FOLLOWERS of current events might have been surprised the other day to hear an announcement by Speaker Peter Slipper, who was widely quoted as asserting he had been found by the Department of Finance to be innocent of rorting. “Peter Slipper Cleared Over Expenses” was a typical headline, particularly in the Fairfax press, where editors appear not to have paid too much attention to the AAP report’s first paragraph, which attributes the purported exoneration to no greater authority than Slipper’s say-so. Now that a little time has passed, curiosity is re-asserting itself, at least in some quarters.
Slipper’s local rag, the Sunshine Coast Daily, is demanding the full text of the department’s probe, not just bare ledgers listing six months’ worth of taxi trips, where they began and how much taxpayer’s were billed for getting Team Gillard’s latest recruit from A to B. An index of the department’s Slipper-related inquiries can be found here. Of those records, one is especially fascinating.
Here, for example, is a little sequence of to-ing and fro-ing over the course of a couple of days in September, 2009. Remember, Slipper represents an electorate quite a bit to the north of Kings Cross, a simple fact that makes it rather hard to conceive just what business he might have been pursuing on behalf of his constituents, especially at midnight, in that notorious precinct.
21-Sep-09 Suburbs Uni Of NSW 22:31 $13.22
21-Sep-09 Suburbs Kings Cross 23:02 $14.73
22-Sep-09 Office Taylor Square 00:38 $6.86
22-Sep-09 Office Kings Cross 07:24 $11.52
22-Sep-09 Office Brickfield Hl 18:52 $7.27
22-Sep-09 Suburbs Taylor Square 20:03 $11.10
22-Sep-09 City Kings Cross 21:12 $7.97
23-Sep-09 City Kings Cross 06:15 $7.77
In another of the travel manifests, this one listing Cabcharge manual dockets (as opposed to the computerised ones above) for the same few days, there are indications Slipper has been gifted with the remarkable ability to be in two places at once:
21-Sep-09 Buderim Airport $290.00
21-Sep-09 Airport Suburbs $115.00
22-Sep-09 Suburbs Suburbs $125.00
22-Sep-09 Suburbs Suburbs $135.00
23-Sep-09 Suburbs Airport $90.00
23-Sep-09 Airport City $85.00
23-Sep-09 Brisbane Buderim $295.00
There may be an innocent explanation for all this, as the listing of Queensland cabs includes no references to the times those trips began and concluded. So it is possible that Slipper’s interests really did see him shuttling repeatedly between Sydney and his home turf during those frantic few days. But it would be nice to see the full copy of the Department of Finance investigation, as that might put many questions and uncharitable suspicions to rest.
Perhaps one of those quality journalists we hear so much about might care to make some inquiries – if they are not too busy worrying how Gina Rinehart’s interest in Fairfax Media will stop them doing their jobs, that is.
UPDATE: The destination listed as "Brickfield Hl" would be appear to be the Brickfield Hill B&B. A charming home away from home, it boasts of major bedrooms equipped with four-poster beds. How very romantic!
UPDATE: The destination listed as "Brickfield Hl" would be appear to be the Brickfield Hill B&B. A charming home away from home, it boasts of major bedrooms equipped with four-poster beds. How very romantic!
