September 9, 2014. MEDIA STATEMENT
A statement from Greens MP Jamie Parker on today’s ICAC hearings.
“There are two parts to consider when we discuss these ongoing revelations of corruption. One is the moral bankruptcy of those sitting in our parliament. These are supposed leaders elected by the people of their electorate to represent them.
“The second is that these MPs are beholden to property developers. They have to repay the favours.
“We have already seen that mere weeks after being elected, then-Premier Barry O’Farrell repealed a property tax, which benefited a large donor. What other decisions have politicians made based on their relationships with donors?
“Corruption is not just about the money. It’s also about the favours that were bought with it.
“When Mr O’Farrell says it’s a small number of people in his party who’ve done wrong. It’s not. It’s nearly one in five. And that’s those who’ve been caught.
“He also said today ‘A good government is being overshadowed’. How can this be a ‘good government’, when nearly one in five MPs are dishonest and committing illegal acts, when one in five ‘owe’ their donors big time?
“It defies belief that the former state Liberal party president says she did not know who were the big donors to her party.
“It defies belief that the Free Enterprise Foundation(FEF) had no procedure to identify property developer donors.
“It defies belief that FEF donated $50,000 to the NSW Liberals in 2009-2010, and in the following year (after property developers were banned) they donated 14 times that amount - $700,000.
“Where is all this pointing? It points to a system so corrupt, unethical conduct is now the culture. It points to uncapped arrogance. It points to blatant disrespect for the public we are there to serve.
Be the first to comment
Sign in with