A real Hansongate?
There’s an aspect to the slush fund fiasco that I missed until this afternoon:
Yesterday, Mr Sharples also claimed that another One Nation defector, its former treasurer Ted Briggs, had delivered two CDs concerning the party’s finances and membership to the Sydney office of the Prime Minister, John Howard.
Mr Sharples said Mr Briggs, who died in November 1998, had told him of flying to Melbourne and paying “at least $10,000″ for copies of stolen computer records obtained from One Nation’s headquarters in the Corso, Manly.
“Ted said he paid the money, flew to Sydney and handed the CDs to a senior administrator at Howard’s office,” Mr Sharples said. “He then flew to Brisbane and dropped off some other copies at [National Party senator] Ron Boswell’s office.”
If a link can be proven between the theft of One Nation records and Howard’s office, that would be a major scandal. In fact, it would have enough parallels to a certain famous incident to legitimagely attract the now bandied-about “gate” suffix… although it would still be lame.
I originally thought this would be a 2or 3 day wonder but this story is growing legs every day.
This may prove Abbott’s undoing yet.
History shows it is the silly things that hurt Ministers.
It won’t matter Rob. Even if John Howard shoots Pauline Hanson in public he will win the next election.