The current federal Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources David Littleproud has direct family links to the $20 million Murray-Darling Basin fraud which has resulted in police charges in Queensland. David Littleproud’s wife’s cousin, John Norman, is the kingpin of the alleged $20 million fraud and was charged in August 2018 after the police raided his farm in October 2017.
Yet David Littleproud is the one Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the government has overseeing complaints and an investigation into the separate $80 million Murray-Darling Basin Watergate scandal involving federal MP’s Barnaby Joyce and Angus Taylor.
This is shaping up as one of the biggest fraud scandals the country has seen.
There is a federal $13 billion Murray-Darling Basin plan which put simply covers rivers / water flow in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia. It says on the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) website:
“The Basin Plan aims to ensure the water resources of the Basin are shared between all water users in a sustainable way. It is about striking a balance and maintaining a healthy and productive system to sustainably support industries and communities.“ (Click here to read more)
Buying back water rights and/or giving grants to farmers for water-efficiency projects are two ways the Murray-Darling Basin plan is meant to achieve its stated goals. But water buybacks and the water-efficiency projects have been left wide open to fraud. David Littleproud’s wife’s cousin, John Norman, claimed $millions for water-efficiency projects on his properties and he is alleged to have actually used the money for farming instead.
While the $80 million fraud involving federal MPs Angus Taylor and Barnaby Joyce involves a water buyback fraud at inflated prices and the money being funnelled to an overseas company based in the Cayman Islands that was originally set up by Angus Taylor. There are still many unanswered questions and both Barnaby Joyce and Angus Taylor are refusing to answer those questions.
The main focus of this article is David Littleproud and his perceived bias and links to a number of water frauds. But if you are new to the story watching the below video gives a very good backgrounding to the Angus Taylor / Barnaby Joyce $80 million fraud.
For backgrounding on this story it is also worth reading the article I published a few days ago titled “Lawyers for MP Angus Taylor fail to back-up $80 million #watergate fraud defamation legal threats”
David Littleproud and his connection to John Norman and the $20 million fraud charges
In 2016 one of John Norman’s neighbours, Bruce Lamey, started making complaints to local, state and federal governments about whether commonwealth money was being diverted by John Norman for other uses. The Guardian reported in April 2018:
Lamey says he contacted his then-newly elected federal member, David Littleproud, in 2017, urging him to stop the commonwealth grants to Norman Farming and find out how the money was being spent. He says he didn’t hear back from him.
Littleproud is now the minister for agriculture and water resources. His office says the grants were a state responsibility and Lamey needed to take it up with the Queensland department. And despite the fact that Littleproud’s wife, Sarah, is a cousin of both John Norman and his wife, Virginia, the minister dismisses any family connection.
His spokesperson said: “The minister has no idea and no interest in whether the Normans are somehow related. “Norman is his wife’s second cousin whom he hasn’t seen for years. There are zero business links between the minister and Norman Farming.” (Click here to read more)
The below video is the news report from August 2018 of John Norman being charged by the Queensland police.
In researching this article I came across a document which seems to be a chronology of events of Bruce Lamey’s issues and is from The Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission which was set up and run by the South Australian government.
Two entries in the chronology of events of Bruce Lamey that are relevant to David Littleproud:
26/7/17 Lamey-Mark Coulton no progress Littleproud no help, I think it’s time to go to the media, is there anything else that can be done.
25/1/18 Littleproud generic reply it’s a state issue not a federal issue. (I hit the roof) (Click here to see the document)
It has now been reported by The Saturday Paper that:
“Former Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Keelty is examining links between political donations and the issuing and buyback of agricultural water licences, amid concerns that undeclared conflicts of interest could be fuelling corruption.”
Who appointed Keelty?
“Keelty is conducting inquiries in his capacity as the Northern Basin commissioner for the Murray–Darling Basin, a position to which the federal agriculture minister, David Littleproud, appointed him in August last year with the support of the Labor opposition.”
And what will Keelty do? Bugger all!
“Mick Keelty emphasised his role is not to investigate the purchase of the two licences, but to ensure the appropriate authorities follow up concerns as they arise. In this case, he says that authority is the auditor-general.” (Click here to read more)
It’s also worth noting that the Royal Commisson handed down a report in January 2019 and it was very critical of Barnaby Joyce finding Joyce “ignored the law“.
