Prime Minister Scott Morrison worked in marketing for many years before he entered parliament in 2007 so it’s no surprise he comes across as a used car salesman when he announces new government spending, programs, and initiatives. But he has a history of stabbing Liberal Party competitors in the back on a regular basis with the most extreme being the leaking of lies to win the Liberal Party pre-selection for the seat of Cook in 2007 with the assistance of the Labor Party.
There is a radio interview below with disgraced former senator Sam Dastyari who spills the beans on Scott Morrison colluding with the Labor Party in 2007 and what Sam Dastyari says is hard to ignore given most of it, if not all of it, is backed up by other media reports.
Scott Morrison’s political background
Scott Morrison was a power broker and former state director (2000 to 2004) of the NSW Liberal Party and was elected to Parliament in 2007.
In September 2008, Morrison was appointed to Malcolm Turnbull’s coalition front bench as shadow minister for housing and local government.
In December 2009, after Tony Abbott outed Malcolm Turnbull as Opposition Leader, Morrison became shadow minister for immigration and citizenship coming into the shadow cabinet for the first time. The promotion suggests that Scott Morrison helped Tony Abbott roll Malcolm Turnbull.
In September 2015 Malcolm Turnbull challenged and defeated Tony Abbott for the Prime Ministership. Scott Morrison was promoted to Treasurer which points to Scott Morrison stabbing Tony Abbott in the back in a deal with Turnbull.
In August 2018, after a long and sustained effort to destabilize his government by members of his own party, Malcolm Turnbull lost the Prime Ministership. In a subsequent ballot process Scott Morrison was elected Prime Minister. All the evidence suggests that Morrison again had a hand in the outing of Malcolm Turnbull which if it is the case shows Morrison as being a regular turncoat.
Morrison’s dirty deal to get rid of competitor Michael Towke
Scott Morrison has a history of being involved in dirty election campaigns and his bid to be preselected by the Liberal Party for the 2007 election is regarded as one of the dirtiest in-house Liberal Party brawls. It was reported in 2018:
Mr Morrison won the seat of Cook in 2007, after the retirement of Mr Baird, amid the most bitter political factional war ever seen in the shire.
The Liberal Party preselection for the safe seat attracted a big field of candidates, but was won easily by Michael Towke, a young Lebanese Catholic, who had been working quietly for months building up numbers in the branches.
Mr Morrison was eliminated in the first ballot, gaining only eight votes, and Mr Towke went on to win with 82 votes.
However, the state executive of the party refused to endorse Mr Towke’s preselection after a media campaign suggesting Mr Towke had fudged his CV and rumours spread about his family and early ALP involvement.
News Limited later paid Mr Towke $50,000, plus costs, and removed offending articles from the internet after he sued for defamation.
Mr Towke claimed party officials did not want him as a candidate after the 2005 Cronulla riots because of his Lebanese background.
A second preselection resulted in Mr Morrison being endorsed.
Mr Morrison has previously rejected any knowledge of muckraking or playing the race card. (Click here to read more)
Former federal Senator Sam Dastyari also tells the story on radio about Morrison and Towke and normally I wouldn’t put much faith in what Sam Dastyari says but it is consistent with what Michael Towke has said and what numerous journalists have reported. Dastyari says:
Ever wondered how Scott Morrison first got into politics? Well, it involves the dumping of Michael Towke and the southern Sydney seat of Cook in what Sam Dastyari describes as the “biggest dirt campaign”.
“I’ve seen a lot of dirty things in politics, but I’ve never had the Liberal party come to us [Labor] and ask for dirt to fight one of their own internal opponents,” he said.
“I would never underestimate Scott Morrison… because I would never underestimate a guy who would turn to one of his political opponents to take out one of his own… a guy who will do that will do anything. (Click here to listen to the full interview)
(Click anywhere on the below video to watch an edited version of the interview)
The SMH reported in 2016:
Morrison is never adrift for long. In 2007, he set his sights on a rich Liberal prize: the federal parliamentary seat of Cook, centred on Sutherland Shire, scene of the Cronulla race riots two years before. (The seat was being vacated by his old patron, Bruce Baird, who had moved into federal politics.)
