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A Liberal Party minister in the Federal Coalition has been the target of a ‘fact file’ which claims he regularly visits bath houses and harasses other men in political circles.
Brisbane’s Sunday Mail ran an extract from the ‘fact file’ last week, which read in part, “Witness has seen him go to a bath house in Sydney on several occasions. Rumored that he is sleeping with one of his staff members in Canberra.”
Though the newspaper declined to name the minister, it has since been revealed he is Christopher Pyne, a prominent supporter of Peter Costello.
While the Howard Government blamed Labor for circulating the story, the ALP maintains the source was a Liberal Party figure.
Veteran journalist Laurie Oakes has also linked the smear campaign to the Liberal Party, claiming the same allegations were “fed” to him by a Liberal.
“It’s one of those dog fights within the Liberal Party – and you get them in the Labor party too – people trying to feed muck around about their opponents within their own organisation,” Oakes told News Limited.
Openly gay politician Brian Grieg, a former Democrat MP, said homophobia was an inherent part of the political community and the ongoing double standards it perpetuates.
“There is a huge hypocrisy in Australian politics,” Grieg told Melbourne Community Voice.
“There are closeted MPs in both political parties and if their private lives are at odds with the political views, such as voting against gay marriage, then I think their hypocrisy should be exposed. The Australian political culture is very immature and unsophisticated around this area.”
Tasmanian activist Rodney Croome said he had read the ‘fact file’ on the internet.
“The evidence upon which the whole thing hinges is very poor. It’s all innuendo, unreliable evidence and unsubstantiated allegations,” Croome said.
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