In the next few days, the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions (“Sir”) Nicholas Cowdery QC will announce what charges will be laid against which funsters who attended the notoriously ill-mannered dinner at the Iguana waterfront restaurant at Gosford on June 6.
“Iguanagate” led to the suspension of Education and Industrial Relations Minister John Della Bosca from the NSW Cabinet and to a rebuke for his wife, Federal MP Belinda Neal, from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who ordered her into anger management counselling.
The DPP is likely to clear Della Bosca of any wrongdoing in the restaurant or in the subsequent scandal over the preparation of contradictory sworn statements by the staff and the partygoers.
This will pave the way for Premier Morris Iemma to restore Della Bosca to the ministry. But what as?
His return to the education portfolio is opposed strenuously by principals and teachers on the grounds that if they had committed similar offences they would be in breach of the department’s own code of conduct and probably lose their jobs.
They point to his recent conduct — losing his driver’s licence after repeated speeding offences, swearing at photographers “Get a real job you f-cking c-nts”, misleading the parliament on his promise not to drive again and misleading the premier over the apology from Iguana staff which, it turned out, he had drafted — as sufficient grounds for him to be an inappropriate role model to head the Education Department.
Iemma is well aware of these complications and that is why he is considering a bolder strategy: he is attempting to convince Della Bosca to take on the Health portfolio.
At a stroke, Della’s move to health would solve two huge political problems for the government. It would remove the hugely unpopular Reba Meagher out of the frontline portfolio which is causing the government electoral grief almost every other day of the week and it would pre-empt the crushing criticism of the health department which is expected in the much-awaited report by the special commission of inquiry conducted by Peter Garling SC.
Iemma also has a Cabinet vacancy to fill. He lost his Environment, Climate Change and Water Minister Phil Koperberg in January and re-allocated his portfolios to other ministers without making a fresh appointment.
It means that in the wake of the all-clear for Della Bosca, Iemma can reshuffle his ministry and promote one of his dwindling ban of loyalists in a bid to stop the white-anting.
This would convey to the public that he is in charge — when most people now believe that it is Treasurer Michael Costa who runs the show — and give his government an appearance of stability as it heads for the showdown over the privatization of electricity when parliament resumes at the end of next month.
Today’s Newspoll shows that World Youth Day, the long winter recess and the Olympics have done nothing to rescue the Labor Government from the wrath of NSW voters. Its primary vote is 33 per cent (the Coalition 40), 60 per cent of voters are dissatisfied with Iemma and only 26 are satisfied. By comparison, Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell’s approval rating is 40 per cent, dissatisfied 34 per cent with more than a quarter undecided.
Stealing from Iemma’s 2006 election slogan, O’Farrell quipped today the latest poll proved one thing: “We’re heading in the right direction but more still to be done. Morris Iemma doesn’t use that mantra any more.”
Perhaps you could do a more thorough job in investigating the media’s despicable role in the Della Bosca /Neal affair Alex Mitchell rather than reporting the same rubbish that appears in the tabloids today. Everything you say is correct although you haven’t sheeted home blame for the disastrous state of NSW hospitals where it truly belongs-the vile John Hatzistergos who as AG looks like reducing citizens rights to the stuff-up job he did on our hospitals. But why are we reading this stuff in the afternoons on crikey ?.
This was a hack and reptiles led attack upon the hapless political Woy Woy pair who did them over like a dog’s dinner yet many of us already knew and have ben predicting all along what the result would be . As for O’Farrell-he has already shown he is not fit for office after his silent acceptance of the dreadful “annoyance” laws and although he won’t face Iemma at the next election he also will never become premier. If the State Liberals had half a brain they would replace O’Farrell with someone young and dynamic ( if such a person exists in that party) but they won’t.
Instead Labor will nip them in the bud and once again NSW will return Labor. All because we have a media who mis-directs the story down wrong roads like the Iguana beat-up.
Mitchell’s “opposed strenuously by principals and teachers” may be correct because there is more than one person opposing; presumably. The opposition comes from a minority rump. More a whimper than a bang.
Another thing Alex – back on Aug 11, Monday after the O-Limp-pr*cks kicked off the Daily Telegaph slipped out a little story that the (my words) ‘tsecret $5B tunnel under Marrickville’ was now going to be much further south as an M5 x2.
This is for the doubling and tripling of container trucks out of the 60ha dredging and reclamation of Botany Bay for the Port by this poo brown govt. Sooo … this means no ventilation stacks for marginal Marrickville or backlash in up market Balmain, the prospect of which must have increased the kitten population in both the Carmel and son Nathan Tebbutt, and/or Verity Firth, Households. In other words Tebbutt can now return to Cabinet safe in the knowledge taking her bat and ball and refusing to play in the polls has worked to spare her constituents (?).
Sooo …. Della may have some competition going back, as may Meagher.
Stateline had a ferocious out take last Friday of Reba at a pic fac with Iemma saying ‘this is cutting edge brain surgery without the cut’ or something like that. Stateline having run hard on a teenager who died from non life threatening head injury due to negligent health system for last 12 months. That out take was a declaration of war if you ask me, Ch9 spinners regardless.
The biggest problem of Iguanagate is the alleged attempt to
get people to change their story which morally if not legally
is very serious stuff.
Once again it is the blind arrogance and superiority complex
that got Della Bosco and his mate into the hole that they
are having trouble digging themselves out of.
It is not an ALP issue alone because politicians from
both of the major parties are prone to abuse their position
and display arrogance and deceit when they try to cover their
political backsides. Instead of trying to point score
maybe the respective Federal and NSW governments
and oppositions might hold a symposium to work out what it is that makes
politicians display such ugly and unbridled arrogance
and in some instances attempt to lie and cheat their way out of trouble
instead of admitting they are wrong and taking it on the chin.
Why can’t the declaration of war on arrogance, spin and deceit
in politics gain bipartisan support. Why are these blights
a mere political football to be kicked around until the ball bursts.
John Della Bosca a Woy Woy Local has a history of ignoring the dangers local school children experienced while dodging illegal business activity in Alma Avenue Woy Woy. As both the Education Minister and Minister responsible for work place safety. His Ministry ignored the photos of school children being escorted by parents and grand parents down the middle of Alma Avenue Woy Woy because compliance with Australian Road Rules and the Local Government Act is optional for so called friends of Gosford City Council. And the footpaths were being used for commercial purposes. The Ministerial Code of Conduct is part of codified law in NSW pursuant to sections 8 and 9 of the ICAC Act. Yet it is being used as a door mat by Labor.