it would appear the protectors of all good over evil were more incensed by Pallister being before the court (a matter yet to be resolved) where the following has occurred and is fact and yet NO comment from any of the do gooders on here.
Is that..........odd?
Cloud over Liberal RBA appointment
Email Print Normal font Large font November 29, 2005 - 7:09AM AdvertisementAdvertisement The Howard government rewarded one of its biggest political donors with a seat on the Reserve Bank board even as he was fighting the tax office over a Caribbean tax-haven deal labelled "tax evasion" by investigators that led to a $150-million settlement.
The Australian Financial Review reports Adelaide businessman Robert Gerard, who has been on the RBA board since March 2003, was in effect forced to sell most of his 83-year-old family business, Gerard Industries, maker of Clipsal electrical fittings, to pay the tax bill.
The settlement in mid-2003 ended a 14-year investigation and came after Mr Gerard's appointment was taken to cabinet by Treasurer Peter Costello, the paper says.
Mr Costello, who oversees the tax office, has declined to answer a list of questions about Mr Gerard and the tax investigation.
The Treasurer told the newspaper Mr Gerard, before his appointment, had provided confirmation from the ATO that he had no current disputes with the tax office in respect of his personal tax affairs.
Mr Gerard told the AFR he had told Mr Costello about his ATO dispute.
"I told the Treasurer to check with all the departments before I went on the board," he said. "He rang me back and said: `I know there's an issue with the tax office but I don't have a problem with you on the board.'"
