| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Meteorite Debris" |
| Date: |
10 Sep 2005 01:34:31 AM |
| Object: |
NSW Lib war: Hockey in attack on Clarke |
NSW Lib war: Hockey in attack on Clarke
Author: Steven Scott
Date: 07/09/2005
http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?sy=afr&docID=AFR0
50907FI78M\
4DE08V
( http://makeashorterlink.com/?P684145CB )
Federal Liberal frontbencher Joe Hockey launched a vehement attack on
NSW Liberal right-wing powerbroker David Clarke yesterday, calling on
him to declare where he stands on social issues such as abortion and
homosexuality.
Mr Hockey, the federal member for North Sydney who is aligned with
small-l Liberals, has added to the factional warfare that has been
raging within the NSW Liberal Party since the resignation and suicide
attempt of former leader John Brogden.
"David Clarke is a member of the NSW parliament and now that he holds
extraordinary sway over the NSW Liberal Party, I think people all have
a
responsibility to ask him what he stands for," Mr Hockey said. "Mr
Clarke has to be accountable for his words."
He also called on Mr Clarke to explain his views on divorce and
corporal punishment in schools.
Mr Hockey's outburst comes after conservative federal MP Tony Abbott
defended Mr Clarke in parliament on Monday, saying his views were "not
uncommon".
Mr Clarke, an upper house MP and member of the fundamentalist Catholic
movement Opus Dei, has been accused by moderate Liberals of
masterminding a shift to the right in the NSW Liberal party, by
securing support for new leader Peter Debnam.
Mr Clarke's staffer Alex Hawke said his boss had a pro-life stance on
abortion but did not support changes to laws on divorce, homosexuality
or corporal punishment in schools.
Mr Hawke is the federal president of the Young Liberals, whom Mr
Brogden previously blamed for the rumour campaign that caused his
resignation.
Mr Hawke declined to comment on NSW MP Patricia Forsythe's claims that
the Liberal party had been taken over by "extremists" and "zealots".
But he said Mr Clarke was taking legal action against former Liberal
party member Irfan Yusuf, who told ABC TV on Monday night that Mr
Clarke had attempted to recruit Labor-voting Muslims to the Liberal
party by exploiting anti-Jewish and anti-homosexual views.
Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop yesterday attacked Mr Yusuf in federal
parliament after he said she had marginalised sectors of the Muslim
community.
She said she had been misrepresented, but "as he has not resorted to
bomb-throwing, I guess we can handle his accusations".
Mr Debnam said Mr Hockey was "playing political games" on the
"fringes" of politics. "There will always be some people who are going
to play political games around the party. The rest of us are simply
getting on with the job."
Mr Debnam said the Liberal party would not shift to the right.
Deputy NSW Liberal leader Barry O'Farrell, who dropped out of
contention for the leadership last week amid rumours he was a victim
of the right-wing push, said yesterday Mr Clarke was not an extremist.
"I had a cup of coffee with David Clarke today quite happily," he
said.
--
Remove YOUR_SHOES before replying
apatriot #1, atheist #1417,
Chief EAC prophet
Jason Gastrich is praying for me on 8 January 2009
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~pk1956/
Apatriotism Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/apatriotism
Sunday: A day given over by Americans to wishing that they themselves
were dead and in Heaven, and that their neighbors were dead and in
Hell.
-Mencken
.
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
