Fairfax asked to explain Baillieu tape

DENIS Napthine has demanded Fairfax Media explain how a private conversation between a journalist and a senior MP was leaked.

Question Time 24 june 2014, Melbourne Question time at the Victorian State Parliament following the leaking of a recording of former Premier Ted Baillieu criticising his colleagues. Picture: Eugene Hyland

VICTORIAN Premier Denis Napthine has demanded Fairfax Media explain in full how a private, off-the-record conversation between a journalist and a senior MP was leaked.

Dr Napthine sought to deflect debate about government disunity onto The Sunday Age newspaper, which recorded a private conversation with former premier Ted Baillieu.

The recording was lost or stolen and then leaked, detailing Mr Baillieu’s criticism of several colleagues and his views on abortion and how they impacted on a preselection.

Dr Napthine said the newspaper needed to explain when it reported the recorder stolen to police.

The newspaper has been seriously embarrassed by the leak and Mr Baillieu’s reputation has been undermined after he stridently criticised some of his colleagues.

“I think the question has to be asked of The Age about how this happened,’’ Dr Napthine said today.

“Here is a background briefing given to a professional journalist which (has) now been widely circulated. Questions need to be asked of The Age.

“When did they call in the police to investigate this alleged theft?’’

Dr Napthine also backed Mr Baillieu, despite him having been exposed attacking his colleagues.

Dr Napthine deflected criticism by another former premier — Jeff Kennett — that Mr Baillieu should quit politics.

Mr Kennett urged Ted Baillieu to “get out” of politics and “get on with the next phase of your life”.

He told The Australian the leaked audio reflected Mr Baillieu’s “frustration” by remaining in parliament, and said he was never going to be premier or a cabinet minister again.

“I’ve often said to myself once Ted moved down (from his role as premier) ‘why do you want to stay there? Get on with the next phase of your life’,” Mr Kennett said.

“This (leaked recording) is a reflection of his frustrations by being there. If you’re going to be frustrated … get rid of the frustration. How do you get rid of the frustration? Get out.

“He’s never going to be premier again, probably never be a cabinet minister. Get on with your life. Life’s short.”

The Liberal Party is investigating rogue Liberal activists for allegedly leaking the secret recording.

In the recording, which was ¬allegedly stolen, the former premier unloads to the journalist about the abortion issue and a contested state preselection.

In an extraordinary turn of events, The Sunday Age’s off-the-record interview with Mr Baillieu was leaked after Fairfax claimed a recorder was stolen, enabling a political opponent or opponents to swoop.

Mr Baillieu was quoted attacking state Liberal MPs Michael Gidley, Murray Thompson and Bernie Finn and — by implication — the party’s candidate for the safe inner-eastern seat of Kew, Tim Smith.

The party is expected to call in forensic experts to determine who gained access to the emails, which included key advisers in the Abbott government.

The crisis has strong parallels with a 2008 scandal when Liberals from party headquarters were found to have run a blog openly condemning Mr Baillieu, who was then opposition leader.

Several senior Liberals yesterday slammed Mr Baillieu for speaking to The Sunday Age reporter, whose dictaphone allegedly disappeared earlier this year.

It is not normal for journalists to record off-the-record conversations with MPs, with the convention being that only on-the-record discussions are taped with the permission of the interviewee.

Mr Baillieu, also recorded attacking this journalist, has refused to comment.

Several government MPs yesterday demanded Mr Baillieu be forced out of the government, -although he is endorsed for his safe inner-city seat to run again at the November 29 election.

In the recording, Mr Baillieu alleges that rebel independent Geoff Shaw was sponsored by key members of the Liberal Party.

“Shaw has been sponsored into this position by a bunch of people from the very first day led by (anti-abortion MP) Bernie Finn and some of his crazy mates in the parliamentary team,’’ Mr Baillieu says in the conversation.

He says that this year’s Kew preselection was “really, really nasty’’ and draws a comparison with the 2002 leadership coup suffered by Dr Napthine and the preselection of Mr Gidley in 2005.

Asked if Mr Gidley was anti-abortion, Mr Baillieu says: “Yep. yep.’’

On Mr Gidley, Mr Baillieu says: “And he was no good then.’’

On Murray Thompson, a veteran MP who is the son of former premier Lindsay Thompson, Mr Baillieu says: “No idea who you’re talking about because I never hear his name mentioned anywhere anymore. Not even by himself.’’

The recording was leaked with a largely accurate transcript and “dirt sheet’’ alleging the reporter is actively involved in Liberal preselections, a claim that’s strongly denied by The Age’s editor-in-chief Andrew Holden.

‘‘It appears the dictaphone of one of our reporters has been stolen, and one conversation on that recorder used to attack her and a member of parliament. The actual recording proves the transcript has been edited in such a way as to support those attacks,’’ Mr Holden wrote on The Age website.