The below video from February 2018 is David Littleproud getting very upset and refusing to answer the question asked by federal MP Rebekha Sharkie in relation to an overpriced water buyback. Which specific buyback it was I don’t know but it might be about the $80 million fraud involving Joyce and Taylor as mentioned above.
Another video worth watching is the Lateline story below from the 31st of August 2017 which is titled “Murray-Darling Basin plan a ‘failure’: Farmers claim water backed up in Queensland” and also deals with David Littleproud, John Norman and Bruce Lamey.
The Guardian reported on the 25th of October 2017 that the police raided the farm the day before and said it was 2 months after the police started their investigation. That means the coppers got off their rear ends almost to the day when the below report was aired on Lateline on the 31st of August 2017. Nothing like a bit of media to motivate law enforcement officers to do their job.
Not only does David Littleproud have a huge conflict of interest but his electorate is where a lot of the water fraud and alleged water fraud is taking place so he is the last person who should have been made Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources.
A lot of people are hoping this story goes away but it is important that there is a Royal Commission into Australia’s Watergate as it shows how federal politicians are up to their necks in grand scale fraud for personal gain and how they launder money of which at least some makes it way back to the political parties.
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Categories: Angus Taylor, Barnaby Joyce, David Littleproud
You are delving into the very fabric of Australian country politics. Unfortunately it has a 230 year old history of theft and corruption. Under the pleasant façade of every country town lies its workings. The squattocracy sits at the top, “The Dry As A Bone Mob”, they were and still are the Baron robbers (See Norman conquest), beneath this layer sits the Waanabees, The Fletcher Jones Mob, and beneath them are the Guns and Roses Mob. The legislative structure, the courts, the lawyers, the politicians are formed out of this fabric which is corrupt and works out of self-interest controlled by the powerful. It is not surprising that the control of our main water supply has been corrupted and until we the Australian Citizens realise and understand the game that is being played out against our families and communities by these soulless devils the erosion of our nation will continue at an ever increasing rate. We desperately need a parliament run by people with integrity and principals unlike the bunch of puppets who have currently chosen by our lords and masters to pretend to represent our interests.
Spot on.
Absolutely all correct – but the question is, HOW? How do we get a parliament with integrity and principles? How to we kick out the pigs and get better ones?
Our politics is just “Animal Farm, the Musical”.
Water should never be able to be bought or sold by anyone other than the government – and it should be at the same rate as would normally be charged! It is beyond belief that we have ‘water traders’ who do not even farm land! Water is an essential item – not something to make a profit from. Water in this respect, should always be attached to agricultural land.
Well said.👏👍🏻😡
We need to make them all accountable for their actions & pay back every last cent… sack them immediately & let the public know that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated in the future.
Bring on the honest & decent Australians to run our country & make all Australian businesses prosper & make us all proud, once again…👌
I was also the victim of water “theft”. Many years ago I had a 1 Million gallon water right, with an extra Million gallons reserve. For a time it was good, I planted my own vegetables, was able to water a small patch of lawn around the house, etc.
Unfortunately, I lost the use of the paddock on which my dam was located. I went through the correct channels, jumped through hoops, Etc. and was granted a dam sight further back in the bush. Being slightly lower than my old dam I had to put in a back breaking effort to get the water down to my property. This took several years. When set up, I asked for a couple of days water run from the water race. I was told the water right had been taken from me. I was offered a good price for my water right which I refused as I needed it. This was ridiculous, I complained high and far to no avail. Later one of the offerers suddenly had more water, it was my water right transferred to him. Both State and Federal Government were Labor. I was robbed.
Water theft keeps dilooting one’s weakly earnings until they tank.
Diarmuid Hannigan you are correct, but therein lies a huge problem.
You write, “We desperately need a parliament run by people with integrity and principals”, and the same has been written by many people on this site.
I have written many times on this site, “Where, when and how will you find the individuals with integrity and principals to be sworn in whom we need to run parliament.”
