Mr Speaker I rise to make a statement regarding the controversy surrounding the Member for Dobell.
Mr Speaker there are obviously many accusations swirling around the Member right now, arguably the most important being that he misled Fair Work Australia when it was enquiring into alleged misconduct in the Health Services Union.
Add to that the suggestions that in his previous career as a union official he used his credit card to pay for prostitutes and made inappropriate cash withdrawals on that card and the Member for Dobell, as well as the Government, find themselves in a difficult situation.
That the ALP paid to keep the embattled Member from bankruptcy, and how the Prime Minister effusively endorses him before any enquiry is finalised, compounds the public disquiet over this matter.
But Mr Speaker, let’s not forget that the Member for Dobell must be accorded the presumption of innocence no matter how strong the prima facie case against him, not just because that’s the right thing to do, but also because the issue has become so highly charged.
Hence I’ll be keeping a close eye on the current Fair Work Australia enquiry and any other external enquiry, as well as any move to commence legal action against him. And until such time as the process has run its course, and until such a finding has been brought down which prohibits the Member from taking his seat in this place, my view will remain that Craig Thomson is entitled to sit as the Member for Dobell.
The possibility he may have engaged in activities that some people regard as being unethical is an important consideration. But the Member’s character is something to be judged at the next election and is not in itself a reason for him to lose his seat prematurely. So too the next election is the time to pass judgement on the Government’s handling of the matter.
Whether or not the ALP thinks the Member for Dobell represents the party’s values, and should retain his party membership, is obviously a matter for the ALP.
Moreover the Member for Dobell’s Chair of the House Standing Committee on Economics should not be denied him on account of these allegations. He’s either fit to take his seat in this place or he’s not, because he either complies with the constitutional requirements to do so or he doesn’t. And frankly, until the current enquiry or other external enquiries, and any subsequent legal action, have run their course there is no basis for him surrendering his seat.
The same goes for Liberal Senator for South Australia Mary Jo Fisher. Yes she also has been accused of a serious offence, and legal action against her is underway. But she also is innocent until proven guilty and has every right to hold her seat in the Senate until and unless she’s found to be guilty of an offence punishable by imprisonment of more than 12 months. So too Senator Fisher should be allowed to remain as the Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications until and unless an adverse judicial outcome.
That some in the Opposition, media and community have ignored Senator Fisher’s circumstances, while at the same time reacting disproportionately over the Member for Dobell, illustrates the politicisation of the whole credit card saga. If only for that reason it must be dealt with by the book with strict adherence to proper process.
Against this backdrop I’m uncomfortable with the Prime Minister’s strong public show of support for the Member for Dobell. Yes this issue is highly charged politically but a consequence of that should be a greater, not lesser, focus on proper process and it is not proper process to pre-empt an enquiry’s findings.
Mr Speaker my only caveat to this approach is that I would have supported the Opposition Motion yesterday to suspend Standing Orders to allow the Member for Dobell to explain himself to the Parliament. That the motion foundered was unfortunate, because I do believe the public interest would have been served by the Member having his say in the Parliament.
Mr Speaker there’s much talk nowadays about integrity. Did Prime Minister Gillard lie over pricing carbon? No, because changed circumstances forced her hand. Did Prime Minister Howard lie over the invasion of Iraq? Yes, and I’ve asked the PM to initiate a proper enquiry into that disaster. But when it comes to the Member for Dobell I feel we should let proper process run its course and that’s what I intend to do.
Thank you Mr Speaker.
