How about the ALP? That’s what it did with Kristina Keneally with the disgraced Joe Tripodi and Ian Macdonald who were so prominent during the Eddie Obeid hearings.
Obviously,Labor would be at pains to point out the differences between that and the current controversial push for former Liberal premier Gladys Berejiklian to run in the federal seat of Warringah.
Berejiklian’s secret personal relationship with Daryl Maguire,the subject of the current ICAC investigation,is far more damaging than simply a political connection. There was no ICAC finding against Keneally,who was never a person of interest,only a witness,and Nor has ICAC made any findings against Berejiklian as the Prime Minister noted on Monday,but that’s because it has not even finished the Maguire report yet.
While it might seem ludicrous to think Berejiklian will ever live down that excruciating ICAC grilling,former Liberal senator,now our Washington ambassador,Arthur Sinodinos seemed to manage it. This paper as he was questioned on why he did nothing to look into serious rorting at Australian Water Holdings,of which he was a director,and knew nothing about its donations to the Liberal Party,even though he was the NSW Liberal Party treasurer at the time. Having no adverse findings made against him helped put the episode behind him.
Historically,the few premiers who have made the leap to Canberra have had mixed success with Joseph Lyons,John Fahey and Bob Carr doing better than the likes of Jack Lang and Vince Gair. Thankfully,Joh Bjelke-Petersen didn’t make it.
And let’s not forget the first former female premier to head to Canberra. In 1994 ex WA premier Carmen Lawrence was enticed to move to federal politics to aid a tired,sinking Labor government. It didn’t work.
The then Liberal state government called a royal commission into whether she lied to Parliament over a previous scandal and the ongoing controversy only added to the Keating government’s wipe-out at the next election.
As one analyst wrote:“Lawrence was a state premier whose federal career was dogged by ghosts of her state past.”
Lawrence did go on to become federal president of the ALP,just as former NSW premier Nick Greiner became federal president of his party,although he was the first major “victim” of the state’s Independent Commission Against Corruption.
He won the dubious title of first as he was the one who set up the ICAC. The NSW Court of Appeal later overturned its findings against him. But the ICAC went on to fell other Liberal premiers including Barry O’Farrell and most recently Berejiklian.
One who did escape the curse was Mike Baird whose only appearance before the ICAC was in October,as a witness,
That might make it a tad difficult for him to endorse Berejiklian in the northern suburbs seat for which only a few months ago.
Not to worry,though. There have been plenty of federal Libs keen to endorse the Gladys-for-Canberra push from Simon Birmingham to Katie Allen and.
Polls show St Gladys also still enjoys strong support among women from the ordinary voter to many in the powerful women’s business lobby who seem content to overlook their usual dismay at the lack of integrity in politics in this particular case.
Apparently,simply being perceived as competent is enough to offset any misconduct allegations,which shows just how low the bar is for our political class these days.
Being an equal opportunity “kangaroo court”,as Prime Minister Morrison so ludicrously labelled it last week,the ICAC has also claimed plenty of powerful ALP scalps not the least being the odious Eddie Obeid.
It was the watchdog’s lengthy examinations into everyone in Obeid’s orbit and the question of how successive government’s enabled his corruption,that led former premier Keneally into the ICAC witness box.
Keneally was never the subject of any ICAC criticism as the sensitive Senator constantly reminds any journalist who dares raise the issue.
Keneally is being parachuted into the federal lower house seat of Fowler at the upcoming election. Imagine the irony if the ambitious former Labor premier were to one day run for PM against the woman currently being touted as a future federal Liberal leader,Gladys Berejiklian. Hopefully,the question of a Federal Integrity Commission would not be an election issue by then.
The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge,champion and inform your own..