State of distrust wrote:
SunRRA has been in contact with ALP MP's who have been supportive of its work and are welcoming the widespread exposure of poor political representation of a needy community for what it really is. Are you sure they weren't just telling you what they thought you wanted to hear? And when it comes to the crunch, they will choose political survival over a high-principled breadline? Sorry, if nothing else, the long fight to reveal the Brimbank Scandals has taught me to trust no-one in power.

I agree there is no longer any real trust or respect for the ALP in this area anymore.

Things have really swung hard this last month and people are laughing about the ALP now. You know the laugh - the what a joke they are laugh.

More interesting developments in today's Age (29 May 2009) http://tinyurl.com/n2vv9k

PREMIER John Brumby has cleared the way for controversial Labor MP George Seitz to be dumped from Parliament.

Battling to contain the damage caused by the Brimbank Council affair, Mr Brumby yesterday refused to endorse the veteran MP and party powerbroker for preselection at next year's state election.


But in an embarrassment to the Premier, Mr Theophanous last night challenged Ombudsman George Brouwer to a debate on his report's findings.

"I refute the Ombudsman's finding that I influenced the council unduly," the MP told the ABC.

That's what you want. Shoot the messenger (the Ombudsman) and the whistleblower (George Seitz).

It's interesting that Labor is trying to make George Seitz the issue now. They are relying on the fact that most people haven't read the Ombudsman's report. George is a minor focus of the report. Hakki on the other hand is a major focus of the report. No-body comes out smelling worse than Hakki (and by implication Madden). Yet they are going to give Hakki a slap on the wrist - and George will be the fall guy.

Labor is relying on the fact that most people haven't read the report. Their focus on Seitz implies that Seitz was a big focus of the report. They are playing tricks, as usual.

But in effect they are shooting the whistleblower. Who will ever want to blow the whistle on corruption in parliament after this?

I know a thing or 2 about Whistleblower legislation. I sat in parliament when the bill was debated. Of course, the legislation is designed to expose corruption, while protecting the whistleblower. Labor has done exactly what the whistleblower legislation was trying to protect - they've turned on the whistleblower. They've also turned on the Ombudsman - and they've made a sham of the legislation.

Justin Madden Knew Everything - Ned Kelly Told Him!!!

Candy wrote:
Justin Madden Knew Everything - Ned Kelly Told Him!!!

Justin Madden is a Lying Dog

Old George for all his faults has been and still is a much better local state member than Justin, Telmo, Marsha, Marlene and Martin,and a better MP than the federal ones like little Billy Shorten, Brendan O'Connor and others.

Its pure revenge when the Hakki camp have been shown to be the problematic issue in the O man's report.

The community will take care of Hakki, Brumby, madden, Shorten and the others who are playing god with our families and community's future. Once and for all.


http://www.theage.com.au/national/madden-facing-noconfidence-motion-20090529-bqba.html

Madden facing no-confidence motion

* David Rood
* May 30, 2009

PLANNING Minister Justin Madden faces parliamentary condemnation over the Brimbank Council scandal, with a no-confidence motion accusing him of knowing about corruption in his office and failing to act. The parliamentary move comes as a powerful Labor committee was last night expected to all but end the political career of the veteran Labor MP George Seitz.

A damning Ombudsman's report found that former minister Theo Theophanous, Mr Seitz and Mr Madden's former electorate officer Hakki Suleyman were all found to have inappropriately interfered in the Labor-controlled council's affairs.

The Opposition motion to the upper house, which will be considered next week, states that Mr Madden was informed of issues concerning Mr Suleyman as early as 2005, but "allowed politically corrupt activities, including improper influence and political standover tactics", to continue.

The Government does not have a majority in the upper house, where it has been almost 20 years since a no-confidence motion has been passed.

Liberal upper house leader David Davis yesterday accused Premier John Brumby of failing to hold Mr Madden to account: "If the Premier does not see it as important to act and sack a minister who has allowed corruption to continue in his office over a 10-year period … the Parliament has got to take a stand."

Mr Madden has told upper house President Bob Smith that he no longer trusted Mr Suleyman and wanted him out of his electorate office.

Yesterday, the minister's spokeswoman Sofia Dedes branded the motion a "grubby stunt". "(Opposition leader) Ted Baillieu, who is soft as butter, sends out David Davis to do his dirty work for him again," she said.

Labor's administration committee was expected to shift preselection for several state and federal seats in the Brimbank area — including Mr Seitz's electorate of Keilor — from the hands of party members to the ALP's national executive. This move threatens Mr Seitz, as his strong local support would have little sway on the party's national executive.

The push is coming from key figures within the Premier's Right faction, and is believed to have the support of Mr Brumby, who has called for action to "clean up" the party in the wake of the Brimbank scandal.

But the move has been criticised by Mr Seitz's factional backers, as well as other Labor figures, for using the scandal to "execute a hit" on the veteran MP.

Seitz supporters voted against the motion at last night's meeting, saying it was simply designed to "knock off" Mr Seitz, and not deal with the issues exposed by Brimbank.

Mr Seitz, who is a member of the administration committee, declined to comment yesterday.

Mr Theophanous, Mr Seitz and Mr Suleyman are all prominent players in Mr Brumby's Right faction.

Flick Madden like dross.

Great cartoon showing Madden at his political best.

Also shows Brimbank Council in its true light. A pig sty of a Council needing a big big clean out.

Can someone scan the Knight cartoon in.

Mark Knight wrote:
Great cartoon showing Madden at his political best.

Also shows Brimbank Council in its true light. A pig sty of a Council needing a big big clean out.

Can someone scan the Knight cartoon in.To you mean the old Council or the new?

well hell, they've been called pigs here for ages.

