[MSN] Australia. MPs shocked by Qld Parliament House theft

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MPs shocked by Qld Parliament House theft
The World Today - Wednesday, 28 June , 2006  12:30:00
Reporter: Melanie Christiansen

ANDREW GEOGHEGAN: In Queensland, some of the state's longest serving MPs
have expressed shock today by the case of stolen parliamentary furniture.

This week, a 14-year-old audit of the furniture and fittings at Queensland
Parliament House was referred to police, along with allegations that
hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property had gone missing sometime
in the 1980s.

And there are suggestions that the thief could have been a former MP, as
Melanie Christiansen reports.

MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: The speaker of the Queensland Parliament Tony McGrady
called in police this week after he was contacted by a former employee of
the Parliament with astounding allegations. 

Mr McGrady says the former employee conducted an audit of parliamentary
property back around 1992, and ever since then has suspected things had gone
missing. And not just minor souveniring, Mr McGrady says, but theft on a
grand scale.

TONY MCGRADY: We'd be talking about beautiful chairs, armchairs, maybe
bookcases, display cabinets, that sort of stuff.

MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: And Mr McGrady says the former employee has said he's
willing to name names to the police, possibly even the names of former
politicians.

TONY MCGRADY: I'd be very angry if I thought that former politicians, some
of whom have passed on, were involved in anything which has taken beautiful
property which belongs to the people of Queensland out of that magnificent
building.

MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: It's an allegation that has taken the Speaker at the
time, long-serving Labor MP Jim Fouras, by surprise.

JIM FOURAS: I was never made aware of the audit. Had I been made aware I
would have remembered and certainly would have taken some action, I would
have refereed it to the police. 

MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: Are you sure that this never made it to your office?

JIM FOURAS: Absolutely. I mean, you wouldn't forget something like that. 

MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: Nor is sure how any would-be thieves would have got
away with it.

JIM FOURAS: You know, there's security there, you just wonder how it would
walk out of the place. The security system's pretty good there and you would
think they would pick up, if large pieces of furniture were going in and
out.

MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: Long-serving National Party MP Lin Powell was the
speaker in the late 1980s. He says there had been some talk about missing
furniture.

LIN POWELL: There were always rumours about those sort of things happening,
but I always thought they were back in the dim dark ages, as it were and
certainly saw no evidence of it during my time in Parliament.

MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: Tell me about the rumours that were around.

LIN POWELL: Oh, they were rumours about one person back in the 1940s, I
think it was, that decided that a table they'd taken a liking too was their
and they took that home with them when they retired from Parliament; odd
chairs were taken. I know nothing of anything else though.

MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: And certainty nothing beyond a little cutlery
pilfering in more recent times.

LIN POWELL: I have no idea how anybody would be able to spirit things out of
the Parliament House, except for things like spoons or something like that. 

MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: So it would surprise you if any of your colleagues had
taken anything from Parliament House?

LIN POWELL: I'd be astounded. 

MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: And so would another former colleague, a 30-year
veteran of the Queensland parliament and long-time Minister Vince Lester.

VINCE LESTER: I certainly didn't hear anything of anybody doing that. Why
they would want to do it, I wouldn't know. How on earth could you show off
something in your house that belonged to Parliament? It would be stupid.

MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: Oh, I guess they might have been able to sell it, it
would have been valuable.

VINCE LESTER: Well, I'd hate to be at an auction trying to flog off
something from the Parliament. How would you tell the art dealer that it's
from Parliament House. They'd say how did you get it? Oh, I stole it.
Heavens above.

MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: And he says he can't think of any former colleagues
who'd have anything to hide.

VINCE LESTER: They can come to my house any time they like, won't worry me. 

MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: There's nothing there stolen from Parliament House?

VINCE LESTER: (Laughs) Absolutely not.

ANDREW GEOGHEGAN: Long serving Queensland Minister Vince Lester ending that
report from Melanie Christiansen. 

http://www.abc.net.au/