A Shameful Week in NSW Politics
This week NSW politics will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
Rather than debating the issues concerning the welfare of the people of New South Wales, the State Labor Government has been completely preoccupied by absolute crisis management.
And the crises are not going away. First came Carl Scully’s confession about misleading Parliament about the report into the Cronulla riots. Then came the soap opera-style feud between MP Paul Gibson and Labor candidate for the Blue Mountains Phil Koperberg over Katherine Koperberg, who had previously been in a relationship with both figures at different times.
Then came revelations about ‘Hurry-up’ Hickey and the incredible speeds he has clocked up in his ministerial vehicle. He has since lost his license and is trying to weather a storm of protest over him remaining a minister of the Crown.
But eclipsing them all are the allegations made in court and in the media against former Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Milton Orkopoulos. Reading the allegations is enough to make anyone feel sick to the core, and to call this a scandal is an understatement. It threatens to bring down the entire State Labor Government as the inevitable trail of ‘who-knew-what-when’ could implicate the most untouchable politicians in the State of New South Wales.
Regardless of the truth or otherwise of any of these incredible allegations an important point must be made equally as strongly as any accusation of ministerial misconduct. While everyone from the Premier down runs around doing absolutely everything they can to put out the political spot fires being sparked in each daily edition of the Daily Telegraph, little is being allocated to actually administering the less sensational but fundamentally important role of daily running New South Wales.
This phenomenal scandal has only just begun, with the stoic Orkopoulos facing his 30 sex and drug charges in January, and allegations already that Government MPs knew of his behaviour up to ten years ago. There is at a least a reasonable chance that this fiasco will be the undoing of the 12 year old Carr/Iemma Government.
A final point must be made that is often treated as too taboo by all but the most intrepid of Sydney’s journalists. Rev Fred Nile has been pursuing paedophile rings since the 1990s, and has been calling for independent investigation of the rings because of the potential for political interference. His efforts have been brushed under the covers by the State Government and by the majority of journalists. Fred and myself both voted against the lowering of the age of consent in 2003 because we believe strongly it would let paedophiles, past and present, off the hook. Potentially now we are seeing a new, highly-publicised chapter in this ongoing debate, and one that could finally vindicate to everyone in the community the truth of our stance on this matter.
GORDON MOYES
