Only in Australian Politics

Where else would you ever hear claims of the Prime Minister doing dodgy deals over a second hand ute? Yes, it has been a great month for Australian politics, as MP's sling their last hand full of mud before the winter break.

So what is the issue?

In a nutshell: The Government has a scheme (called OzCar) where it gives financial assistance to struggling car dealers. The opposition alleged there was an email stating that Kevin Rudd recommended giving assistance to an Ipswich car dealer, and that details of such a deal were faxed to Wayne Swan's home. Malcolm Turnbull called for Rudd and Swan to resign, and Rudd called for Turnbull to produce the evidence or resign. No evidence was produced, and after an investigation by the government and the AFP, it was found that the email was a fake. But the mud continues to fly.

So while accusations and mudslinging continue, it appears that no heads are going to roll. There was no substantial evidence to prove that Rudd had given preferential treatment to the Ipswich dealer. The AFP cleared Swan from receiving the email/notification of the deal, plus it was also a fake. Turnbull was clever from the start, by claiming that he never saw the email, so he could accuse Rudd and Swan all he liked.

But aside from this, the timing of these accusations were perfect. Too perfect. The CPRS is about to be put through the Senate, and it appears that it is not going to go through. The Greens are demanding greater cuts, the Liberals lower cuts, and Steve Fielding has to be different, and so is denying climate change (partially anyway). The Liberals are wanting to have a united front when it comes to this particular policy, as they were crucified on this subject at the previous election. So the whole ute/OzCar/email fiasco may not just be muddying the politicians, it may be trying to distract the public from any political 'meltdown' over this piece of legislation.

The sooner this mess is cleaned up, the better! But I wonder, who's got the ute?

LINKS

The Age - Email a fake

ABC - AFP confirm OzCar email