Bob Carr and NSW Labor: Arrogance and a certain stench

Peter Mac

Orange Grove! The name conjures up images of hundreds of retail 
workers and small business owners thrown out of work by the NSW 
government's decision to close a cut-price Sydney retail complex, 
apparently at the behest of the retail giant, Westfields.

Construction of Orange Grove, a large retail complex at 
Liverpool, west of Sydney, was originally approved by Liverpool 
Council. It had the imprimatur of the Carr Government, despite 
widespread concerns about the project, particularly the site 
zoning.

Orange Grove's trading operations sparked complaints from 
Westfields, which owns a huge retail centre close to the new 
Orange Grove complex, and which is also a major contributor to 
NSW Labor.

At first Carr maintained that he had not been influenced by 
Westfields. "I have not met with Westfield chairman Frank Lowy to 
discuss the matter", he declared. However, he has now been forced 
into the humiliating admission that his Chief of Staff did in 
fact meet with Lowy, and that the project was discussed at 
length.

But Orange Grove is only one of many Carr government scandals. In 
one recent example, Carr escaped a conviction of contempt of 
court by the narrowest of margins. This would almost inevitably 
have led to his having to stand aside as premier.

The case centred on an inquiry by the Independent Commission 
Against Corruption (ICAC) into a series of catastrophic failures 
in Sydney's public hospitals and, in particular, allegations of 
medical and administrative malpractice made by a number of 
hospital staff "whistleblowers".

The evidence given to the inquiry, and the behaviour of Carr and 
his ministers, have revealed an astonishing level of government 
arrogance concerning issues of public health and criticism of 
government policy.

In the course of the inquiry a number of employees from Sydney's 
Campbelltown Hospital stated they had previously approached the 
then minister for Health, Craig Knowles, with evidence about 
clinical and administrative misconduct at Campbelltown Hospital.

They claimed Knowles had become increasingly aggressive during 
the course of the interview, tapping his fingers on the table 
with annoyance. They said he had finally slammed his fist on the 
table, stating that one of the people the nurses were complaining 
about was a friend of his and that they had better be right, 
because they could lose their jobs and their homes as a result of 
their defamatory statements.

As might be expected, Knowles claimed that throughout this 
discussion he had been remarkably forbearing, reasonable and 
even-tempered — in fact, quite saintly really. Moreover, he 
claimed he had behaved in a similarly exemplary fashion during 
another interview with a nurse from Fairfield Hospital, who had 
also described having been verbally mauled by the minister.

However, it was not Knowles but Carr who eventually incurred the 
wrath of the Commissioners. Towards the end of the inquiry the 
Premier claimed in a media interview that evidence brought before 
the inquiry had vindicated Knowles, who was (according to Carr) 
the victim of attempts by one of the whistleblower nurses to 
blacken his reputation.

The Commission concluded that Carr's remarks could be interpreted 
as a denigration of the Commission's independence, and that they 
could also be regarded as a "wilful insult" to one of the 
witnesses.

In the event the Premier issued a heavily qualified apology to 
ICAC (but not to the nurse), and the Commission decided not to 
prosecute. However, both the ICAC inquiry and the Orange Grove 
saga have left an indelible impression of arrogance and 
corruption at the highest levels of government in NSW.

And finally, the Carr Government is now considering introducing 
jury majority decisions instead of unanimity, to convict those 
accused of crimes. This has far more to do with currying favour 
with that section of the electorate which bays for harsh 
penalties, than with the pursuit of justice.

And all this from a Labor government, that would claim it has an 
unshakeable commitment to the nation's working people, who has 
almost brought the public railway system to its knees, ignores 
long hospital waiting lists and fails to protect injured workers 
and their families.

In point of fact, the behaviour of the Carr government is 
characteristic of those who believe they have a God-given right 
to govern, and who do so in the interests of developers and other 
sectors of big business (and, of course, themselves), rather than 
ordinary working people.