Scrutinising Megan Anwyl - an Untouchable?The Desert Rat thought it may be illuminating to look at the activities of political lobbyists who were former members of the Socialist Left faction of the Labor Party and former MP's.
Why haven't any of these lobbyists beeen pursued or put under the scrutiny by the Crime and Corruption Commmission. Why have only the centre and right politicians come under scruting - some of it malicious.
Are Left faction apparatchiks off-limits; protected species who have political immunity from scrutiny?
Megan Anwyl who had the ignominy of being the only ALP MP to ever lose the safe State ALP held seat of Kalgoorlie since federation. Anwyl was the only Labor member to lose her seat when Geoff Gallop led the ALP to victory in 2001. She went south when everyone else was heading north.
Anwyl would have lost the seat four years earlier if it wasn't for Julian Grill taking over and re-jigging her election advertising campaign which she didn't realise was badly damaging her prospects.
She has since hung around Perth hoping for Left Faction endorsement for a safe seat, but she had a snowflakes hope in hell, as the Left Faction campaign managers and apparatchik's involved in her failed 2001 campaign found her impossible to work with.
Anwyl coundn't even get a sinicure appointment from a Left Minister. It was left to Centre Faction's Transport Minister Allanah McTiernan to come to her rescue and provide a board position on the Esperance Port Authority (EPA).
Anwyl showed no interest in keeping the Kalgoorlie to Esperance railway line open when it was under threat of closure by Westrail and which was vital to the viability of the Esperance Port. That was left to Julian Grill, Mark Nevill and Graeme Campbell to secure the future of the rail link during its threatened closure.
The Desert Rat recalls the antipathy she had to the mining industry when a Member of Parliament. A Damascene conversion seems to have taken place since her defeat, as the mining and exploration now puts the butter and jam on her EPA bread.
At the Esperance Port Authority, Megan Anwyl was on the Board before during and after the lead carbonate poisoning of the town and it population. All the males Board members have either left the Board or have not been reappointed - but the precious Ms Anwyl continues. She was there before and during the negotiations to ship lead carbonate from Magellan's Wiluna mine through the Port of Esperance.
Anwyl seem untouchable at the Esperance Port Authority when it comes to accepting her share of the blame for the poisoning. Why on earth did Allanah McTiernam reappointed her? Does Allanah think the Left have treated her unfairly?
Since getting dumped from her Kalgoorlie seat by her electors, Ms Anwyl has plied her trade as a political lobbyist, first with the Labor Party aligned lobby group Hawker Brittian and now out on her own. Why would she leave a group so well connected to the ALP and who are literally "raking it in" under Labor Governments all over Australia - away from the scrutinising eye of the CCC? Was she dumped?
The Desert Rat is aware she had a sinecure with the BHP Billiton's Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine Project early in her wilderness period. They actually complained about the lack of progress they were making with the Gallop Government. The Desert Rat's informant referred them to Julian Grill - unintendedly starting his demand as a lobbyist. Julian Grill achieved in a few months what Anwyl didn't make progress on in nine months. The Desert Rat would like to examine the Esperance Port Authority Board minutes to find out if Megan Anwyl disclosed any lobbying conflicts of interest while on the EPA Board.
The Desert Rat asks the question: Why should any lobbyist be on a Government Board that has dealings with the lobbyists clients?
Her new clients are iron ore hopeful who recently engaged her to chair the North West Iron Ore Alliance and Skywest Ltd. She has been flying from Perth to Esperance each month for five or more years at the taxpayers expense overseaing the the EPA pollute the town with lead. It's not surprising she has Skywest as her client.
Let's hope she has learnt a little bit about the basic physical chemistry of lead in recent times.
If Jim McGinty's Corruption and Crime Commission had been even-handed in its politicking it would have examined the activities of more lobbyists than just Julian Grill and Brian Burke.
The Desert Rat is waiting for a post from CEO Mike Silverstone (through a third party!) justifying his his strange activities.
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