Baird’s retirement triggered an almighty battle between the Right and Left factions of the NSW Liberal Party, both seeking to install their choice of successor. The initial winner of the preselection contest was a young Lebanese Catholic, Michael Towke, who had been quietly stacking branches for the Right faction for months while posing as a footsoldier for the Left.
By the time Morrison showed up, Towke was already in possession of a sizeable bloc of branch votes and the Left was running several stellar candidates of its own.
Morrison, who had either misread the numbers or taken very bad advice, fell between the two factions. He found himself eliminated in the first round, garnering only eight votes. Towke emerged the victor with more than 80 votes. This was a potentially fatal blow to Morrison’s political ambitions, but the minute the result became known, party heavyweights in Canberra were on the phone demanding it be sorted out. How could a virtual unknown have defeated a former party state director?
Towke soon found himself the target of a media campaign suggesting he had inflated his CV. Rumours were peddled that his family had unsavoury associations and that he had fudged an early history with the ALP. Liberal head office bombarded him with lengthy interrogations about his credentials, while Towke hired lawyers to fend off a raft of allegations. On August 3, 2007, the party’s NSW executive refused to endorse his preselection. At the same time, Towke says, he was gagged by the party, leaving him unable to defend himself.
Several days later, he was summoned to a secret backroom meeting at NSW party headquarters. Memories differ sharply about who was in attendance and what was said. But Good Weekend can reveal the existence of a secret deed drawn up by the party on August 15, in which Towke agreed to withdraw from the preselection in return for the party publicly acknowledging him to be a “fit and proper person”.
Towke alleges the pressure from the party hierarchy to sign the document was relentless. He says he was instructed to support Morrison’s candidacy, while being bound to keep the deed confidential. Even now, few who were senior in the party at the time admit knowing of its existence. Those contacted by Good Weekend declined to go on the record, though one insisted “it was not driven by the need to get Scott preselected”.
Towke accuses his opponents of fanning the rumours against him, and suggesting his Lebanese background made him unelectable in the heavily Anglo Shire. “What was done to Towke was sickening to watch,” says one of his supporters. “But Towke’s numbers went to Morrison the second time around, that’s the great irony.”
Morrison – who flatly denies any knowledge of the deed – emerged the victor when, in an almost unprecedented event for the Liberal Party, the preselection was held a second time. (In October 2010, the party secretly refunded Towke $33,000 in legal costs associated with the Cook preselection.) Morrison angrily rejects any knowledge of muckraking or the race card being played against Towke. (Click here to read more)
News Limited’s The Sydney Telegraph were the hitman that Scott Morrison and the Liberal Party used to destroy Michael Towke in 2007 so that Morrison could take the preselection for the federal seat of Cook. The SMH reported in 2009:
News Limited was willing to pay dearly for this story not to be published. It first offered a $110,000 payment, plus a private apology, to avoid going to court. But the price it demanded was that the matter be kept confidential. The company was told to take a jump. See you in court.
The Daily Telegraph had published four stories about Michael Towke which he believed had defamed him, destroyed his political career, and caused untold stress to his family. ”These stories sent my mother to hospital,” he told me. ”They demonised me. I wanted to confront them in court.” (Click here to read more)
It’s only when putting the different stories together on Michael Towke and Scott Morrison does the full picture start to appear. What is says is that Morrison and his supporters in the Liberal Party will do and say anything for power so we should buckle up for one hell of a ride for the next 4 to 6 weeks until the federal election.
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Nothing new there, to be in politics just shows what a lot of lowlifes we actually have running the country, and remember 95% are all of the same breed,never ever turn your back on a politician
Well put JonC.
The article hit it right on the head in just a few simple words that instantly explained what I had been seeing and hearing but unable to recognise. USED CAR SALESMAN. I sat back and thought WHY HAS IT TAKEN SO LONG FOR ME TO TWIG.
