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Barry O'Farrell, Chris Hartcher, Eddie Obeid, Ian Macdonald, Joe Tripodi, Mike Gallacher, NSW political corruption
We have to hand it to NSW’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). They’ve certainly got their work cut out for them.
This is a grab from an interactive map produced by the ABC – it rearranges itself when you click on anything – a person or a relationship line. Bear with me here (colour blindness is a real bugger so forgive me if I see different colours to you – BUT – pink dots indicate a neutral relationship , a bluey green grey dot indicates a friendly relationship and the orangy dot indicates a hostile relationship. Light blue circled names have been investigated by ICAC.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/interactives/icac-relationships-graph/
As a confirmed conspiracy theorist, I love those circles like “Australian Water Holdings” (Australian Water Holdings (AWH) is an infrastructure company that consults on water services. It is currently being investigated by ICAC over attempts by its management to procure a public-private partnership with Sydney Water that would have vastly increased the company’s value, as well as the billing of inappropriate payments and expenses to Sydney Water.), “Free Enterprise Foundation” (A Liberal Party trust that ICAC alleged was used to funnel prohibited donations to the Liberal Party from developers, who are banned from making donations) and “The Terrigals” – (A sub-faction within the right wing of the New South Wales Labor Party, headed by Eddie Obeid and named after Mr Obeid’s beach house at Terrigal).
It’s important to note that not every person on this map is (or is likely to be) alleged to be corrupt. For example, Nathan Reese when he was premier, sacked Ian MacDonald – a member of the Terrigals ICAC has found to have acted corruptly, and like Morris Iemma, Nathan Reese was dumped by the ALP when the Terrigals withdrew their support. Kristina Keneally was given the poison chalice of the premier’s job and she torpedoed a doctored cabinet minute that would have handed a lot of cash to AWH. And lastly, nobody has proven that Barry O’Farrell has acted corruptly – but he did have a massive memory failure about accepting an inappropriate gift (smelling quite like a setup if you ask me) and he did / does have some dubious friends – which is not of itself a crime.
This sort of relationship map is a well-used tool by police investigating organised crime and when a relationship map starts to look more complicated than a map of the greater Tokyo Urban Transit system, you can bet you are looking at one seriously networked crime empire.
Go over to the ABC site and have a good look at the interactive map and ask yourself, if you are / were a NSW voter, who the fuck would you vote for in 11 months time ?
Enjoy the information while you can. Arthur Sinodinos was John Howard’s chief of staff and Tony Abbott regards John Howard as God – and since Tony has it in for the ABC, I’d say excellent reporting like this probably has a short shelf life – until Australia sobers up and throws out Tony and a whole lot of other counts* on both sides of politics.
* Delete the vowel of your own choosing.
Window Dresser's Arms, Pig & Whistle 
The chart looks completely worthless.
Ian McDonald doesn’t even get a mention. ICAC found he acted corruptly while a Labor Party Minister.
ICAC found Eddie Obeid acted corruptly while a Labor Party Minister. This chart doesn’t even show he WAS a Minister – his only relationship to NSW Labor is “neutral”.
My answer to the question “if you are / were a NSW voter, who the fuck would you vote for in 11 months time” is – it won’t have anything to do with a chart that doesn’t show who has been found to have acted corruptly while a Minister and what Party they were a member of at that time.
Keeping in mind that to find someone corrupt is next to impossible. It’s not just about favours, which happen at all levels of business every day, and jobs for mates, likewise, and overpaying, likewise. It has to be something really standout.
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For example, I believe both Greiner and Carr got high profile high paying jobs with companies to whom their respective governments gave major contracts. I don’t like it. But it’s no necessarily corrupt and even it it IS, it can’t be proven unless someone puts the agreement in writing. It even makes sense – the company met the guys, decided they were competent, experienced, easy to get along with, and has a huge network of contacts in high places both political and business, so hiring them is good business sense.
