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Just another day in the swill that is NSW politics

Tory Maguire

by Tory Maguire

20 May 06:06pm

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Filed under: David Campbell, Kristina Keneally, Nsw, Nsw Politics, Politics, Scandal

132 comments

Updated 7.25am: Sydney’s Daily Telegraph reports it was known inside cabinet for years that Campbell had been visiting gay clubs and saunas. There’s analysis here and you can watch a video report including the Channel 7 footage here.

NSW transport minister David Campbell has just resigned after being sprung using his taxpayer-funded car to visit a gay sex club (funny how it’s always the car that does them in).

David Campbell in happier times

Seven News showed footage of the married father, who has actively campaigned as a family man, leaving the club where you pay $22 to spend time with like-minded blokes.

On Tuesday night just gone he’d ditched his driver, and driven himself to the establishment known as Kens at Kensington. The Kens website says: “Ken’s is the spacious, clean and safe place to meet sexy guys. Ken’s has everything you want in a venue — ideal for a short lunch-break, a long hard evening or day, or meeting up with (or finding!) someone special!”

Mr Campbell has just released a statement apologising to his wife, family, colleagues and staff.

“This will be a very difficult time for my family and friends,” he said.

In any other government this scandal may have signaled a change in fortune, but tonight in Sydney it’s just being labelled another nail in the coffin for the NSW ALP.

The Iemma/Rees/Keneally Government has had its fair share of dramas, from the distressing conviction on child sex charges of Milton Orkopoulos, to the more mundane undies dancing of Matt Brown and affair of John Della Bosca.

Most of the time you would characterise tonight’s events as “explosive revelations” but instead there’s a sense of here we go again.

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Most commented

431Australia, you have nothing to fear but fear itself
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132 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • Bruno says:

      06:41pm | 20/05/10

      Let’s not confuse the issue here, spending time with like-minded blokes in NSW is not illegal and not a crime. Using a tax funded car is something else.

      Reply

    • Seano says:

      07:43pm | 20/05/10

      Absolutely.

    • Teddie says:

      09:09pm | 20/05/10

      using a tax-funded car for any small trip around town that doesn’t break the law isn’t that big a deal, tho.

    • Tim says:

      09:14pm | 20/05/10

      So let’s be consistent and go for the throat of any minister who has taken their car down to the shops for a loaf of bread.

      (I think you’ll find using a government car for personal business is neither illegal nor a crime, Bruno. Not great form, but not a crime.)

    • Andrew says:

      10:57pm | 20/05/10

      Isn’t the undercurrent here that the guy have “campaigned” as a family man but is actually playing the other side of the fence, the car bit is just an excuse to run a holier than thou tawdry story.

    • James Waites says:

      08:01am | 21/05/10

      I agree with this view - to bring a politician down (whatever one’s views on his achievements as a politician, his sexuality, or even infidelity as a married man) on the basis of driving his government vehicle about 6 kilometres (round trip from either office or Sydney residence) is beyond the pale. Esp from this government - so full of morally compromised people.

    • Bruno says:

      08:02am | 21/05/10

      Apparently ministers have full private use of their cars. The disgrace is not in his behaviour, but in the media stalking him for doing something that is legal, but not popular.

    • SD says:

      08:05am | 21/05/10

      Or anyone who uses a company car to drive to the beach on the weekend.

      He was in his own time = nothing to do with the car

      Aside from that - I’m not sure why he has quit. He must be ashamed, but for no good reason. I don’t really see what all the fuss is about.

      Maybe he just wanted someone to talk moustaches with.

      Who knows, and who cares.

    • Andrew says:

      08:30am | 21/05/10

      Spot on! And this should be the issue and it should not be confined to just David Campbell, all Pollies who use the public purse for person use should be called out.  The rest of the issues are not for public scrutiny!

    • James Waites says:

      08:43am | 21/05/10

      Oh and by the way - many people go to KKK just to enjoy the non-sex facilities:  have a steam, a swim, watch TV, a chat with someone like-minded. Relax a bit away from the cares of your day job or family. Visiting there does not even imply infidelity. it’s very clean, you can enjoy a coffee - it used to have a pool table. if you meet someone you like and have (safe) sex with them - well for $22 bucks…who’s complaining?

      I want to know who was waiting for him outside this venue with the camera. Do they have me on camera? Am I just lucky not to be famous?

    • Fredd says:

      09:19am | 21/05/10

      Andrew (2), “all Pollies use the public purse for person use should be called out” - rubbish - it’s a matter of degree.  Did you post from work this morning?

    • Keef says:

      09:23am | 21/05/10

      Actually, there is no restrction on the use of Ministerial cars in relation to private use. The same rules apply for company cars.

      Ch 7 has this morning has admitted there was nothing improper about David Campbell using his ministerial vehicle for private uses.

