The NSW government is in crisis and a good chance to lose the election next year after just one term in power. It is something that Prime Minister Tony Abbott and crew need to have a good look at because what is happening in NSW could easily happen federally and Mr Abbott would go down in history as “One Term Tony”.
Both the federal and NSW Liberal governments are similar in that they won power by replacing extremely corrupt Labor governments. There might not be a lot of corruption in the Abbott government yet as it is only a few months old, though a little bit is creeping in, but we will look at that last.
Firstly though lets look at NSW where the latest poll shows the Liberal government will lose the next election which is due in March 2015 after only one term in power. Remember the current NSW Liberal government won power in a landslide in March 2011 because of mass corruption in the then Labor government.
The reason given for the rapid reversal in the polls is corruption. I have reported on the corruption in the O’Farrell government many times at least as far as the NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith is concerned. And only a few day ago it was announced that three MP’s in the O’Farrell government were under investigation by the NSW crime fighting body, ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption). The three MP’s Chris Hartcher, Darren Webber and Chris Spence have since resigned from the Liberal Party, but remain in parliament.
So the corruption is starting to mount for the NSW O’Corrupt government at the worst possible time given the next election is only 12 months away in March 2015
What is not well-known, but my main interest in this story, is that there is a stick of dynamite that will probably go off in the next few months in the form of prisoner James Kinch and the AG Greg Smith in the Supreme Court of NSW.
James Kinch had been waiting in a Thailand jail for quite a while but he is back in an Australian prison and due to go to trial in August. It says in the SMH:
“A man who allegedly corrupted former top crime fighter Mark Standen, plotting with him to import enough precursor drugs to make $120 million of the drug ice, has pleaded not guilty to a string of drugs charges.”
“In the NSW Supreme Court on Friday, British national James Henry Kinch was indicted on two sets of charges – the first relating to narcotics offences alleged to have been committed from 2001 to 2003, and the second relating to the international drug-smuggling cartel involving Standen from 2006 to 2008.”
and “Mr Kinch’s lawyers indicated a stay application would be filed to prevent both trials from going ahead. That will be heard next month.” (Click here to read more)
I wrote in a previous post on Greg Smith:
Who is James Kinch? He is alleged to have been an accomplice to Mark Standen who was the former 2ic of the NSW Crime Commission and is serving 16 years jail for a drug importation attempt after being found guilty in 2011. Another accomplice, Bakhos ”Bill” Jalalaty is serving six years jail.
In 2004 the head of the NSW Crime commission, Phillip Bradley, wrote a letter to Greg Smith at the DPP and asked him to drop drug and money laundering charges that James Kinch was then facing after being arrested in 2003. Mark Standen played a role in helping draft the letter. There was no justifiable reason for Greg Smith to drop the charges. Those same charges have been re-instated by the federal police against James Kinch.
In the post I wrote in June 2011 titled “What is the price of freedom? About $900,000 if you are bribing Commissioner Phillip Bradley at the NSW Crime Commission.” Greg Smith is mentioned for his role (when he worked at the Director of Public Prosecutions office 2004) in dropping charges against James Kinch so the NSW Crime Commission could get its hands on a $900,000 bribe to let Kinch go. Kinch was in a jail in Thailand awaiting extradition to Australia to face a number of charges including the ones that Greg Smith dropped. (Click here to read more)
.
.
Greg Smith has a lot of questions to answer as to why he dropped the criminal charges against Kinch and would know there is a good chance he could end up in court as a witness so he will be hoping that the judge does stop the case from being heard. As Attorney-General I wonder if he will ring the judge and try to make sure that does happen.
For the reason above the O’Farrell government will struggle to win the election next year. This should be a wake up call to Prime Minister Abbott and his government. They also could lose the next election. The corruption so far federally is not that great. It is by and large limited to the expenses scandal, the dodgy appointment of Tim Wilson to the Human Rights Commission by the federal A-G George Brandis and the Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash lying in the Senate.