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The chart doesn’t show anyone’s position in a political party or elsewhere. Just names. Irt’s about relationships Voice. The ones on the left are connected to the Labor Party and those on the right to the Liberal Party – the chart tells you that. The fault I think I see is that Dr Schott is incorrectly linked.
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Dr Schott is correctly linked actually but because I referred to left and right hand side I saw that as wrong. Best to go back to the original on the ABC.
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Yes, I was talking about the ABC interactive version.
Yes it’s about relationships but not about the relationships that matter – see my example of Eddie Obeid. Half the state has a neutral relationship with the Labor Party. The important fact about Eddie Obeid’s relationship with the Labor Party is that he was a Minister for them.
Friendly, neutral and whatever the negative one was (can’t be bothered to check) aren’t important.
Furthermore major players are missing – see my example about Ian McDonald. The are others. THe most important player missing is ICAC itself and ICAC’s relevant relationships to the others – investigating for corruption, found corrupt, witness, etc.
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I think everyone knows Obeid was in the NSW Parliament. The dodgy dealings of Liberals bothering you Voice. They steal from the Government to give it to the Party. Obeid got favourable approvals to gain for himself. At least Obeid didn’t steal from the Government !
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You’re off at a tangent there Vivienne. I’m talking about whether the chart provides information that assists voters with good decision making.
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Isn’t the chart just showing links between various persons and organisations. I don’t see it as a tool to help voters. What I see is something set up to embarrass Labor blowing up in the Liberals faces. Its fairly bad when corruption appears to be rampant within one political organisation. I have a very well connected political friend who thinks at least one of the Liberal players fronting ICAC is looking a serious jail time. Sure we can talk about Obied and McDonald who frankly needs all his and those of his family asset stripped.
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Voice – sorry but you were just doing a completely diversionary tactic yourself. The chart is for those interested in relationships unfolding through ICAC. It’s all about ICAC work and nothing to do with future voting choices.
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My point exactly.
Except, where I said “completely worthless” I should have added “wrt to making informed voting choices”. It’s obviously useful as a talking point for gossip and speculation.
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And “tactics”? For what? Liberal vs Labor Games? Errk. Tedious to the MAX.
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Voice, you clearly brought politics into the interactive chart, not me. I just called you out.
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If it pleases you to say so, go right ahead. It’s a free country.
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Well before all of this the latest polls had LNP 49 Labor 51, Also recently the Miranda by election there was a 27% swing to Labor who took the seat after the Liberals held it by 21%. However at the moment with 9 Liberals mentioned at ICAC and I suspect more will follow. My guess is a minority Liberal Government at best. The Liberals will loose every seat from the Hawkesbury to the Hunter and a swag of seats in Western Sydney. Some of those Liberals appear to be involved in activities every bit as bad as Obied and McDonald.
Here are a few questions who leaked the letter to the press on the Liberal side. I understand it was someone’s well connected father. I’ll also be surprised if the new Premier will even make it as leader to the next election. So if the LNP loses 2 Premiers and has say 20 members of parliament fronting ICAC who do you think people are going to vote for.
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Anyone who voted Labor at the last NSW State election is a rusted-on and will continue to do so next election. There will be many traditional Labor voters who didn’t and who are looking for any reason to vote for them again. For those people it might be enough for Liberal Party members to front ICAC. Others are going to care why they are fronting ICAC, as witness, under investigation for corruption, found corrupt. They are also going to care how the Party handles it – how long any pollies stay in government or as shadow Ministers WHILE being investigated for corruption.
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The last election even Labor party people wanted Labor to lose and the reality is I think that will happen next election. However if there are a conga line of Liberals heading off to ICAC as I suspect they might well as you say that will be enough to have them coming back. Whatever though the Liberals will get smashed, particularly to the north and the seats they wouldn’t normally win.
