Page 187 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 15 February 2012
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Kim Sattler, Secretary, Unions ACT: Barbara… Barbara… Do you want me to give you the details?
Barbara Shaw, Aboriginal activist: Yeah.
Kim Sattler: They’re both in a reception at the Lobby Restaurant which is just up the corner, and Abbott’s just made a statement to the press that the tent embassy should be pulled down. He’s over there.
Now, is that important? I think it is important. I will tell you somebody else who thinks it is important: Mr Anderson has been a long-term supporter and indeed one of the originators of the Aboriginal tent embassy. Mr Anderson of the Aboriginal tent embassy says:
The fact is that somebody tried to gain political mileage here, for maybe, the Prime Minister or the Labor Party itself.
We now have a link in the chain that says a member of the Labor Party, the chief of staff of the minister for Indigenous affairs in this place—apparently without his knowledge, or so he tells us—made the call that “the person you need to speak to is Kim Sattler”. We are told it is a media inquiry. What media inquiries to Kim Sattler originate from this phone call? I do not think there are any media inquiries.
Mr Seselja: Only after.
MR SMYTH: Only after the fallout and after everyone’s story changed. Everybody’s story changed. Ms Gillard: “Nothing to see here.” The press sec: “Oh, didn’t do anything wrong.” Ms Sattler: “I didn’t say that.” Everything has changed, so everything is open to question. It is reasonable to clear the air in this place and the part of the minister—and thank you for that, Mr Corbell—who was acting in an official capacity and was there as the representative of the ACT government on this day. Remember what the code of conduct says: “Staff act at our behest”. So the minister for Indigenous affairs in the ACT believes it was entirely appropriate to give Ms Sattler’s name to the press sec at the Prime Minister’s office. There is therefore a question that can be asked, and should be asked: what was the question to his chief of staff and why did his chief of staff choose Kim Sattler? They are reasonable questions.
Thank you very much, Mr Corbell. It is very rare that Mr Corbell is so obliging in putting the context on a thing so clearly and succinctly. He was on official duty. He is always, as we all are, represented by our staff, a point many made quite clearly yesterday. So we now know that the chief of staff, a member of the Labor Party, on behalf of the minister did the directing. The directing led to a lie being told about Tony Abbott’s statements that led to the near riot—call it whatever you want—that saw the appalling scene of an Australian Prime Minister being bundled from a reception on Australia Day to escape the anger of that group that moved to the Lobby Restaurant.
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