If PM Abbott does not take a hard-line in relation to corruption when it arises in his government he could end up losing the next election very easily the same as Barry O’Farrell looks like doing. Tony Abbott will have to deal with more corruption in the next 2 years as that is always the case when in government and how he deals with it will have a large bearing on who wins the next election.
What the politicians need to learn is that governments can and will change at a rapid pace because of better reporting due in large to social media. The days of corrupt governments staying in power for long periods by grovelling to a few media barons is long gone.
Please use the Twitter, Facebook, email etc. buttons below.
And make sure you follow this site by email which is at the top right of this page and about once a week you will get an email when there is a new post/story on this site.
This site is independent and reliant on donations to keep publishing. If you would like to support the continuance and growth of this site it would be greatly appreciated if you make a donation. Click on the below button to donate via PayPal or go to the donations page for other donation options (Click here to go to the Donations page)
If you would like to buy a t-shirt or coffee mug visit my online shop (Click here to visit the shop)
Thank you for your support.
Categories: Barry O'Farrell, Greg Smith NSW Attorney General, Tony Abbott
Geez Shane, I’ve never been over joyed with any Liberal government but I don’t know anyone who would vote for the present crop of Labor MP’s. What an awful bunch of nutters. Cheers, Warren Olsen
This appears to be how things are turning out in this country. People chop and change governments looking for the leadership that never comes. Governments themselves (and Oppositions) these days seem to be made up of individuals whose character for the most part is found wanting in times of weakness and temptation. Maybe that’s how the powers that really be want it, maybe its an indictment of a system that benefits from and rewards corruptibility, or maybe its just that greed and self interest have replaced the ideal of service.
“……or maybe its just that greed and self interest have replaced the ideal of service…”
A long time ago, Paul
i hear you Ian.
#auspol …. the latest poll shows the Liberal government will lose the next election which is due in March 2015 …..
“The latest?”
(February 2014, one presumes!!)
“Shows?”
“Will lose?”
Rubbish.
About as reliable as are the questions asked and the context in which they are asked political polls more than a year out.
Mr O’Farrell’s government may be comprised of politicians and what a surprise that would spring upon the electorate.
But New South Wales’ Labor is still but a crime family and will look comparatively way worse before this year is out, than it did leading up to the last election.
NSW Barry O’Farrell Knee jerk reaction.
Pool owners face paying $95-$150 for inspection.
Failed monitoring paroles entire parole time.
Failed to get money back from corrupt mining leases and politicians.
Failed to keep control of assaults on our streets.
Failed Stronger sentencing for paedophiles.
Failed Stronger sentencing for gun crimes.
New laws have to go state wide.
New shout down laws look like a mess.
Failed to protect water and farm land from mining.
My MP is missing in action Darren Webber never replies to emails.
So why would any body vote for them.
NSW Liberals are in trouble and need changes some of them are useless,
they have got to go back to there pre election promises and stick to them,
as bad as they are Labor are twice three times as bad and the Greens are 5 times more. so a good independents looks good to me if I can find one.
Hi Shane,
Enjoy your site but have to agree with preceding comments about likelihood of a single term for O’Farrell. And you’re drawing a ridiculously long bow to mention Abbott in the same breath. Keep up the good judicial work on Smith and the incompetent Stephen Rares.
Regards
It does NOT matter which of the political parties, Liberal/Nationals Labor/Greens, govern in Australia. They are all corrupt and continue to sell our, the peoples, assets to foreign ownership. That is the main reason for high unemployment, and continually growing in our once great country Australia.
Totally agree with Tom, while we have only a choice of two parties, they can be as corrupt as they like. They both know it is a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea. No prizes for wondering if there is collusion, it is a fact that Labor get us in debt, so the Liberals can sell more of our country. Or should that be Give our country and its industry to the lowest bidder.
First past the post should be elected, then we might see Australia being run by honesty.
Hi Shane. As bad as the BOFF has been depicted—————————–and some of it by his own hand, it is a big call to say his Government a one termer.
Suggest that similar postulates will force his hand and for God’s sake—–get him out of grog payola.
