
It’s unusual for a political cover-up to fall apart so swiftly. More unusual that it combines with a revelation a prime minister had misled Parliament. Rarer still that it was the prime minister’s hand-picked chief bureaucrat who drew attention to it. Probably unprecedented that it happened the day a government lost complete control on a long-running issue.
A policy disaster involving superannuation getting flung in the bin was just small change. A staffer getting sacked for a “solo sex act” on a female MP’s desk was barely mentioned in dispatches.
Yesterday rivals the worst days of the Gillard and Abbott governments for sheer, unadulterated political disaster. And at the centre of it all is Scott Morrison, a grubby non-leader who is now trapped in a political swamp of his own creation. And what a fetid swamp it is. The stench emanating from this outfit, and its so-called leader, is overpowering.
The role of Phil Gaetjens, veteran Liberal Party staffer and chief bag-carrier for Morrison, in ensnaring his master is remarkable. As a public servant, Gaetjens always made a fine political hack. Yesterday, he needed to be a good bureaucrat, to dead-bat, distract and deter questions at Senate estimates, but he proved incapable of political or bureaucratic role. The head of Prime Minister & Cabinet usually doesn’t show up at estimates, being somehow too important for accountability. And Gaetjens’ inexperience in that forum showed itself in crucial missteps.
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First, of course, Gaetjens revealed that he had halted his investigation into who knew about the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins and why, miraculously, no one of the cast of thousands who knew thought to tell the prime minister. Moreover, he said he had told Scott Morrison of that decision on March 9.
As even the centrist, both-sides press gallery hacks pointed out, this exposed Morrison as having misled Parliament, given last week on March 18, he had responded to an opposition question by insisting Gaetjens was continuing to conduct his inquiry and that “he has not provided me with a further update about when I might expect that report”.
Gaetjens had updated him, nine days before — and the update was that the investigation was shut down indefinitely.
It’s about as close to an open and shut case of a prime minister lying to parliament as you’re ever going to get.
Gaetjens justified his decision to shut down the inquiry — and his refusal to answer any questions, contrary to the prime minister’s assurance last week — on the basis that the AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw had told him to, as it was endangering the AFP’s criminal investigation of Higgins’ alleged rape.
Problem was, Kershaw was at estimates downstairs in the main committee room at that very moment. Kristina Keneally did the honours there and asked him directly if he had ever done such a thing. Kershaw denied it.
After that embarrassment, Kershaw within two hours had reversed himself completely and issued a statement saying “I confirm I informed Mr Gaetjens on 9 March it was strongly advisable to hold off”. A very handy turnaround from the AFP head. One wonders what phone calls were made from Parliament offices to Kershaw’s mobile.
So Gaetjens had managed to drop his prime minister and the AFP commissioner in it. But he wasn’t done yet, not by any stretch. He still had one grave to dig, this time for himself.
In a spectacular misjudgment, Gaetjens declared that he had paused the inquiry “for the benefit of Ms Higgins”.
In the ensuing free-for-all of condemnation that Gaetjens was using the welfare of Higgins — whose welfare has thus far been a distant last in the calculations of the government — as an excuse to refuse to answer questions, he was asked if he had actually spoken to Higgins.
No, he hadn’t, he replied, because she’d said she wanted her privacy respected.
So, Gaetjens was tasked with finding out when staff from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) knew about Higgins, and Higgins herself has recounted her own contact with people within the PMO in the aftermath of her alleged assault that contradicted the claims of the prime minister, and yet Gaetjens not merely hadn’t spoken to her but evidently was never going to speak to her.
Doesn’t exactly do much for the argument that the “Gaetjens inquiry” was ever anything more than a cover-up. Not to mention the offensive sight of an old, powerful male declaring he knew best what was in the interests of a young woman who claims to have been raped.
Gaetjens also refused to answer when asked if any PMO staff had engaged lawyers for his inquiry — a sure sign that someone had. That matched Morrison’s persistent refusal in the House of Reps to answer whether his office had backgrounded journalists against Higgins’ partner David Sharaz to discredit Higgins — also a sure sign someone had.
After Morrison had again parsed his words to avoid answering about Sharaz, and insisted he hadn’t misled the House, the government’s long-running effort to avoid a royal commission into veterans’ suicides fell apart with the House unanimously passing a motion in support of one.
Elsewhere at estimates, alleged Minister for Women Marise Payne revealed the government had dumped its plan to force domestic violence victims to raid their own super, a hare-brained idea cooked up within the Liberal war room against superannuation (“let’s see them oppose this — releasing super for domestic violence — how can they object!?” You can almost see young Liberal staffers high-fiving each other, hopefully having washed their hands first).
The wanking staffers arrived as a sort of reverse grace note to a day when everything the Morrison government touched, gesticulated toward or glanced at turned to shit.
A staffer was sacked shortly after the footage emerged, with others likely to exit. No doubt Scott Morrison was furious. I mean, seriously, even for this government, WTF?
But why wouldn’t young, entitled Liberal staffers take their cue from a sleazy, corrupt government that not merely evades but mocks the idea of accountability?