I love it (the Twitter site)! How apt that it is on Twitter. After all, Madden is a twit!

Things are getting shaky, very shaky. Who will fall first? Madden, Hakki, Brumby, or Newnham? George Seitz doesn't count - he's the red herring and he'll be gone regardless.

Parliament, next week. Yipee! It will be the greatest show on earth.

Cliff Ex wrote:
Can you check for a staffer at Rob Hulls office, see if one has a criminal record?

The Sunday Herald Sun has the story today - "Hulls defends staffer" on p 24.

"Attorney General Rob Hulls is facing fresh scrutiny as concerns are raised about a staffer who has convictions for fraud, forgery and dishonesty.

"Gordon Lennox... is working in Mr Hulls's Niddrie electorate office.

"The offences were committed while working as an electorate officer for then Federal Industry Minister Alan Griffiths.

"This week Planning Minister Justin Madden will face a no confidence motion in the Legislative Council over his employment of Mr Suleyman as his electorate officer."

Let's see... how does it go?

Madden employs a criminal thug in his electoral office and claims not to know anything about it.

Haermeyer as police minister employs a convicted fraud in his electorate office and get promoted to Germany.

Attorney General Hulls employs a convicted fraud and forger in his office, knowing of his criminal background and "defends" his staffer.

What's left to say?

Dirty Dog wrote:
Candy wrote:
Justin Madden Knew Everything - Ned Kelly Told Him!!!

Justin Madden is a Lying Dog

Whoof! Whoof!

Are the any other Labor Unity pigs in the West employing criminals in their electoral offices?


...

"Lucky Mr Madden is seven feet tall or he'd be up to his neck in it."

The following was sent in an email to all Victorian MPs.

-------------
Justin Madden & Hakki Suleyman

Things are getting shaky, very shaky. There must be a lot at stake here, because despite all the sins of Hakki Suleyman and Justin Madden that have come to light, Brumby refuses to act.

In the recent Ombudsman’s report, nobody was more dreadfully implicated in the corruption at Brimbank Council than Hakki Suleyman, and his daughter Natalie Suleyman, and of course by implication, Justin Madden. It is really atrocious how the Suleymans were allowed to abuse a community for many years. And as damning as the Ombudsman’s report is for the Suleymans, and for Justin Madden, the report only scratched the surface of what has been going on in Brimbank for many years.

And what is Brumby’s response to all this? Let’s sack Seitz! Let’s sack the Whistleblower.

Come on, come on! Stop treating the journalist like idiots. Stop treating the community like idiots. Most of all, stop treating Labor MPs and Labor members like idiots. All of these people are relying on Labor to act responsibly. Instead, Labor is gambling on the hope that most people have not read the Ombudsman’s report. After all, as engrossing as it is, it is more than 200 pages in length. And Seitz comes out smelling like perfume compared to Hakki Suleyman. Yet, from Brumby’s actions to date, you’d think that the majority of the report was about Seitz. Don’t be fooled.

Sacking George Seitz is no action at all. Seitz committed political suicide that fateful day in 2008 when he got up in parliament and lit a match, then threw it on Labor Unity’s tinder box. It should have ignited in 2005, when concerned residents wrote to Madden, and when Vogels spoke in parliament, about the atrocious behaviour of Hakki Suleyman and the Brimbank rorts. But, conveniently, Madden chose to ignore all of these concerns, and labelled anyone who raised them as “politically motivated”. The consequences for Labor in 2009 are far greater than they would have been had it acted in 2005. There has got to be a lesson in this for Labor, somewhere.

By standing up in parliament and blowing the whistle on corruption in Brimbank, Seitz put an end to his career. But by this one action he also did more for the western suburbs of Melbourne than any MP has in decades. Everybody knows he is the master branch stacker, but this wiley old fox is now a hero of the western suburbs. He would have known he was committing political suicide by taking this action, so he must have been prepared for what is now coming to pass. He knew he would be gone for blowing the whistle and for no other reason, but Brumby would like you to think otherwise.

Why sack George Seitz now? Seitz was plastered all over the front page of The Age for branch stacking in 2006, but Labor chose to sit on its hands then. Despite the damaging allegations in 2006, Labor even changed the rules, with the help of Bill Shorten, so that Seitz wouldn’t have to retire prior to the last election. The Ombudsman’s report is far, far less damaging to Seitz than The Age’s front page report was back in 2006. So why Sack George Seitz now? Why not back in 2006?

Clearly, Brumby’s actions are designed to take the focus off Hakki Suleyman and Justin Madden. His actions are also designed to punish the whistleblower. They will send a strong message to anyone who thinks about taking similar actions in the future. Couple this with Bob Smith’s threats to investigate the Ombudsman, and you’ll see that Labor is making a mockery of the whistleblower legislation. Labor’s actions have shown that whistleblowers will not be protected and that the Ombudsman will be forever compromised. How can the Ombudsman possibly hope to be truly independent after these actions?

Regardless of Bob Smith’s little political investigation, regardless of how much Labor harasses, intimidates, and humiliates the Ombudsman, the corruption outlined in the report on Brimbank did happen. You and I both know that, don’t we, Bob?

Labor’s actions have only provided further evidence of why we desperately need an independent crime commission (requiring both majority government and majority opposition support to appoint and to sack the CEO). Bring it on.

Come on, Come on! Let’s stop the argy-bargy. You're not fooling anyone, Brumby. Let’s deal with the real problem. Sack Hakki Suleyman and Justin Madden and let’s be done with it.

Peter Gordon wrote:
The following was sent in an email to all Victorian MPs.


By Whom?

What does it matter?