Malcolm Turnbull is refusing to deny allegations he had an affair with Debbie Huber when she was an employee of his in the 1980’s. Ms Huber’s family are currently involved in an ongoing tax-fraud battle worth over $100 million with the Australian Taxation Office and Debbie Huber seems to have been given favourable treatment so one wonders if the Prime Minister intervened on her behalf?

The third element to this article is that Debbie Huber worked for the Federal Director of Public prosecutions in the 1980’s at a time when authorities were investigating Kerry Packer who Malcolm Turnbull worked for and who was later a client of Turnbull’s law firm he set up with fellow Packer employee and lawyer Bruce McWilliam. Debbie Huber went on to work for Turnbull when he set up the law firm.

On Friday 9/3/18 I emailed questions to the Prime Minister, Bruce McWilliam, Nicky McWilliam and sent questions on Facebook to Debbie Huber and no one has responded which is standard if people have something to hide. Both Bruce and Nicky read the emails as they sent read receipts, but the Prime Minister’s office refused to confirm when I phoned them asking if they intended to respond.

Malcolm Turnbull has a long history of what I will politely call questionable conduct. In 2015 I published an article titled “Malcolm Turnbull’s rap sheet. $10 million fraud & theft, branch stacking & his slush fund” which outlines some of Malcolm’s handiwork.

Debbie Huber on the right with her sister

Malcolm Turnbull’s days as a lawyer, setting up law firm Turnbull McWilliam and investment bank Whitlam Turnbull & Co Ltd.

It says this on Wikipedia regarding Malcolm Turnbull and the period of his alleged affair with Debbie Huber:

After graduating from Oxford, Turnbull returned to Australia and began working as a barrister. He left the bar in 1983. Firstly he attempted preselection in the safe Liberal seat of Mosman. However, he lost to Phillip Smiles. Then he chose to become general counsel and secretary for Australian Consolidated Press Holdings Group, from 1983 to 1985.

(Australian Consolidated Press Holdings Group was owned by Kerry Packer)

During this time he defended Kerry Packer against the “Goanna” allegations made by the Costigan Commission. Turnbull attempted to use the press to goad the counsel assisting the commission, Douglas Meagher QC, into suing him and Packer for the withering public attack both undertook to sully Meagher’s and Costigan’s names. Turnbull accused Meagher and Costigan of being “unjust, capricious, dishonest and malicious”. Turnbull led Packer to sue Meagher for defamation, an action that was struck down by Justice David Hunt as being an abuse of process, and that Turnbull had managed “to poison the fountain of justice”. The “Scorched Earth” tactic made Turnbull enemies in the NSW Bar Association, something that led to Turnbull leaving the Bar Association.

In partnership with Bruce McWilliam, he established his own law firm, Turnbull McWilliam. During 1986, Turnbull defended Peter Wright, a former MI5 official who wrote the book Spycatcher, and successfully stopped the British government’s attempts to suppress the book’s publication in Australia. Turnbull later wrote a book on the trial.

“The fact of the matter is that nothing is achieved in this world, particularly politically, other than with persistence, and persistence involves repetition and it involves argument and re-argument… The public interest in free speech is not just in truthful speech, in correct speech, in fair speech… The interest is in the debate. You see, every person who has ultimately changed the course of history has started off being unpopular.” Turnbull’s closing submissions, 18 December 1986

In 1987, Turnbull established an investment banking firm, Whitlam Turnbull & Co Ltd, in partnership with Neville Wran (a former Labor Premier of New South Wales) and the former State Bank of New South Wales chief executive, Nicholas Whitlam (son of Gough Whitlam, a former Labor prime minister). Whitlam parted company with the others in 1990 and the firm operated as Turnbull & Partners Ltd from then until 1997, when Turnbull moved to become a managing director and later a partner of Goldman Sachs. (Click here to read more)

Bruce McWilliam and allegations he destroyed evidence for Kerry Packer and called in favours from Malcolm Turnbull for Channel 7

Most people would not know who Bruce McWilliam is but his past becomes relevant in relation to Malcolm Turnbull and Debbie Huber. So we’ll have a look at some key parts of Bruce’s dodgy past.

1980 – 1983: Bruce worked at Allen Allen and Hemsley as a solicitor and then left to join Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH) the Packer company with his friend Malcolm Turnbull (who is now the Prime Minister).

1983 – 1985: During this period, Bruce McWilliam & Malcolm Turnbull undertook many transactions for CPH as lawyers and advisers.

1985 – 1987: In 1985 Bruce McWilliam and Malcolm Turnbull set up their own law firm ‘Turnbull McWilliam’.