Where on earth would they get the idea they could behave so disgustingly without consequence?
Well, the answer to that is pretty clear, Scott.
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Can anyone explain why the mainstream media are mostly so unwilling to use the word “masturbation”? It’s in the dictionary, it’s not obscene, what the f… is going on?
I’ve heard that the Libs in question now plan to start Australia’s first drive-through sperm bank; they’ve approached Morrison for start-up funding.
He said, I can’t help with money, but I’d like to donate?
He said, “I don’t hold a hose.”
he he he he
Metacan, that is Reply of the Month.
“Or a Warrant card nor a pump or ..insert next useful item...”
Pentecostals rule the land…..
It appears they are self-starters. Perhaps Junk Bonds would interest them?
He put his child actor skills to use today. By pretending to have normal human emotions the media will go easy on him now.
Yes, I’ve seen a few interviews over the years, where Morrison has started to tear up. The interviewer had then changed the topic and the transformation of Morrison was instantaneous. In the blink of an eye, there was no longer a trace of the allegedly deeply felt emotional turmoil, and he was back to being good bloke Scomo. Which suggested to me, that the tears may not have been genuine.
But of course, the evening news programs did not show the psychopathic transformation. Instead, it was just a few seconds of emotive footage, suggesting that he is someone who is deeply in touch with the travails of his fellow Australians.
Yep, crocodile tears. Bad acting.
Forget some dumb entitled onanist on the staff, the real wanker here is Morrison.
The sooner he is gone .. and that will not be long .. the better.
The problem this shower have now is who will replace him. After all this, more Australians will be a little more alert and paying some attention, not much, but enough to smell the rat farts from the LNP. Nobody stands out as having integrity, humanity and/or intelligence.
They are almost all a bunch of Cunning Unpleasant Nasty Types, the men included.
Yes method acting, and of course the tears were for himself and the wound he had suffered for loving his wife, his daughters and even mother-in-law. Scotty the victim.
Oops apparently it was the “widowed mother”, my bad
He’s not referred to as FauxMo for nothing….
His mate Rupert always goes easy on him.
Interesting that he gave it to Clennell from Sky when he returned serve, I’m not sure that’ll go down well in that news sewer.
I reckon Rupe is done with him, no future $cott.
He’s going out with a whimper because he also realises his personal brand is now as toxic as his party.
Corporates won’t touch him. His only hope was a job at SAD but now he’s stuffed that as well.
Back to the prayer room for ole Smirko – thank God for that! – and good luck to whoever drinks from the poison chalice that is LNP politics.
Maybe Jen for PM?
I dunno, it reminded me a lot of Trump turning on FOX over the hours of election might.
Moloch does not suffer fools or losers gladly nor for very long.
This could be dead PM mawking.
Not now, by the looks of it.
Josh almost teared up on national TV when he recounted Solly pleading for wage slave support, Christian got just short of weepy about his alleged rape allegations in his press conference and Linda’s regret over that “lying cow” Brittany wasn’t quite a one hanky job in the Senate chamber. Even Scot was so distressed by the surprising revelation that carnal evil is rampant in the bush capital’s HQ his eyes slightly moistened – as per the script – but in a nano second evaporated, then morphed laser like, when he realised poor Andrew from Sky wasn’t buying the confected pivot.
Low budget production. I give it 1 star.
Good summary indeed BK, but the reference to Gillard’s government was quite uncalled for….this current mess is pretty much without precedent.
And as Lambie put it so eloquently yesterday, you don’t see this brutish male elitism on the Labor side, very much a Liberal specialty.
Even the women in the nats feel more sorry for the wankers than the women.
If they did not stoop to conquer the species gNatus Ignoratissimus would long ago have become extinct, just twinkling min-min lights in the distance.
That was a totally jaw-dropping statement from Landry. A bit like “always seemed such a nice boy” when a collection of bodies is discovered in the offender’s back garden. As was Canavan’s to a slightly lesser degree. If any female minister puts in a request to have her desk removed and incinerated at once, who would blame her?
Maybe they’re just used inured to that sort of behaviour? They elected Cousin Jethro and, for the time being, stand behind McCormack (probably the best place to be in that instance).
“Centrist, both sides press gallery”: pot/kettle/black?
Scrotmo academy award performance at the press conference this morning complete with emotional trimmings as the conversation meandered back to him! It’s all about him, tone deaf for five weeks and the hits keep coming.empty shallow and inept.
Aha, his own party will turn on him now that he’s getting all emotional about things – they need to find a new cyborg to lead the wankfest.
Interesting that he seems like he might be being set up by his office….
Perhaps Gaetjens just told the truth in front of the committee as he is supposed to do?
Not. A. Chance.
Terrifying. I almost can’t breathe. Australian democracy is in a very dangerous place. Don’t take your life if you are keeping secrets for powerful people. Try not to be terrified even though they have terrified you into thinking you are mad! A terrible despicable low life silencing act along with most other so called Acts. The shame in mental health, top to bottom, bottom to top.