing that was said yesterday, nothing that was in the emails, nothing in the testimony, contradicts that statement at all. And if Mr Turnbull has any evidence to the contrary, he should provide it. And the reality is this: that there was no outcome for Mr Grant out of the discussions that he had with OzCar and Ford Credit – no outcome whatsoever.
I’ve met Mr Grant three of four times over the years. He’s a reasonably prominent Brisbane businessman, but he’s not a friend of mine. He’s certainly somebody who is respected in the business community. A few years ago I did buy a used car from him, but I have not had any extensive contact with Mr Grant.
Now, I’d like to make the point that Mr Grant was not referred to me by the Prime Minister, not referred to me by the Prime Minister’s office. Mr Grant was referred to me by Mr Bernie Ripoll, the member for Oxley, and that is the way it should be. Mr Ripoll represents that area in Parliament where the car dealership is. So, Bernie was doing what local MPs always do. And as the correspondence before the committee yesterday shows, Mr Ripoll emailed my office. Many other MPs did. Kay Hull, Mr Ramsey, Mr Billson all emailed my office, made contact, and their contact was dealt with promptly by my office. Now, when I was called by Mr Grant, I did with him as I do with anyone else. I spoke to him for a few minutes, and I then referred him to the DLO in my office. That is the sequence of events. Now, it’s been suggested that I spent an extensive amount of time on this case. I did not spend an extensive amount of time on this case, but I did do what I always do, which is to attend to representations that are made to me. And that correspondence is there for all to see, as it is with the other MPs – Mrs Hull, Mr Ramsey and Mr Billson.
Now, there’s been some absolutely absurd commentary in the papers today that some of the emails were sent to my home fax machine. Now, all sorts of things come to my home fax machine. And sometimes, if I’m spending a night in Brisbane - and that is rare - there can be hundreds of pages of material on my fax. So, to suggest that because something went to my home fax, it was something that I was attending to immediately then, is just simply inaccurate. On a rare night or day in Brisbane, the fact is that fax is clogged, and on some occasions – this is a matter of some contention in my house – it’s out of paper, and I have to go through the routine of sorting all that out. But I receive an extensive amount of material on my home fax. And in the case of some of the emails, they were not emails that were requested by me or my office to be sent to my home fax. That is simply the situation.
So, I do really welcome the opportunity to clear up some of the misrepresentations that have been put into the press over the last couple of days. And over to you.
We’ll probably never get to the bottom of this - whether Labor / the Treasury shredded the relevant documents, or whether the Libs fabricated it because they were running out of effective ideas of Opposition. As a swinging voter who has generally thought well of Rudd so far, I’m inclined to use the presumption of innocence before guilt. We all know what happened to gay ex-judge Kirby when he was smeared by Heffernan with those sensational ‘gay prostitute’ allegations back in 2002 - the media had a field day assuming his guilt!
PM’s car trouble more than just a minor bingle
by David Penberthy 19 June 2009 UPDATE 7.35pm:
Kevin Rudd has called an Auditor-General’s inquiry into the affair, but is standing by his denials that neither he nor his office has made any representations on behalf of car dealer John Grant, and is continuing a full email search through the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Follow the news links below for more. ( access them via “Punch” link above )
***
KEVIN Rudd has a whole stack of explaining to do.
His claim that he has done nothing wrong in relation to his car dealer mate John Grant has now officially conked out, and is up on the blocks looking like very much like he sold the Australian people a lemon.
As a result of this afternoon’s estimates hearings it now appears he has seriously misled Parliament over his relationship with his friend and neighbour, who runs a Kia dealership, and who famously lent him a ute as an electorate vehicle. At its worst, it appears the Prime Minister’s office - and possibly even the PM - directly interfered on behalf of the PM’s little car-dealing mate to make sure he got a slice of the federal bailout money for the ailing car industry.
The affair is reminiscent of the Sunrise Dawn Service fiasco where Mr Rudd emphatically denied that his office had been involved in any attempts to reschedule the Anzac Day Dawn Service, only for emails to emerge proving he had done just that.
The Sunrise affair went to Rudd’s candour and it suggested a bit of glibness and cleverness in his replies - but in essence it remained a silly kerfuffle over a TV show. The Grant affair is in a different category as it involves the disbursement of public money, suggestions of favours for friends, and as of today’s estimates hearings, the undeniable proof that Mr Rudd has either cocked up or cooked up his line of defence in the Parliament.
The story exploded back into life this morning with the exclusive report by News Limited’s Steve Lewis revealing that Mr Rudd had lobbied for Mr Grant to receive a taxpayer-funded financial lifeline.
Lewis revealed that the car dealer was offered financial support by Ford at the very time the car giant was desperately trying to secure a $550 million Government “loan”.
The story was confirmed in explosive fashion this afternoon when Treasury officials gave evidence to a parliamentary estimates hearing which emphatically demolished the Prime Minister’s claims that neither he nor his office had any involvement on the issue with Mr Grant.