1987: Bruce left to return to Allen Allen and Hemsley as a partner while Malcolm Turnbull formed his investment bank. (Click here to read more)

It says in a SMH July 2017 profile article by journalist Tim Elliott on Bruce McWilliam:

McWilliam’s best friend, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, lives a couple of doors down the road; the two go kayaking together in front of their houses. For McWilliam, who grew up in working-class Dapto near Wollongong, Point Piper is “the greatest suburb on Earth”.

Though few members of the general public would have heard of him, McWilliam has for almost 40 years worked at the centre of Australia’s cutthroat media industry, having served as a close adviser and confidant to a succession of Australia’s most powerful men, including Kerry Packer in the 1980s, Rupert Murdoch in the 1990s and Kerry Stokes in the 2000s. Former Nine Network boss Sam Chisholm describes him as a “consigliere“, a catch-all term which nonetheless fails to convey the full scope of McWilliam’s remit.

Over the years, he has done everything for his bosses save bear their children: he has cut their deals and run their errands; he has policed their interests and defended their reputations; he has, in a very real sense, helped them make their billions. On occasion, he has even organised their social calendar. (When Rupert Murdoch married Wendi Deng in 1999, McWilliam found them a villa in Tuscany for the honeymoon. Murdoch then invited him to visit.) Peerlessly well connected and unwaveringly discreet, McWilliam is a consummate keeper of secrets whose arsenal includes irresistible charm, legal thuggery and much in between.

“Bruce is probably the most aggressive corporate lawyer we have ever seen,” says James Warburton, who worked with McWilliam as Seven’s sales boss in the late 2000s and is now CEO of Supercars. “Bruce is paid to make problems go away,” another former Seven executive says. “He’s like Mr Wolfe in Pulp Fiction, that calm, dapper guy who gets rid of the dead body from the back of the car and hoses it out.” 

McWilliam’s friendship with the prime minister has indeed on occasion proved problematic. In 2014, officers from the Australian Federal Police raided Seven’s offices searching for evidence of a suspected seven-figure deal with convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby. It emerged that McWilliam had rung then Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who had in turn phoned Attorney-General George Brandis and Justice Minister Michael Keenan, leading to suggestions that Turnbull had interfered in an AFP investigation on behalf of his friend. Turnbull denied this. When News Corp journalist Jennifer Sexton rang to discuss the matter with McWilliam, he hung up on her. (Click here to read more)

Debbie Huber – Federal Director of Public Prosecutions – Working for Malcolm Turnbull and Bruce McWilliam

Debbie Huber is so far refusing to answer questions. But I’m told by my sources that Debbie Huber worked for Federal Director of Public Prosecutions in the 1980’s. This is supported by an article in The Sydney Morning Herald on 20th May 1986 which says:

“Miss Debbie Huber, prosecuting on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions, told the court there was some degree of indecision as to whether the case against Levinge would proceed under a State prosecutor or the Director of Public Prosecutions.“ (Click here to read more)

In the July 2017 SMH article on Bruce McWilliam above it quotes Debbie Huber in relation to the law firm Turnbull McWilliam:

“Deborah Huber worked at the firm as a litigator. “We all had a sense that Malcolm was going to be important, and Bruce was always supportive of him,” she says.” (Click here to read more)

Then there is also her Facebook page post from the 17th June 2016 where she says “as most of you know, I worked with Malcolm for many years (as a lawyer not a politician)“

So let’s put the time line together. Malcolm Turnbull’s law firm only lasted 18 months from 1985 to 1987. We know Debbie Huber worked at the law firm because she is quoted in the SMH article as having “worked at the firm as a litigator.” which makes sense as she was a litigator at the Federal Director of Public Prosecutions. So that means she must have joined Malcolm’s law firm just before is closed.

But we also know from the Facebook post that Debbie Huber worked for Malcolm for “many years” which means she went on to work for Malcolm at his investment bank Whitlam Turnbull & Co Ltd which he set up after closing the law firm. This is also supported by the below photo that Debbie Huber post on her Facebook page of her and Lucy Turnbull on the 9th September 2016 which I am told was taken in the board room of Whitlam Turnbull & Co Ltd. From the comments I believe the photo was taken in the 1980’s.

Debbie Huber and Lucy Turnbull in the 1980’s

.

Some of the details raised by my sources:

In the mid to late 1980’s Ms Debbie Huber worked for the Federal Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW branch). She worked on a number of high-profile prosecution matters including the DPP file on the so-called Goanna files which related to allegations of drug importation and the late Kerry Packer. Those files were inherited from the Royal Commission.

Huber’s boyfriends around the time included Rodney Adler and a number of other well-known business men.