I don’t think there is a reader of this column who doubts for one moment how nasty the Liberal Party machine, particularly in NSW, is to its very core. It goes all the way back to the Rum Corps. If Morrison, like the thoroughly detestable Turnbull, is part of that machine. I sincerely hope Morrison is capable of being every bit as ‘down and dirty’ as you say he is, Shane, and more importantly, that he demonstrates this trait to the fullest over the next six weeks. Unfortunately, he has not done so to date – at least not towards his Labor Party opponents and seems to be rushing headlong to political oblivion.
If you asked people to list the most addictive and dangerous drugs in the world, few would include Power.
Addictive, because once within reach it’s seized by any and all means and once attained, is never willingly relinquished. Dangerous, because the ripples spread far and wide, affecting the lives of millions of people.
There are very few Bravehearts who dive into the cesspit of Politics with the most noble intention and who want to right grievous wrongs, but they are soon attacked mercilessly and driven out, their lives and families often destroyed.
Power for its own sake would be pointless without its hand-in-glove companion, Money – always other people’s money, and lots of it.
Sadly, it’s usually the most venal, unprincipled and ruthless characters who, like pond scum, rise to the top. Ignore the stylised face they present to the world; take a deep dive into their ways and means and you’ll find ‘collateral damage’ littered all about.
“Whatever it takes” is the credo they live by.
Morrison, Shorten and the well-greased machinery that sustains them are no more than extravagant and expensive Punch & Judy show characters – there are ALWAYS puppeteers hidden behind the curtain calling the shots.
The Globalist Juggernaut rolls on. And the Useful Idiots addicted to Power and Money are laughing all the way to their offshore bank accounts.
I’ve been a very supportive follower and modest patron of yours from the first outing of the corrupt judiciary through Capilano and Seven West Media.
I’m uncertain that your foray into political commentary serves you well as an independent commentator, given that this article appears to be based largely on bias and untruths.
Firstly, Tony Abbot did not roll Turnbull as opposition leader.
Turnbull and Hockey went at it like spoiled brats and the party failed to support either of them. That is how Abbot became leader of the opposition, and probably the most honest politician we’ve ever had. He turned down the Prime Ministership rather than doing a deal with Oakeshott and Windsor, giving the job to the largely useless Gillard.
You base most of your article on a large opinion piece from the SMH, which confirmed Towke’s branch stacking, and denigrate Morrison for emerging the winner in what seems to be dirty politics all round.
Taking the word of Dastyari absolutely takes the cake, this is a man who should have been charged for treason in his illicit dealings with a foreign State.
My preference would be to see you continue exposing the judiciary and attacking dishonesty. Dabbling in politics, with an obvious bias towards the Labor Party is going to destroy all of the good that you have done and I hope you keep on doing.
Politics is a cesspit, and you don’t need to dabble in it.
I’ve been writing about politics for years, especially when Labor were in Federal Government. It’s always been a large part of this website.
“I’m uncertain that your foray into political commentary serves you well …”
Considering that a notoriously corrupt Judiciary has been appointed by Politicians, as are utterly compromised Attorneys General which, in turn, trickles down to corrupt Prosecutors and spreads throughout the System, one cannot turn the spotlight on one aspect without revealing the others.
Kangaroo Court first turned such a spotlight on the nefarious activities and criminally corrupt dealings of the Labor Machine almost 10 years ago – you cannot examine one without finding yourself entangled in the entrails of the other.
To tell a committed, knowledgeable and fearless journalist that “dabbling in politics, … is going to destroy all of the good you have done … ” is an affront to his integrity and commitment to his pursuit of the truth … wherever that may take him.
Shame on you.
That pursuit, on behalf of ALL Australians, has cost Shane Dowling dearly – including the loss of his freedom with months in prison, not to mention his livelihood and the many hours of study and research that has equipped him to deal with what the rest of us don’t have the wherewithal to do.
Your preference, as a Liberal Party apologist, for what he does and doesn’t “need to dabble in” is of no consequence when it comes to the Big Picture.