Godwin Grech - the Treasury official running the OzCar scheme – told the hearing that he first recalled being asked to consider Mr Grant’s case by the Prime Minister’s office.
Most damning of all he said it had been made clear to him that Mr Grant “wasn’t your average constituent”.
“My understanding (was) the initial contact that I had with respect to John Grant was from the prime minister’s office,’’ Mr Grech told the inquiry.
So it looks like Kevin Rudd has lied twice - to the people - via the Parliament. The punishment for that is meant to be dismissal. Ministers have gone for much less.
As The Daily Telegraph’s Malcolm Farr has written on his blog just now, allegations of misleading parliament don’t get more serious than this for a prime minister.
“Kevin Rudd will not survive if it is firmly established that he - or even his office - made special pleadings for car-dealer mate John Grant. It is undoubtedly his greatest crisis in politics,” writes Farr, who is not a man prone to overstatement.
Mr Rudd’s press conference at 7.30pm tonight did nothing to clarify anything - rather, it turned it into a he said, he said affair, with the PM saying that despite the evidence before estimates this afternoon, Treasury had found no emails which involved any representations on behalf of Mr Grant, and a (continuing) investigation by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet had also failed to unearth any.
The clear imputation from this is that Treasury official Godwin Grech erred in his recollections before the estimates hearing.
Mr Rudd’s decision to effectively refer himself to the Auditor-General is an interesting one, involving a degree of superficial bravery on his part, unless he’s so absolutely sure that no emails exist that he’s abided by the old political maxim of never calling an inquiry unless you’re sure what the result will be.
But whatever the case he is politically damaged. Malcolm Turnbull, up in the polls, freed of Peter Costello, gnawing on this issue like a dog with bone, has easily had his best week as Leader.
The next few days will be crucial for the PM as Parliament heads towards the winter recess with the resurgent opposition set to pursue the PM for all its worth. Politically it’s worth much more than a crummy old ute, and a dodgy phone call or nudge-nudge on behalf of a car-dealing mate.
The Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty is expected to make a statement this afternoon concerning dramatic developments in the Utegate affair.
It follows a raid this morning on the home of the Treasury official at the heart of the controversy, Godwin Grech.
Mr Grech has been questioned by the federal police about a fake email which linked Kevin Rudd to attempts to help a Brisbane car dealer, John Grant, obtain finance.
Senior sources believe that Mr Grech’s role in the affair is more complicated than previously thought.
The controversy has dominated proceedings in Parliament today.
The ABC has today reported that the federal police are investigating the posssibility that the email was concocted within the Treasury department.
It looks as if the only question is whether Malcolm Turnbull knew about the set up or was he the one who was set up? In either case, he is more likely to need to resign than the PM.
Police have uncovered what appears to be a fake email at the centre of the ute-gate affair.
The discovery of the email follows the execution of a search warrant at the home of Treasury official Godwin Grech in the southern Canberra suburb of Calwell earlier on Monday.
Mr Grech gave evidence to a parliamentary inquiry on Friday, saying it was his recollection a staffer of the prime minister sent him an email about car dealer John Grant, but that he did not have that email anymore.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said a preliminary forensic investigation of computers at Mr Grech’s home had been conducted and at the offices of the Department of Treasury.
“Preliminary results of those forensic examinations indicate that the email referred to at the centre of this investigation has been created by a person or persons other than the purported author of the email,” the police statement said.
It had been alleged that the email originated from the prime minister’s office.
Police said a 42-year-old Calwell man had been interviewed by the AFP in relation to the matter.
“It will be alleged that the interview is consistent with preliminary forensic advice,” they said.
“As the investigation is continuing the AFP does not intend to make any further comment at this stage.”
Meanwhile, News Ltd’s The Punch website claims federal police are investigating a link between the Treasury official and a former senior adviser in Malcolm Turnbull’s office.
The Punch says it understands the AFP is keen to speak to an adviser, who until a few weeks ago, worked inside Mr Turnbull’s office and has links to Mr Grech.
The adviser previously worked at Treasury.
Government frontbencher Tony Burke said the article could have been the reason the opposition frontbench emptied during a furious debate in parliament on Monday.
“One wonders whether that might have something to do with their absence,” he said.
Media Watch chimed in tonight vaguely implying News Ltd got played by the Opposition, which explained a bit why News went so hard at it, I guess thinking they had the ‘smoking gun’ that could bring down K-Rudd. High stakes stuff. We will, no doubt, hear more about it coming days, that’s for sure…
Actually, the Coalition opposition is gunning for the treasurer, Wayne Swan.
He is alleged to have misled Parliament, a grave error usually punishable by the sack or resignation.
He is said to have done a favour to Rudd’s car salesman mate, far above what is usually done for people of the same trade. Kevin Rudd is trying to protect Swan now, and is trying to divert attention away from this issue by demanding Malcom Turnbull to produce the original email.
