last week Optus lined up their executive for a tech day and front and centre was Gladys Berejiklian, whose future has not been damaged one iota, by the release of the Independent Commission Against Corruption report that sensationally and without foundation or the providing of any criminal evidence claimed that she was seriously corrupt.
Now questions are being asked as to how much political spin went into the questionable ICAC report, and where is there any evidence of corrupt activities Vs clear evidence that the only mistake she made was having a bad choice in boyfriends and not reporting him to authorities.
Thou mind you; she was not in possession of any evidence that a corrupt activity had taken place because if she was it would have been outlined in the questionable report which lawyers acting for her are now pouring over.
One telecommunications industry executive (Most probably Telstra who are losing business to Optus) told The Australian he was “gobsmacked” Optus was standing by Ms Berejiklian amid the claimed corruption findings being handed down.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton earlier today defended claims that she had engaged in serious corrupt conduct.
Appearing on Nine’s Today program he said she was a “wonderful person” in public and private.
“She’s just a very decent person. She chose a bum basically, and he was a bad guy,”.
“I think that she has, you know, paid a big price for that and her integrity is not in question. She’s not a corrupt person. That’s not the person that I know.”
Berejiklian has served as Optus’ head of enterprise since February 2022 and she has not let them down having poached some big brands such as Super Cheap Auto to the telco, (Telstra were the loser).
You only had to watch mainstream TV last night, with the exception of the ABC, to witnessing the gushing support for her among both Labor and Liberal voters.
Over at Telstra she has become arch enemy #1 as she has the power and the pull to open doors as she has done in the poaching of government contracts away from Optus’s archrival.
After taking 605 days to deliver the report all ICAC could come up with was that Berejiklian failed to act on her former lover Daryl Maguire’s corrupt conduct.
Did she know he was or could corrupt or did she suspect he was corrupt? These are big differences.
And if the headlines in the report that claims that Berejiklian “engaged in serious corrupt conduct” are indicative of the over sensationalising of an issue by ICAC are anything to go by, why would you report something you may or may not suspect.
The findings were made as a result of Icac’s Operation Keppel investigation, which was set up to examine the conduct of Maguire, the former Wagga Wagga MP, between 2012 and 2018.
It was widened to include Berejiklian after she revealed she was in a “close personal relationship” with Maguire.
The big question now is whether she has a case against ICAC for over sensationalising an issue and not delivering any “corruption’ evidence.
One thing we do know is that Optus has ended up with a superhero, who when she calls, business is going to open the door to and that’s what the left-wing media hate and Telstra fear.
This media rabble who are well known for their lack of objectivity, are desperate to take her down, it’s a case of bugger the facts she is in their minds a ‘criminal’.
