Secret briefings reveal fears airport project could be âheld captiveâ
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Secret government documents reveal senior bureaucrats were worried development of Western Sydney Airport could be âheld captiveâ by a company controlled by billionaire dairy farmers Tony and Ron Perich.
The documents were demanded by the Senate as part of inquiries into the 2018 purchase of a paddock from the Perichâs Leppington Pastoral Company (LPC) for $30 million, which was later valued at just $3 million.
Tony Perich, right, and his son Mark Perich on their dairy farm.Â
James Brickwood
The Australian Federal Police launched a probe into a senior bureaucrat involved in the purchase after a rare referral from the Australian National Audit Office, which slammed the âethical standardsâ of the transaction.
Former US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld once quipped: “You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.” Well, if Australia had to go to war with the Australian Public Service, we may as well surrender now.
According to the Australian:
One of the country’s most accomplished and respected public servants has lashed the political class for being idle on economic reform during the past decade and for striving to stoke fear for partisan advantage, while also turning international relationships into a tool for domestic political gain.
Former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate
The former Australia Post boss may have been “absolutely delighted” by the results of a scathing report into her treatment, but her suggestion that the Prime Minister should apologise might leave her wanting, writes political columnist
MICHELLE GRATTAN.
THE Senate inquiry into the Christine Holgate affair has declared Prime Minister Scott Morrison, shareholder ministers and the Australia Post board should apologise to the former CEO “for denying her the legal principles of procedural fairness and natural justice”.
The Labor-Greens dominated committee said in scathing findings that Morrison’s “improper threat” in parliament’s question time suggested “a lack of respect for due process”, as well as a “double standard” when contrasted with the procedural principles applied to cabinet members.
The Senate inquiry into the Christine Holgate affair has declared Scott Morrison, shareholder minister and the Australia Post board should apologise to the former CEO