As reported in the SMH of December 22/21 this year, Dyson Haydon, who heads the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption, said the following in respect of Julia Gillard. Her ‘intense degree of preparation, her familiarity with the materials, her acuteness [and] her powerful instinct for self-preservation made it difficult to judge her credibility’.
What an extraordinary and remarkable things to say by a Commissioner who is a former High Court Judge. Would he have preferred Julia Gillard to be un-prepared and incompetent before the Royal Commission? If he could not find against her credibility he should have left it at that and refrained from gratuitous comments.
The Royal Commission that we really need is an enquiry into massive tax avoidance by wealthy individuals and large corporations who are paying minimal or no tax at all.
There is a lot of privilege and unfairness in Australia that needs exposure and correction.
John Menadue is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Pearls and Irritations. He was formerly Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, Ambassador to Japan, Secretary of the Department of Immigration and CEO of Qantas.
Comments
4 responses to “John Menadue. What a remarkable thing to say!”
Perhaps Julia should have used the LNP Defence – ‘I don’t recall’. Agree that Dyson should have refrained from gratuitous comments.
It was indeed an extraordinary comment for a former High Court judge to make. In my view, such an inappropriate statement provides an indication of his competence or impartiality and renders other findings of the Royal Commission very suspect.
That is exactly what I was thinking. Indy Aust Peter Wicks has been doing excellent reporting on this BTW
Agree wholeheartedly – extraordinary comments forms judge to make. Is clear the govt is using judicial processes for political purposes.