Has Kevin Rudd misled parliament?

[Quincy]

Mr Rudd will also face allegations today he misled parliament when he said neither he nor his office made representations on behalf of the car dealer to help secure funding under the government's $2billion scheme.

Article in "The Australian" by Natasha Bita | June 19, 2009

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,25658551-5006786,00.html

The Daily Telegraph also reports today that a correspondence trail involving the Prime Minister's office points to Ford being asked to offer financial support to Mr Grant while the carmaker was trying to secure $550 million under the OzCar scheme. A spokesman for Mr Rudd said the Prime Minister stood by his earlier comments.

John Grant lives around the corner from Mr Rudd and is said to be a good friend of both Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan.

 

[Quincy]

Re: Has Kevin Rudd misled parliament ?

Here's part of "The Daily Telegraph's" article about this matter - EXCLUSIVE by Steve Lewis, June 19, 2009 12:00am


http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25657561-5001021,00.html

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd is facing serious allegations that he misled Parliament after lobbying for a car dealer and friend to secure a taxpayer-funded financial lifeline.

The fresh allegations of high-level interference will send shockwaves through the Rudd Government and will feature prominently at a Senate hearing in Canberra today.

The political advisers have been asking questions about several emails which suggest the Prime Minister was keen to ensure that John Grant Motors was considered for attention under the OZ Car scheme.

Despite this, Mr Rudd denied as recently as Monday that he or his office had made representations on behalf of Mr Grant to help secure funding under the $2 billion scheme established last December.

The Senate hearing will today pursue allegations of a correspondence trail involving the Prime Minister's office.

 

[Aussiejeff]

Re: Has Kevin Rudd misled parliament ?

Here's part of "The Daily Telegraph's" article about this matter - EXCLUSIVE by Steve Lewis, June 19, 2009 12:00am


http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25657561-5001021,00.html

Impossible.

Mr KRudd is sincere & squeeky clean.

(OK, you can spank me....)

 

[Calliope]

Mr Rudd has misled Australia. His ambition is to mislead the world.

 

[kincella]

Chinese give PM Kevin Rudd lesson on neoliberalism
By Rowan Callick, Asia-Pacific editor
The Australian
June 19, 2009 12:00am

KEVIN Rudd has been accused by a leading Chinese economist of being "either short of economic knowledge or misleading his readers" in his famous essay attacking neoliberalism.
In a scathing assessment, Xu Xaonian, economics professor at China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, lambasts the essay, now translated and published in China, as "shallow and crude", The Australian reports.

Dr Xu says "Lu Kewen" - Mr Rudd's Chinese name - made a "big, big mistake" in forming his "confident opinions" based on "the observation that the crisis came as a result of neoliberalism and the absence of supervision".

Dr Xu, one of China's leading liberal economists, has savaged the Rudd essay in the weekly Chinese newspaper The Economic Observer after the Prime Minister's work was translated and reprinted in China's leading business magazine, Caijing.

Dr Xu, who has a doctorate from the University of California and was formerly managing director of the country's biggest investment bank, says it is not time to resurrect Keynesianism, as Mr Rudd proposes.

He says the Prime Minister "has used electioneering-style tactics to brand neoliberalism as dogmatic, to paint a clownish portrait of it, seeking to pioneer popular antipathy to this artificial enemy, casting a moral verdict without seeming to care about truth or logic".

http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,25658874-462,00.html

 

[Calliope]

without seeming to care about truth or logic

That sums him up exactly.

"Dear Mis-Leader is now a more appropriate title for him.

 

[Quincy]

Chinese give PM Kevin Rudd lesson on neoliberalism
By Rowan Callick, Asia-Pacific editor
The Australian
June 19, 2009 12:00am

. . . .

Dr Xu says "Lu Kewen" - Mr Rudd's Chinese name - made a "big, big mistake" in forming his "confident opinions" based on "the observation that the crisis came as a result of neoliberalism and the absence of supervision".

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,,25657881-643,00.html


Kewen Wudd . . . . wascally wudd

 

[Quincy]

'Don't lie to save your boss Rudd'

12:15pm: OPPOSITION Leader Malcolm Turnbull lectured an adviser to the PM and accused him of lying about favours for Kevin Rudd's car dealer friend John Grant.

"You should not lie to protect your boss," Mr Turnbull said, according to a statement today by Andrew Charlton, Mr Rudd's economic specialist.

"This OzCar issue will be very damaging for you," he quoted Mr Turnbull as saying. OzCar is the Government's finance body for car dealers, established when credit was tight earlier this year.

"You know and I know there is documentary evidence that you have lied."

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25659302-5001021,00.html

Latest from today's Senate hearing in Canberra today.

 

[Timmy]

Why haven't the documents been produced? Wouldn't that sort this all out?

