Fed: Clark demands equity with parliamentarians

AAP General News (Australia)
12-08-2003
Fed: Clark demands equity with parliamentarians

By Rod McGuirk

CANBERRA, Dec 8 AAP - ATSIC's suspended chairman Geoff Clark today demanded to be judged
by the same standard of behaviour as federal parliamentarians.

Mr Clark faces the sack from his $240,000 a year job for misbehaviour after his appeal
failed last week against a conviction for obstructing police during a pub brawl.

Mr Clark leapt on the controversy embroiling Australian Democrats leader Andrew Bartlett
who grabbed and abused a government senator while he was drunk in the Senate last week.

Mr Clark questioned whether Senator Bartlett, Opposition Leader Mark Latham and government
backbencher Wilson Tuckey were as guilty of misbehaviour as ATSIC's first democratically-elected
boss.

Under the ATSIC Act, Indigenous Affairs Minister Amanda Vanstone can sack Mr Clark
if she considers his behaviour has brought ATSIC's integrity and reputation into public
disrepute.

Mr Clark said federal MPs had brought parliament into disrepute without losing their seats.

"I just think there needs to be a bit of equal standing here," Mr Clark said.

"The fact that there's all sorts of behaviour that's occurring when you're in political
and public life and is the same rule of law being applied to the chairman of ATSIC as
to these other people?

"Is this a political assassination or is this a genuine misbehaviour situation which
is of the same degree or worse than the others ... who are in the media spotlight who
have been involved in other incidents that they keep reminding each other of?"

Since Mr Latham's elevation to the Labor leadership last week, he has come under renewed
scrutiny for injuring a tax driver during a fare dispute and for crude descriptions of
political foes and US President George W Bush.

Mr Tuckey, nicknamed Iron Bar after he assaulted a hotel patron with a metal cable,
was dumped from the frontbench after he breached ministerial guidelines by attempting
to get his son off a traffic fine in South Australia.

Senator Bartlett has taken indefinite leave while his party considers the future of
his leadership.

"I've even gone past Bartlett, I don't think we should get into personalities," Mr Clark said.

"I could mention Iron Bar Tuckey and Latham, and if you wanted to sweep through the
skeletons in the political system, you'd probably come up with a dozen incidents, if you
like, where people would say: well, that's misbehaviour."

Senator Vanstone is expected to make a decision on Mr Clark's future this week.

He was suspended in August because of two convictions stemming from the pub brawl.

A conviction of riotous behaviour was quashed on appeal last week.

"The minister is seeking some advice and once she's got that, she'll be making a statement
soon," Senator Vanstone's spokesman said.

AAP rmg/sb/apm/br

KEYWORD: CLARK

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