John Howard and Tony Abbott – the lies and deceit continue Simon Crean - Leader of the Opposition

Media Statement - 28 August 2003

John Howard still doesn't know where he stands on Pauline Hanson.

But it's clear there is one thing the Prime Minister doesn't stand for, and that's telling the Australian people the truth.

In an extraordinary performance on ABC radio this morning, Prime Minister John Howard:

• Attempted to rewrite history by claiming that the establishment of the Trust Fund, Australians for Honest Politics, demonstrated the Prime Minister's commitment to halting One Nation as far back as 1998, when:
  • the Prime Minister as recently as last Friday denied any knowledge of the Trust Fund and until today has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Trust Fund's establishment or operation; and
  • the Prime Minister was openly courting Pauline Hanson and repeatedly refused to rule out preference deals with One Nation, until after the Liberal Party's disastrous performance in the 1998 Queensland election that year demonstrated the folly of that strategy.
• Refused repeated requests to repudiate the behaviour of Minister Tony Abbott, who lied to the Australian people about his promise to cover the costs of legal action by Mr Sharples against Pauline Hanson;
• Refused repeated requests to declare his commitment to complete honesty in politics by committing to tell the Australian people the whole truth about this matter; and

Mr Howard's performance this morning is clearly a reaction to the public destruction of Tony Abbott on the 7:30 Report last night when the Minister's lies and deceit over his involvement in Pauline Hanson's downfall were exposed for all to see.

Before Mr Howard makes another ham-fisted attempt to blame Labor for the mess his Government is in as a result of its lies and deceit over Pauline Hanson, he must first answer the following questions.

• Did his office, or any other senior Coalition figures receive stolen computer records from One Nation, as alleged by Terry Sharples in the Sydney Morning Herald today?
• Why has he not repudiated Bronwyn Bishop for her repeated and baseless assertions that Pauline Hanson is a political prisoner of the Beattie Labor Government?
• Why does he not order Tony Abbott to make public the source of the donations for Australian For Political Honesty, now that both he and Mr Abbott have admitted the fund was established to benefit the Liberal Party?

There is only one side of politics that is acting hypocritically in relation to this matter: the Liberal Party.

By contrast, Labor's position on Pauline Hanson has been principled and consistent. Labor has always been up-front and honest in our opposition to One Nation. Labor did not do political deals with One Nation and it was Labor that took the lead by putting One Nation last on all our how-to-vote cards. We have always sought to defeat One Nation through the ballot box, not via the back door.

The Liberal Party has consistently sought to use dirty tricks and suspect funding mechanisms to defeat its opponents, creating artifices like the Greenfields and Millenium Foundations to hide the identity of wealthy donors.

John Howard consistently sought to cosy up to Pauline Hanson and win votes from her supporters, while at the same time plotting her political destruction.

Today's events show that the Prime Minister still doesn't know where he stands on Pauline Hanson. The Australian people are judging the Prime Minister for his lack of conviction.

Related Sites:

• Audio - John Howard on AM, ABC Radio (RealMedia) (New window)
• 7:30 Report transcript - Tony Abbott on 7:30 Report, ABC TV (New window)