Federal Police are now investigating the matter, but this seem to be overkill for a matter which could have easily have been solved earlier by allowing the public servant to speak without being gagged by Labor senators in Parliament.
Only Swan’s neck is on the chopping block it seems. But Kevin Rudd’s image may be damaged if he doesnt act cleverly. The Coalition will continue to rake over this issue for a long time, until Swan resigns.
The old shell games needed.
Maybe Rudd needs to bring out the old Haneef inquiry and threated to reopen it with the intention of seeing where govt attitude and racism cut across and influenced what we are seeing on our streets now.
I can’t believe these Libs with their Holier than thou stance. heheheheeeeeeee ....Turnbull was looking like a stateman coming back in but has turned out to be the same trash as the others.
Sad if this is the best they can do.
Libs wouldn’t understand perks I’m guessing….they only understand payoffs heheheheeeeeee
.....but that was a labour voter speaking while d\eep down I know they are as bad as each other ;)
Federal Police are now investigating the matter, but this seem to be overkill for a matter which could have easily have been solved earlier by allowing the public servant to speak without being gagged by Labor senators in Parliament.
And this morning it comes out that not only is it believed that the person who sent the email may be a former Turnbull staffer, but the public servant (whom Turnbull was lauding on the weekend) is a former Hockey staffer.
Hands up anyone who DOESN’T think the whole thing stinks of a set up. Personally, for the past few days I’ve been suggesting a “Chaser-esque” set up of Turnbull and/or News Ltd by some disaffected Libs (or as it now seems, ex-Libs). They probably figured he was so keen to get something, anything on the PM, that he would run with any potential scandal without bothering to check the facts. And so it has proved to be!
Turnbull went out a long, long way on a very shaky limb - trying to bring down the Govt by getting the PM & Treasurer to resign over, essentially, corruption allegations, based on a fake email and faulty testimony.
Now that limb has evaporated it’s looking like a looooong way down.
What this country needs to do is have a nationwide comp every year for the most experienced and learned grandmother in the country and each year give this grandma sweeping/swinging powers and a one metre wooden rule with a steel edge and make her Speaker of the House in our Parliament.
Then all this bullsh#t would stop! :( ........bl##dy children :(
I’ve just had a horrible shock as I just found out this ute is one of those Brumby pretend to be utes. :(
Kev has disappointed me as I thought this was mates gift to ‘bloke up’ Kev and the idiot gives him a Brumby.
I myself gave an apprentice, who took out a national award, a ute but it was a chev V8 and not some pussy rice burner heheheheehee. He recently returned the favour giving me an original, low k, HQ ute that he tripped over in his travels. Utes are almost a special currency among aussie blokes. (brumbys aside)
Watched ‘em having their silly games in parliament today ....voting that someone be NOT heard.
Then the childish slanging match you can hear in the background .....I’ve seen better run BLF meetings.
Those blokes really do need to get out more to get some prospective.
best quote of the week
MALCOLM TURNBULL to reporter : I am not going to talk about Mr Grech. I understand your interest in it but this is a distraction from the real issue which is cronyism and the way the Labor Party looks after its mates.
he’s dead in the water I reckon .....get the pool boy to scoop him out before he drowns completely,
........methinks aussies aren’t that dumb Malcolm.
Hard to believe that it was malcolm who got Spycatcher to the publisher.
As far as Grech is concerned .....who saw him giving testimony the other day.
I watched the interview in it’s entirety and is another reason I said to bring in Sister Stigmata of Blues Brothers fame and put her in charge.
Grech sat slouched and slumped over his paperwork, mumbling and blustering away for a ridiculous time .......to a point where a few burst out in laughter it was getting so absurd.
Was like watching an 8 grader at the headmasters office .....grovelling around for the right words to NOT incriminate himself.
Diplomacy bull! ....If he’d been with my outfit I would have sacked him on the spot for obvious avoidance and just being sleevy. No warnings .....just sack him!
[null]Does It Mean Anything that a Record Low Are 'Pro-Choice'?New York Times (blog)[{}]Asked to pick one of the two labels applied to the abortion debate, a full 50 percent said they were pro-life, whereas only 41 percent said they were pro-choice, down from the previous low of 42 percent recorded in May of 2009. Republicans are the most ...
[null]Obama vs. Catholics, Catholics vs. ObamaNew York Times (blog)[{}]This would frame the issue as yet another intra-Catholic dispute over sexuality and abortion, rather than an external assault on Catholic religious liberty. Seen in this light, Georgetown University's decision to invite Kathleen Sebelius, ...
[null]Rally fights for abortion law changeThe West Australian[{}]Liberal MP Peter Abetz has spoken out against WA's abortion laws, warning "the womb is most dangerous place for children to be in this State" at a rally last night attended by hundreds of right-to-life campaigners. Addressing the 750-strong rally at ...
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