Ms Huber was introduced by a senior AFP officer to Malcolm Turnbull who was retained by Mr. Packer and was a principal briefly in his own law firm with Bruce McWilliam and then in the firm of Whitlam Turnbull.

Ms Huber formed a close personal relationship with Mr Turnbull and went to work with Malcolm, first at Malcolm’s law firm and then in the firm of Whitlam Turnbull. This caused some concern in DPP circles given her association with the sensitive Goanna and Tax prosecution files.

Ms Huber was quite upfront about her personal relationship with Mr Turnbull and spoke to many legal and DPP acquaintances about it. A number of interesting anecdotes survive including Malcolm taking Debbie to purchase a birthday present for Lucy.

Ms Huber recently (during the Nudie tax case) posted on her Facebook page photos and comments confirming she worked for Malcolm for years and a photo of herself and Lucy from the period in the Whitlam Turnbull boardroom. It is not clear whether govt departments were intimidated by her public display of her prior association with Turnbull.

Many employees at Whitlam Turnbull including a Mr xxxx xxxx had concerns about the relationship. Malcolm and Debbie were apparently caught in the act with Malcolm wearing only red socks.

Eventually Malcolm Turnbull and Debbie Huber came to a parting of the ways after discussions about Ms Huber’s personal trading.

Ms Huber recently attracted media attention arising out of her court appearances in an ATO criminal case involving her in laws and the Nudie juice entities. Ms Huber admitted certain transactions however it appears from media reports that the Federal Government has provided her with a form of indemnity against prosecution however it is proceeding against other family members.

It is extremely unusual for a form of indemnity against prosecution to be granted to a key participant in the alleged tax evasion. The value of the Nudie Group was estimated to be $300 million and evaded tax was estimated at $100 million.

Irrespective of the alleged affair the Prime Minister has very serious questions to answer.

Nudie Juice tax fraud and destruction of evidence

The Nudie tax fraud involves Debbie Huber’s family avoiding tax of over $100 million, using fraudulent overseas loans to avoid the tax and destroying evidence. Basically it is identical to what Kerry Packer was accused of during the Costigan Royal Commission and it was Malcolm Turnbull who Justice Hunt said “poisoned the fountain of justice“ in trying to help Packer. And it was Bruce McWilliam who Costigan accused of destroying evidence on behalf of Packer. Since that time Bruce McWilliam has had a long history of attempting to destroy evidence for court cases or potential court cases which I can personally attest.

Has Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull intervened for Debbie Huber with the ATO like the PM did for Bruce McWilliam and Channel 7?

Debbie Huber is still good friends with Bruce McWilliam and his wife Nicky as she is friends with them on Facebook and Bruce would have given journalist Tim Elliott Debbie Huber’s contact details for his article on Bruce. I regard this as very important evidence as Bruce Has called in favours from Malcolm before with Channel 7 at least and maybe even the recent reduction in TV License fees.

So, has Debbie Huber used Bruce Williams play book and received preferential treatment from the ATO? When Debbie Huber posted the above article on Facebook about Malcolm Turnbull in June 2016 and the picture of herself with Lucy Turnbull in September 2016 was she trying to send a message to the ATO that she knows people in high places and they should not mess with her? Did she contact Malcolm / Lucy Turnbull or Bruce / Nicky McWilliam and discuss the Nudie Juice matter? These are ligament questions that all those named are refusing to answer.

Huge conflict of interest working for Malcolm Turnbull and Kerry Packer

Did Malcolm Turnbull employ and have a sexual relationship with Debbie Huber to get information from her for his client Kerry Packer?

In a 2016 article I published titled “Malcolm Turnbull: The frivolous litigant who “poisoned the fountain of justice” said Justice Hunt” I quoted the following passage:

“Much of the Goanna material was, as Packer described it in an 8000-word statement crafted by Turnbull and issued in 1984, “grotesque, ludicrous and malicious”. But the tax findings were not lightly based, nor easily dismissed. Even though the then attorney-general Lionel Bowen declared that Packer had been cleared of all allegations against him, Meagher later revealed that briefs for prosecution were prepared against Packer in relation to tax evasion after the commission was wound up. Costigan had told him three “very senior counsel” based in Sydney “each looked at them independently and recommended prosecution”, but it didn’t occur.”

Alleged affair between Malcolm Turnbull and Debbie Huber

No one is denying the affair. So, the question many will be asking is Malcolm Turnbull a hypocrite given he had sex with a staff member but he has recently banned sex between ministers and their staff after the Barnaby Joyce scandal broke. Malcolm Turnbull spoke of the need to have a higher standard in parliament. If that’s true he needs to address the issues I have raised.

I’ll leave it there for now and will do a follow-up article soon. You won’t read the above article elsewhere so please read below and support independent journalism.

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