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Fiery Keating has Button admitting it was him flying a rhetorical kite
John Button: Cabinet gulf on Gulf War Help
John Button: Cabinet gulf on Gulf War
By ROSS PEAKE,
Political Correspondent
Paul Keating launched a vitriolic
attack on the Opposition yesterday
after former minister John Button
supported the Prime Minister's ar
guments in the ongoing row with'
Bob Hawke over the Gulf War.
Mr Keating called for an. apolo
gy from Opposition Leader Alex
ander Downer and said.Mr Hawke
should be pitied.
The Prime Minister, ignored sev
eral rulings by the Speaker as the
House broke into uproar, in a fi
ery ending to'the week's sitting.
When the Opposition switched
its attack to Mr Keating's pur
chase of a Sydney mansion, he
said the criticism was class-based.
Mr Keating provoked more up
roar when he accused the Victorian
Government of corruption over the
.Crown Casino contract. .
Mr Button broke his silence yes
terday to come to Mr Keating's
side, after Mr Keating and Mr
Hawke had' swapped insults during
the week and accused each other
of lying. .:
Mr Button said he, and no-one
else, had asked the rhetorical ques
tion, "What has the US ever done
for us?" during a meeting of Fed
eral Cabinet's security committee
to decide Australia's involvement
in the Gulf War.
Mr Hawke wrote in his mem
oirs, and has repeated this week,
that Mr Keating had used the.
words. Mr Hawke also said Mr.
Keating and Mr Button were luke
warm about sending, Australia
forces to the Gulf., ;; ' ? '
Mr Keating said yesterday he
had not spoken to Mr Button, but
his staff had contacted Mr Button
to say the Government was receiv
ing media inquiries about the for
mer minister's role in the ministeri
al discussions. Mr Keating will to
day launch Mr Button's book on
his travels - Flying the Kite.
,Mr Button told the ABC's Late
line program last night that he felt
he was "on my own" at the minis
terial meeting in questioning Aus
tralia's involvement in the war -
thereby backing Mr Keating's ver
sion of events.
Mr Hawke last night stood by
his allegations that Mr Keating op
posed Australia's involvement in
the Gulf War and said Mr But
ton's statement did not challenge
his central contention.
The row between Mr Keating
and Mr Hawke began on Tuesday
evening when the Prime Minister
broke his silence about Mr
Hawke's memoirs. .
He said Mr Hawke was lying by
claiming Mr Keating had not sup
ported sending Australian forces to
the UN detachment in the Gulf.
During a rowdy question time
yesterday, Mr Keating produced a
large sheaf of notes to argue his
case, including a newspaper article
from the time which said he had
been "gung-ho" about sending
Australian forces.
"Perhaps Mr Hawke cannot help
himself just now, perhaps he
should be an object of pity rather
than disdain," Mr Keating said.
When Mr Downer switched tac
tics, he,:pointed out that Mr
Keating in 1985 had described ne
gative gearing as a rort, and asked
if the Prime Minister intended to .
negatively gear the house he had
bought in Sydney for S2.2 million.
Mr Keating attacked Mr Down
er's origins, saying the Opposition
Leader believed it was an effron
tery for someone who was born in
small house to buy a large one.
"The thing about the Liberals is
that it really galls them that a La
bor leader can actually live in one
of their areas," he said.
< Crown won the licence to oper
ate Melbourne's first casino in
September last year.
Mr Keating, quoting from.a
Sunday Aw article, said a tender
: that was more than SI00 million
behind won the bid because of the
influence of prominent Melbourne
businessman and federal Liberal
Party treasurer Ron Walker.
$