Politicians at work

By Melanie Sjoberg

ADELAIDE — A cloud has hung over the former Liberal deputy premier, Graham Ingerson, since he was accused of misleading parliament in May. The air was cleared last week by some stunning political manoeuvring.

Ingerson was initially accused of misleading parliament when he was suspected of influencing the appointment of the chief executive of the Racing Board. The accusations, made in parliament, were categorically denied by Ingerson and a cross-party commission was established to investigate the matter.

The investigation's findings were announced in state parliament last week. They declared Ingerson guilty of misleading parliament and found that he had made telephone calls about the appointment of the Racing Board executive.

Ingerson had already resigned as deputy premier. He apologised to parliament on July 22, claiming that he had not realised that he was doing anything wrong.

The parliament heatedly debated his fate. One independent Liberal backbencher, Rory McEwan, made a last-minute shift in his thinking. After strongly criticising Ingerson's behaviour, he voted with the Liberals against a motion of no confidence in Ingerson. Another independent Liberal, Peter Lewis, has been isolated from the party because of his refusal to toe that line.

To justify the Liberal Party position, Premier Olsen declared that Ingerson had paid the penalty by stepping down from his leadership position and suffering the embarrassment of his apology.

Media pundits have overlooked the real issue. An elected parliamentarian deliberately used his political office to influence a high-salary, powerful, public-sector appointment. This is called patronage. In Indonesia, the people have called for an end to this form of corruption and the resignation of officials with connections to the Suharto regime. In Australia, it seems, the politicians will get away with saying "oops, sorry".

From GLW issue 326