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For the story of the NSW Libs slush fund and how it works and who’s who read this http://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2014/05/03/liberal-slush-funds-expose-hartcher-and-bitter-factional-wars/1399039200#.U2RPbXYixys
You get a free read or two before you have to pay/subscribe to The Saturday Paper. I’ve subscribed for the year to encourage them. It has good stuff but overall is a little light on. Good to read Seccombe of course.
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Anybody’s making the slightest allusion to Baz “O’Bottle o’ Grange” O’Barrell as if he’s not so bad infuriates me. I was doin’ nothing just opening myself up to read an article. Watching those silly politicians babbling on is silly territory enough cooking their gooses on this one and telling us on Q& A as much that he is a HERO because he resigned and he’s unfortunate. Such bilious territory.
Somewhere along the line we learn the difference between the words corruption and administration. It seems “O’Bottle o’ Grange” was appropriate enough to write a thank you note. If he is so proper then he was proper enough to run his administration by keeping a log of daily events like being gifted a 3 grand bottle of piss from an affiliate or campaign member or Queen Elizabeth. Be real what this potential is ‘I can’t remember’.
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The only thing I think O’Barrell is guilty of is stupidity. What idiot would deny that he was given a bottle of Grange at ICAC without checking first. To deny it then go to a press conference and deny it was digging his own grave. What he should have said was I’ll need to check which would give him time to find out, find that he had, put on the register and all he’d have got was a slap on the wrist and everyone would have moved on. But he didn’t he misled ICAC call it what you like perjury will do me when the note surface he had no choice to resign. He also corrected the record at ICAC
The only one he can blame is himself.
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I appreciate that gossip is rife that he was set up. With a hand written note that has been forged? Is that the suggestion? Is the suggestion that he was given the bottle so that he would be potentially betrayed? The latter would be entirely irrelevant.
What is the basis of the allegation he has been set up does anybody know? Emmjay?
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I think you may have the wrong end of the stick shoe. We know that the existence of the gift of wine was leaked to the press by someone earlier this year. Here I suggest that O’Farrell would have been prudent to check that he wasn’t implicated in some way. Had he checked found he had the wine he could then added it the register cop the slap on the wrist and move on. He should have placed it on the register in the first place but he didn’t. The note appears to be kept by Di Girolamo as insurance, good record keeping you might say.
Di Girolamo was a Liberal fundraiser. O’Farrell et at parachuted Di Girolamo onto a government board. That Di Girolamo gave the O’Farrell the wine and the O’Farrell wrote a note thanking him is not in doubt. We know both exist and O’Farrell resigned because he misled ICAC about it. That’s why he was forced to resign
The leak to the press about the wine came from within the Liberal party, as to who well that’s a bit trickier, It was someone close to the action but I understand not in the parliament. BTW that’s not gossip.
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Thank you for the expansion in response to my enquiry.
I don’t get it that I have the wrong end of the stick. I don’t use that expression myself so I am not familiar with it… but it sounds as if it means I am on an opposite end. I don’t know, algy.
Re whatisname keeping the note that may well be therefore logically insurance and I suppose that might hold potential even had O’Barrell cited it was on record he had the gift. I’m unclear be that as it may how that needs to change anything I’ve said about O’Barrell’s role in the situation that leads to his having been administratively lax we will call it. Defeats me.
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Well had he put it on the record in the first place then he’d have neutralised any problems or potential claims of corruption against him. He’s collateral damage in all of this. Other activities are just downright criminal.
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Entirely. High risk material. The amazing thing about these blokes they always seem to find jobs later where they need to keep records and negotiate terms of justice with foreign powers or somesuch.
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Been using it during the week, apparently there’s more to come. This latest bloke to get sprung was considered to be a cleanskin, So’s the new Premier. As a well connected political friend of mine said last night. Labor at the moment looks like coming out of this smelling like roses (how).
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Very good. Is this Colombia?
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Barry had a serious memory fade which showed he was no longer trustworthy and that he could be bought.
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The interactive stuff is great to fiddle with.
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