While I share your sentiments about corruption in politics and am surprised to learn of what you disclosed here about Greg Smith and the Standen/Kinch matter,- to suggest that voters would be stupid enough to replace the Liberals in NSW (and even Canberra) is an erroneous call, even for you. You appear to underestimate the intelligence of NSW voters in particular, for it will be a long time before they forget the appalling goings-on of NSW Labor and it’s successive headlines of willful corruption. No less the future of the Coalition in Canberra, for the foul taste of what Rudd and Gillard left behind, is unlikely to disappear for at least ten years. If nothing else, your article is a timely reminder to all conservative voters to tell their members, both state and federal, to pay attention to any sort of corrupt behaviour detected and to rort it out immediately within the confines of the party room, not in the media and not on sites like Kangaroo Court of Australia.
Goodness Brian, I was drinking a cup of tea when I read….. “You appear to underestimate the intelligence of NSW voters in particular….” and most of it went over the key board.
You are a funny man
The only thing “funny” (or more appropriately – disasterous) would be if Labor was able to surface from the sewer to regain power again in NSW and/or Canberra in the short term, let’s say 10 years minimum.
Barry O’Farrell and the Liberals won in a HUGE landslide and wasted it. The proverbial drovers dog could have led them to victory.
Instead of getting in and cleaning out the public servants who basically ran NSW, Fatty just changed the names of the departments and left the incompetents in place. Look at Education, Attorney Generals,Treasury, RMS, Transport. They all snowed the new Ministers and the old ways continued.
After 16 years of Labor, voters wanted a complete change and action. It didn’t happen. As they say, we just voted in some more politicians.
The Libs need to be doing some succession planning because next years election will see their huge majority drop markedly, and then they wont be able to make any significant changes without the fear of upsetting their supporters again.
Such a wasted opportunity Barry. We deserved better than we got.
The one thing that sticks in my mind is the promise by O’Farrel to get rid of hundreds of camera’s. I don’t speed, and thought it rather a weird promise..but promise it he did..but instead installed more. Besides that, I think Barry a weak and rather pathetic leader…I will not vote Labor any more and would cut my throat before going with the Greens or PUP. There are no independents in my electorate. I’m doomed..
BO’F is no different to any other Premier, Liberal or Labor, it matters not who is in power, the fact remains, corruption has been and will always be an ingrained part of our political system. The system itself allows corruption to flourish, and until we the people take the power back, corruption will continue to undermine and pervert not just politics but the judiciary also.
History has shown that the Wesminster system has and will always be corruptible at the highest levels, “absolute power absolutely corrupts” as the saying goes. Both parties are as bad as each other, it’s just that labor became complacent which exposed the truth, and we the public voted accordingly at a Federal level.
I’m sick of the lies and deceit that continuously flows from the mouths of these alleged leaders, who say one thing then do another, how long are we willing to put up with the deception, manipulation and corruption which can have detrimental affects on our way of life.
It’s up to us, the people, the voting public, to make a stand and draw the line in the sand. We have the ultimate power, not the politicians, without the working public they have nothing. In fact we could bring the system to it’s knee’s, if we stood as one against the corruptible system that controls many aspects of our lives.
Currently every Premier in each state has made election promises to gain power, then broken those promises, they lied, and should be held accountable for their actions.
“UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL”
Too right. Just like I posted a few days ago, the whole lot are corrupt.
After the diabolical and draconian workcover reforms inflicted on the workers of NSW by BOF on behalf of his Insurance company mates he must “lose” the next election, when I say lose of course he wins by picking up some cushy job from said mates. NSW voters are the losers whomever wins.
Barry O’ffarrell resignation of shame must be am warning bell to all THREE TIERS OF GOVERNMENT.- POLITICIANS ,EXECUTIVE,AND THE JUDICIARY We must have TRUE TRANSPARENCY AND ALL PUBLIC SERVANTS INCLUDING THE THE JUDICIARY MUST BE MADE ACCOUNTABLE .NO MORE INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY OR ANY DEPARTMENTS .This will then then bring some control to CORRUPTION. Provide ACCESS TO JUSTICE and FAIR GO FOR ALL.