I seriously doubt that KRudd would be stupid enough to document such requests.

Beat up.

 

[Buddy]

Article from: The Australian
A KEY adviser to the Prime Minister, Andrew Charlton, has accused Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull of threatening and bullying him at the Parliamentary Midwinter Ball.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25659112-5013871,00.html

Ahhh, I get it now. It's OK for the P.M. to bully an air hostess about not getting bean sprouts in his meal, but not OK for the leader of the opposition to bully staffer Andrew Charlton about potential corruption.
Now, now Andy.... get a life and stand up for yourself. There's a good lad, you woose, you big girl's blouse! If you cant stand the heat get out of the kitchen.

 

[GumbyLearner]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25659112-5013871,00.html

Ahhh, I get it now. It's OK for the P.M. to bully an air hostess about not getting bean sprouts in his meal, but not OK for the leader of the opposition to bully staffer Andrew Charlton about potential corruption.
Now, now Andy.... get a life and stand up for yourself. There's a good lad, you woose, you big girl's blouse! If you cant stand the heat get out of the kitchen.

LOL!

It is like the pot calling the kettle black.

 

[Quincy]

Why haven't the documents been produced? Wouldn't that sort this all out?

I seriously doubt that KRudd would be stupid enough to document such requests.

Beat up.

Swan's office 'lobbied on behalf of Rudd mate'

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25659602-5001028,00.html

The inquiry was presented with emails from Treasurer Wayne Swan's office to Treasury lobbying on behalf of Mr Grant.

But a Treasury official said there'd been no similar representations from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's office.

Just heard on the radio that a treasury official (name ?) has stated at the Senate hearing under questioning that he recalls receiving an E-mail from the PMO (Prime Mnister's Office) about the request.

 

[Quincy]

A TREASURY official has started lifting the lid on behind-the-scenes talks, phone calls and faxes that could decide whether Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan have misled Parliament over alleged efforts to secure taxpayer-funded help for the Prime Minister's car dealer friend John Grant.

A series of emails between an adviser in Treasurer Wayne Swan's office and his home fax, shows that Mr Grech was personally dealing with Mr Grant's efforts to raise finance.

Mr Grech said the prime minister's office contacted him regarding Mr Grant.

Mr Grech said 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," he told the inquiry.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25659784-5001021,00.html

 

[Timmy]

Keep digging Quincy - so far no documents from Krudd? So far looks like the treasury official may be left to carry the blame (if there is any)?

 

[Quincy]

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25659784-5001021,00.html

"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. "

 

[Datsun Disguise]

Getting tasty - but as timmy keeps saying - where's the documentation proving it? Without that (and maybe even with it) the PM's office spin machine will be in over drive. Hopefully we get the ruth and it sticks.

Let's see how good they are at their chosen game......

Unfortunately for David Martine if he is alone on this they'll tear him apart. We'll be hearing all about that illegitimate child / drug addict brother / messy divorce / drunk night out on the town with Bang Kok's lady boys funded by tax payers money or whatever they can dig up in his past.

(None of the above exploits are David's to my knowledge, just pulled a few out of my own grab bag of life experiences.... )

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

Members are being extremely harsh on Kev07.

Politicians are not paid all that much and it is understandable that he should look after his mates, particularly rich mates. Thus when he is no longer in parliament he can travel in the way in which he was accustomed, when he was PM.

If he can find a way to advantage his mates, why shouldn't he?

Particularly rich mates.

Car dealers are a group of people in Australian society whom we all look up to as all that is best in the Australian psyche,.. honesty, diligence, the fair go and loyalty to their customers.

Posters who denigrate the PM should hang their heads in shame.

Yes, shame, shame, shame.

I mean its not as if he was caught shoving a fifty dollar note in to a strippers briefs, at a strip club called Scores in New York!

Fair shake of the whatsit fellow ASF posters. Fair shake of the whatsit.

gg

 

[Uncle Barry]

Good evening,
Could someone please explain the difference between,
He lied
and
He misled

the Parliamnt of Australia
and therefore ALL the people of this country called Australa.

Kind regards,
UB

 

[GumbyLearner]

Who thinks it is odds-on that the email to Abetz will end up in the same shredder as the AWB memos during JH's tenure? :

 

[Datsun Disguise]

Members are being extremely harsh on Kev07.
..

Posters who denigrate the PM should hang their heads in shame.

Yes, shame, shame, shame.

..

Fair shake of the whatsit fellow ASF posters. Fair shake of the whatsit.

gg

Thank you for setting me (us) straight - you are entirely right, who are we to question him anyway - the great unwashed questioning the milky bar kid!?! - it's just not kosher. I retract all past and future criticisms, unreservedly.