Brawl Over Role In Alp Breakfast

Newcastle Herald

Wednesday September 24, 2008

IAN KIRKWOOD

THE Hunter Valley Research Foundation has been drawn into a political brawl over its involvement in an economic breakfast to be held on Monday with Treasurer Wayne Swan.

Mr Swan is in Newcastle on Monday as part of the Federal Government's "community cabinet" process and is scheduled to speak at Club Panthers Newcastle along with research foundation economist Robin Mcdonald.

Invitations to the event were sent by email on Monday from the foundation's marketing manager Maree Campbell.

The problem was, as federal Liberal MP Bob Baldwin pointed out yesterday, that the event was a fund-raiser for the Newcastle ALP, hosted by federal Labor MP Sharon Grierson.

The invitation asked for cheques to be made out, at $75 a head, to the "Newcastle FEC" (Federal Electorate Council, an ALP body) and noted that donations of up to $1500 were tax deductible.

"I wasn't aware that the Hunter Valley Research Foundation had become a fund-raising arm of Sharon Grierson's ALP operations," Mr Baldwin said yesterday.

Ms Grierson defended the arrangements, saying Mr Baldwin was looking for "cheap political points" but Ms Mcdonald said she understood the concern.

"We agonised over it both the decision to speak and the decision to distribute the invitations but at the end of the day, it's the Government, and we are supporting the government of the day by contributing to this community forum," Ms Mcdonald said.

"It doesn't matter which political party is in government. On the other hand, we would not have done it for an opposition, regardless of who was in power."

Ms Mcdonald said it was crucial that the foundation was impartial and was seen to be impartial but said the forum with Mr Swan was too much of an opportunity.

"I will be giving a no-holds-barred talk on the problems facing this region, which I have titled the 'Good the Bad and the Ugly'," Ms Mcdonald said.

"I do not intend to hold back on what will be a warts-and-all overview of the region, with a focus on one pressing issue the lack of educational attainment in this region."

Ms Grierson said Mr Baldwin's attempt to score cheap political points would not endear him to those interested in Australia's economic future.

She said the foundation was "one of a number of local organisations to circulate information" on the breakfast.

"If Mr Baldwin doesn't think it's important for the Newcastle business community to know about the opportunity for them to hear and question the Treasurer of this nation, then he should just say so," Ms Grierson said.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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