Roxon – bobmcgee

Casablanca …

What a movie. Now 70 years old. You can find some classic lines from it here.

I just love that bit …

Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?
Captain Renault: I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]
Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much.
[aloud]
Captain Renault: Everybody out at once!

Shocked, shocked, indeed shocked, just like today’s lines from the Labor party regarding the goings on at the HSU,”incredibly disturbing“, says Mr Shorten. It must have come as a great surprise to him, given how well the secret has been kept for so long. It’s possible that even Nicola Roxon will catch up with the news within a few days.

Mr. Windsor is standing by Labor and from his radio interview on the ABC seems to be determined not to catch up with the FWA report. I guess the only thing he has to lose is his seat … which is a certainty at the next election, he’ll sit next to Mr. Thomson for as long as possible no matter what he smells like.

Bring on the election, please bring it on.

Our first law officer …

Nicola to Emma on Lateline

But there is such a thing – we have a legal system so those complaints can be tested, so people are given the opportunity to defend them. We cannot live in a world – we might as well have no legal system if we just say as soon as the allegation is made, that then it’s proven true.

Really?

Charles to Andrew Bolt

Ashby’s Application relies on the Adverse Action sections of the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, he claims, amongst other matters, that the Commonwealth breached section 351 – Discrimination .

In all Adverse Action matters under the FWA, the Respondent is presumed guilty unless they prove otherwise. We call this “the reverse onus of proof”. This is what section 361 provides.

Nicola to Emma

And I make no claim about the allegations or the defence. I’m simply as the first law officer of the country pointing out that we should be respectful of that process …

As first law officer Roxon might be expected to know the law especially as it was written by Julia Gillard.

Once again Ms. Roxon demonstrates that she is remarkably ill-informed.

Roxon ill-informed …

Human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson said on the ABC’s Q&A program last night that if the embattled MP was a member of the British parliament, he’d already have been suspended.

He said that if there were “credible allegations” that an MP had committed a serious criminal offence, they are then suspended from their party and would sit in parliament as an independent until the matter is resolved.”The proper thing for the ALP to do is to suspend him [Mr Thomson] because that, of course, prevents it from being tarnished,” Mr Robertson said. “If he’s convicted, ultimately you obviously expel him and he goes to jail for several years.”If he’s acquitted, or if indeed on examination of the evidence it’s discovered, as he’s saying, that he was the victim of a plot, you take him back.”

The Roxon response? “But we haven’t had actually any content. There’s been all this swirling allegation [but] no one actually is aware of what is being alleged in detail.” SMH.

Really?

Well, Ms. Roxon its like this, Craig Thomson, Labour MP for Central Coast … “has been accused of using his Health Services Union credit card on more than $100,000 of private expenses, including paying for prostitutes.”

In fact a Google search of this “Craig Thompson” prostitutes produced this About 62,400 results (0.24 seconds). There has actually been a Fair Work Australia investigation into this matter …

The only likely reason Ms. Roxon is so poorly informed is that she chooses to be. Although as a female might she owe her position to affirmative action?

Or as Tim Blair puts it …

Question: How has decades of affirmative-action feminism changed the notoriously sexist world of Labor politics?
Answer: A female Labor Prime Minister defends rich union leaders who are accused of spending members’ funds on prostitutes and Germaine Greer cracks jokes about Julia Gillard’s arse. For all the difference feminism has made to the left, Emily’s List may as well have been the name of a brothel.

If it was it would be worth checking the credit card receipts …