ABC News Radio

SUBJECTS: AWU Scandal; Final week in Parliament

E&OE………………

Marius Benson: Christopher Pyne, you have said yourself this has been a toxic year in Parliament. Polls show that the public has now a lower opinion of Federal Parliament through the year. How much responsibility does the Opposition specifically take for creating such a poisonous result?

Christopher Pyne: Well this year reminds me of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events starting with the Australia Day riots and shoegate and the matters surrounding the Member for Dobell, the unfortunate exiting of the former Speaker, the introduction of the carbon tax and then culminating this week in the AWU slush fund scandal. There’s no doubt that this has been a year where the Government has lurched from one chaotic, dysfunctional issue to the next.

Benson: Yesterday began with Tony Abbott accusing Julia Gillard of crime, of breaking the law. He backed away from that in Parliament. Is it still the Opposition’s claim that Julia Gillard broke the law?

Pyne: Well it’s our view that representations that the Prime Minister made to the Western Australian Corporate Affairs Commissioner convinced them to register the Australian Workers’ Union Workplace Reform Association. Because of that registration they were able to open bank accounts; because they were able to open bank accounts they were able to defraud Thiess and other businesses out of money that should properly have gone to Australian Workers’ Union members and therefore the Prime Minister played a role in that whole process because without her representations which were revealed yesterday the organisation would never have been registered in the first place.

Benson: But can I ask you again that narrow question, is the opposition still claiming she broke the law?

Pyne: Well if indeed it’s the case that the fraud occurred because of her representations to the Western Australian Corporate Affairs Commission that allowed the body to be established, then it’s quite likely or possible that she broke the Western Australian Criminal Code and the Associations Incorporations Act. So the Prime Minister still has questions to answer, some of those would be crimes if in fact we could get a straight answer from her.

Benson: ‘Quite likely or possible that she broke the law’, that’s a step down from what Tony Abbott was saying yesterday morning.

Pyne: But Marius this is why we need a judicial enquiry, I mean I can’t say with any great definition if the Prime Minister did or didn’t break the law, that’s what that judicial enquiry would be asked to discover.

Benson: But Tony Abbott did say that yesterday, he said she mislead the WA corporate affairs commission, that would be a breach of the law.

Pyne: Well, and it would be if in fact she did mislead the Western Australian Corporate Affairs Commission, and it appears that she did. Therefore, it would be a breach of the law and this is why we need a judicial enquiry to establish the Prime Minister’s role and a police investigation if there has been a breach of the law then charges should be laid. If they are laid at the door of the Prime Minister then the cards will fall where they fall.

Benson: Is the opposition’s aim to destroy Julia Gillard as Prime Minister or just diminish her? Because if you were to force her out, you would presumably face a more popular Kevin Rudd.

Pyne: Well Marius, the Opposition’s job is to hold a bad government to account. The Prime Minister leads the Government. Her integrity, her truth telling is very important to the reputation of the Government and the country. Who they replace her with is a matter for the Labor caucus, but I doubt it would be Kevin Rudd, I think it’s much more likely that it would be Bill Shorten.

Benson: Christopher Pyne, thank you very much.

Pyne: Thankyou Marius, and you have a good Christmas.

ENDS