There is a classic ploy when politicians don’t want to face some unpalatable facts that have come back to bite them on the bum.

The new Treasurer, Wayne, Swan, who has not had an auspicious start in the job, retreated to the denial factor in trying to defend Kevin Rudd’s relationship with disgraced, politically poisonous, former West Australian Premier, Brian Burke,  in the lead up to Rudd’s challenge for his party’s leadership.

A bunch of embarrassing and telling e-mails from Burke to Rudd and from Rudd to Burke back in 2005 – 16 months before he toppled Kim Beazley – have been published in  The Australian newspaper.

Swan’s reaction?  That’s ‘ancient history. These matters were canvassed extensively through the early part of last year and there was no secret at the time that emails had been passed’.

It’s not ancient history and some of the explosive and damning emails were kept secret. Rudd even went out of his way to describe a dinner he had with Burke as a casual encounter. Almost an accident.

Rudd said when exposed.  ‘Graham Edwards was invited to this dinner. He in turn invited me and we attended it and it was a general discussion around the table with a whole bunch of people’ Sounds plausible but Rudd had been billed as the ‘special guest’ at the dinner which was organised by the treacherous Brian Burke. A man so feared in the West that  the Labor Government had banned ministers meeting with the former jailbird Premier . Burke introduced Rudd as ‘a rising star in the Labor Party’

And the e-mails now reveal Rudd had personally been chatting with Burke to organise another dinner where the leadership hopeful would dine with a bunch of journalists.

After Burke gave him a rundown on a Who’s Who of the guest list Rudd replied ‘This looks great. Is there room for my senior adviser, Alister Jordan who will be travelling with me? Regards Kevin’.

Rudd pulled out at the last minute claiming he was being ‘ stuffed around’ by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade over an upcoming trip to Hong Kong. ‘ Rather than withdraw from the dinner at the last minute, could I be rude and put it off  until next year. Is that OK? Sorry to do this?’

The Australian newspaper today praises Rudd in an editorial for releasing the exchange of incriminating e-mails. He had no choice.

And if, as Wayne Swan said at the weekend it was ‘ancient history’ why was the Deputy Prime Minister’s office so shifty about it yesterday?

Julia Gillard appeared on the ABC’s  Insiders  program with Barry Cassidy. Her staff put out a transcript of the interview. If you hadn’t been watching you would have thought the issues canvassed were ‘ apology to the Stolen Generations, politicians’ pay freezes  and Work Choices’.

Funny, Cassidy’s first four questions to Gillard were all about Kevin Rudd and his e-mail chats with the disgraced and corrupt Brian Burke.

We may have a new Government but we’ve still got old-style, self-serving, cover your arse, politicians.

Monday, February 18, 2008

© Copyright Derryn Hinch 2008