I think Shane has every right to write about politics on his own website and you can’t be serious about Tony Abbott “ and probably the most honest politician we’ve ever had. He turned down the Prime Ministership rather than doing a deal with Oakeshott and Windsor, giving the job to the largely useless Gillard”. You know as well as I do that Oakeshott and Windsor saw through him and went for Gillard – even though Windsor says Abbott “offered him his arse” or words to that effect. And then on the eve of Tony getting to be PM he told us the biggest lies of all with his no cuts to the ABC, etc etc etc.
A fascinating and intriuging commentary on a current Australian Prime minister and party politics. Scott Morrison aka : sco mo (Scottish Lawn mower) is an obvious Psychopath pretending to be everyones friend (like all psychopaths) ALL politicians seek power,money, fame and are compromised prior to entering politics.See Malcolm Turnbull – another sociopath/nice guy only doing what was good for us and Australia. These so called politicians just read a script that is provided to them by the real people in power and they are the ones you never see and never vote for. Politics is just bad/boring theatre with no original thought or direction – voting is just part of the illusion. Just imagine if no one voted in the comming election. Now that would be radical theatre by the populace and what would these sad and pathetic ex politicians do with their lives – get a real Job- no they would be trying to rip-off the public in some other manner like becoming a CEO of a Major Bank, a consultant (read agent) of the Chinese Communist Government. “Do not VOTE” this is the best option. Then you will see the real masters emerging and the illusion will be over.
All politicians are ‘Post Turtles.
Relating to all politicians and local councillors
The old Aussie farmer’s answer to a UK migrant’s political question said, “Well mate, didya know, they’re is all ‘Post Turtles’.”
Not knowing what the old man meant, the English chap asked him what a post turtle was.
The old man said, “When you’re driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that’s a post turtle.”
The old man saw a puzzled look on the Englishman’s face, so he continued to explain,
“You know he didn’t get there by himself, he doesn’t belong there, he doesn’t know what to do while he’s up there, and you just want to help the poor stupid guy get
down.”
Then he said, “Watch yourself when you help him down, he will say thanks, write down all your details with your pen and paper, kick you down in the rear end, steal
everything you earned, bought, paid for, dignity and life for his own benefit.
He and his kind will suck you dry as a leach sucks blood from your body.
I really do not give a damn about all this innuendo about Scomo, my only interest is in which party can run the country properly and improve the economy. Do not tell me the labor party and especially Bill Shorten have the wherewithal to do it given their relentless effort to drive the country into an unaffordable dream for 50% renewable energy. And what about Bill’s past, previously reported by Kangaroo Court, BILL SHORTEN’S ALLEGED CRIMES ARE FRAUD, THEFT, ADULTERY AND RAPE TO NAME A FEW. SHOULD HE BE PM?
We are stuck with them all so It is a matter of who can best run the country.
None of them are fit to be in our parliaments or the judiciary as they are operating out side our supreme law book the Constitution act 1901 as proclaimed and Gazetted
Our political system is badly corrupted.
Are there enough adult Australian citizens who seek re-established odour-free politics and government to set up an activist movement demanding Constitutional revision and return power from our current crop of corrupt politicians to the people they are supposed to work for, us.
Looking back it seems every PM and MP since R G Menzies has brought baggage of one kind or another to a very loosely defined job. The latest revelations of Chinese interference and bribery shows how mendacious and greedy all our politicians have become.
If the AEC were truly interested it could simply make any and all targeted political donations illegal. Instead such donations should be forwarded through that body, receipted, accounted for and disbursed equally among all candidates at election time.
Grumpy wrote:
The latest revelations of Chinese interference and bribery shows how mendacious and greedy all our politicians have become.
If the AEC were truly interested it could simply make any and all targeted political donations illegal. Instead such donations should be forwarded through that body, receipted, accounted for and disbursed equally among all candidates at election time.
That’s an excellent idea, I would love to support anti corruption initiatives of this kind.