A copy of the Magna Carta is in the foyer of Parliament House, The Constitution Of Australia is based on it, the Constitution is ignored by politicians who agreed to Serve the people of Australia when they were sworn in to office, Bible in hand.
They preach under the ‘umbrella’ of the Bible and Christianity but secretly, and out in the open they do not have religious beliefs, they are a hypocritical gathering of miscreants, liars, cheats, and selfish, greedy ill-educated crooks and criminals.
Diarmuid – just keep writing and pushing for change – never give up – more and more are starting to wake up – it will gather momentum when least expected.
We cannot give up. Right must one day prevail. Remember what Wiliam Wilberforce said when he was totally outnumbered and fighting against the slave trade. He said in Parliment “You can look the other way but you cannot say you did not know”. We need to keep up the pressure.
Great article, Littleprouds electorate holds a valuable area for the basin if he as the water minister would clean up his and Barnaby Joyce’s home town of St George the basin would be in a lot better shape.
There is a great deal of pressure and it builds every day, the chaos within the Judicial structure also continues to hurt and destroy this nation. Their blind myopic arrogance prevents them from realising their time is nigh and are deaf to the sounds of the howling wolves. With a bit of guidance and direction the current mood will bring about their Exodus. Once they are stripped of their ill gotten power there will be a new and better direction for this country.
This is so bad yet these people are still around I’m totally disappointed with our system of governance something needs to be done take their land make them pay back the money and blow up the dam and let the Darling river run again for god sakes what is happening to us?
I run away from Brazil, a known corrupt country. 40 years ago I found a safe haven. Now I don’t know anymore. Let’s change this garbage
Welcome to the land of Corruption – Australia – Liberals have been corrupt for many years going back to Menzies era and so on – have been in Govt 70% of the time – now they have political donations and no tracking of their bank accounts, it’s open season for how fast they can funnel Govt revenue into the hands of private corporations and mates; and then get rewarded with strategic jobs where they can lobby their residual MPs still in Govt.
If John Norman is convicted and has to pay back so money that he ends up going broke, which would mean that he then mustn’t be seen to have the whairwithal to be going long on any particular shair on the stockmarket…could the conviction be said to have given him a ba$in haircut?
Keelty is on the case…..giggle….
The only way is massive public uprising. Walk into parliament and remove them.
When a government fear the people there is laws for all, when a people fear a government it is a dictatorship, as stands now.
They are criminals. Most of us know that.
The police are their watchdogs. The police are traitors.
The army is for the people, perhaps. We will see.
Never happen. We have lost all unity of purpose in this country. Not by accident either. They have known exactly what they are doing all along.
PB, You are correct.
Strange he is National Party leadership groomed by The hard done by Barnaby Joice
How appalling to be controlled by such a bunch of total losers. Littlewhatever and the other shallow pigs.
maybe we should park some gear on the road in front of our property and stop the country until they listen ?? , beats driving to Canberra and you get some work done at home at the same time
These criminals should be dragged out of our parliament and tried for treason
Why the hell are these people leading our country under the supposed with a duty to protect the interest of our country and the healthy survival of our nation. Water should belong to EVERYBODY and should not be used in profitable outcomes for INDIVIDUALS. Unreal.
I am sure the ensuing investigation by ex AFP boss, Mick Kelty will have all these rats running for cover and we will see and hear about corruption left right and centre. While Kelty is at it I hope he asks Barnaby Joyce where the $75million in water from Lake Tandou went!!!
Reminds me of the Milky Bar Kid, I am still amazed how these low life’s are still not in jail regardless of stature, shame on you when my country burns, fish die, people lose their houses and lives while these zelets live high on the hog without any consiquence. Could you please show some empathy.
I’m going to water my mums 5 acres with a hose instead of watering it by bucket which I did last week for 3 and a half hours – and then gave up from exhaustion- I have suffered a brain aneurysm and stroke and this is tooo hard for me – So let me know where I can send the fine 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬Minister
White collar crime looking after their cronies.
So they can bother prosper like parasites.
Inside trading in the open.
Changing the course of the way the water should flow naturally.
But appears to flow effortlessly into the Caymans!!!!
I Worked in WaterNSW, so corrupt I uncovered too much waste when looking at cost savings and the financials. Nasty bunch in there.