A Magistrate has criticised a state MP for standing up for a mate facing a drink-driving charge. Magistrate Roger Prowse said the request for leniency by Nationals Kevin Anderson was hypocritical - and angrily told a lawyer to shred the MP's reference. He was also agitated that the politician tried to pass himself off as a businessman and not as a member of the state government.
The furore has embroiled Premier Barry O'Farrell and deputy Andrew Stoner - who are accused of misleading parliament in defending Mr Anderson. The revelation comes after a relatively scandal-free run for the government since winning the state election in a landslide. At the centre of the drama is Mr Anderson's second job running a private consultancy business, Centreboard Media, which offers "government liaison" services and claims to be able to open doors to the corridors of power.
The Sunday Telegraph revealed last week the member for Tamworth's company had been running for at leat two months after becoming a government backbencher. But in a statement to parliament last Monday, the Premier said Mr Anderson had not been involved in the company since he was elected. Mr O'Farrell said Mr Anderson removed himself from running the company, which had finished its final project in May. "Appropriately, he sought to absent himself from the company. I am advised that there was one ongoing project," Mr O'Farrell told parliament. "That project concluded in May."
Mr Stoner also played down concerns his photograph was on Mr Anderson's company website, adding: "The Premier has told the House the member for Tamworth has had no involvement whatsoever in the business since the March election and that the business was wound up in mid-May." But now a series of questions has been raised about the accuracy of the statements following revelations Mr Anderson wrote a reference for mate Richard Charles Mihell, 45, under CentreBoard Media letterhead after coming to power.
Mr Mihell was charged with drink driving the day after the election. He pleaded guilty to low-range drink-driving on April 18 and was sentenced on July 18. The reference was tendered to Tamworth Magistrate's Court on July 18 - almost four months after Mr Anderson said he was no longer involved with the company. Mr Mihell, who was given a six-month good behavior bond and fined $300 plus court costs, confirmed the MP had written him a reference for his drink-driving charge.
Mr Anderson denied misleading the Premier or parliament about CentreBoard Media. "This was a personal reference for an old friend of mine, to highlight his good character," Mr Anderson told The Sunday Telegraph. "I was not active in the business. The reason I used CentreBoard Media letterhead was because I did not want to influence the court in any way."
State Labor MP Walt Secord said Mr O'Farrell should apologise for misleading parliament, and order an investigation into Mr Anderson's business dealings since entering parliament.
Sources familiar with the case said the magistrate advised the lawyer that the MP's reference should be shredded. While he said he could not comment on the case, Mr Prowse confirmed the reference was written on Centreboard Media letterhead and that he refused to accept it.
Source: Sunday Telegraph 13 August 2011