    • Futureproof says:

      06:42pm | 20/05/10

      NSW you voted for these people.

      Reply

    • acker says:

      06:52pm | 20/05/10

      Campbell should phone Jason Akermanis for some advice, your right why the hell don’t they have the brains and go in some kind of disguise…he was the minister for transport and he got caught by using his chaufered car, probably got caught in a traffic jam.

      Reply

    • Matt says:

      06:36am | 21/05/10

      Not a chauffered car. The car is part of his package. If he can take it to the shops, he can take it to a gay sex club. The only explaining he needs to do is to his wife, when he doesn’t come back with the milk and bread.

      Tell me where this is illegal.

      No, actually, tell me how this is in the public interest?

      What a disgusting, grubby story from a disgusting, grubby network.

      Good to see the double standards - Kochie and Mel talking about how insensitive Jason Ackermanis is in the morning, then outing a gay man’s private life for no particular reason other than he’s a “public figure”. (not to mention the morning shows’ fascination with camp Hollywood reporters…)

      Nice one Seven. You’ve now lowered yourself to the standards of Hey Hey. All a report like that does is convince people not to watch the yellow journalism that passes for your news.

      Campbell should sue for invasion of privacy - and I reckon he’d win. He’s got nothing to lose now that those disgusting luttle t*rds at Seven has decided his reputation should be trashed.

    • Sez says:

      10:00am | 21/05/10

      Couldn’t agree more, Matt - tabloid journalism at its finest.
      David Campbell owes an explanation to his wife (presuming she was unaware and that he was actually unfaithful), and nothing more.

    • Jen says:

      11:04am | 21/05/10

      Matt says:06:36am | 21/05/10

      Right On about Sunrise, Matt;-  This is what happened later and I am switching Mel & Kochie off.  I thought Karl and Lisa were the losers;-

      I think these situations require empathy more than persecution. There was an (older) lady on Kochies Angels this morning who completely slammed Mr Campbell about deceiving his family etc. Whoever you were?; getting on a public grandstand and sledging, DOES NOT help his family. Hypocrite…........ (I wish Edna and their sons all the best).........

    • Grumbles says:

      11:08am | 21/05/10

      Matt, he is not just a public figure, he is a publically elected pollitician who mislead his electrate and the Australian people about his morals and ideals, the only fools that would defend him are the same idiots that will elect Labor again in NSW and complain that their state is slowly swilling down the toilet

    • Nitzpicker says:

      07:13pm | 20/05/10

      Ian Hewitsons doppelganger.  Just needs a set of bright suspenders.

      Reply

    • Sjef says:

      10:57am | 21/05/10

      lol - I never noticed until you said it.  Now I can’t not notice.

    • biff says:

      07:29pm | 20/05/10

      The next time the F3 is tied up in a traffic tangle someone will be asking: Where is the Transport Minister? The answer will be shot back: Let’s check all the sex clubs.

      Reply

    • Tom says:

      07:33am | 21/05/10

      It seems odd that he has to resign for something relating to his private life, when he didn’t have to resign for being incompetent.

    • Peter says:

      09:17am | 21/05/10

      Wot Tom Said.

    • Macon Paine says:

      03:05pm | 22/05/10

      LOL good one Biff.

      @Tom and Peter
      He should have resigned over the F3 fiascos anyway but he cowardly sacked the head of the RTA and used him as a scapegoat. Oh well at the end of the day he’s gone thankfully.

    • Andrew says:

      07:34pm | 20/05/10

      Bruno, as well as the tax-payer funded car its the lying to his wife and family and the pretence of being and campaigning as a ‘family man’.  Not much confusion in that is there? No its not a crime but it would have had the same result if he went to a strip club. I think your a bit defensive mate!

      Reply

    • EB says:

      08:53pm | 20/05/10

      Andrew, there are plenty of gay men in male-female marriages who have every right to present as a “family man” and there is no credible public interest in marital arrangements alone. Relax fellas, have a good time!

    • Bruno says:

      09:06pm | 20/05/10

      Okay, I take on board the “family man” campaigning hypocrisy, but I have also in mind the vicious campaign of lies by Bill Hefferman against high court judge Michael Kirby.

    • fehowarth says:

      08:04am | 21/05/10

      How do we know he lied to his wife and children?  What is he accused of doing wrong.

    • Seano says:

      07:46pm | 20/05/10

      I’m looking foward to a change of government in NSW. Shame there’s not much on offer in the way of an alternative. Still have to give them a chance and hope for the best.

      Personally I think the best thing for NSW would be a series of single term goverments which would hopefully lift the standards on both sides.

      Reply

    • Diamantina Dick says:

      08:07pm | 20/05/10

      You are a very smart person Seano. And even if they are Ok they should be turfed after 2 terms anyway so they keep hungry.

      Just saw Garnut on 7:30 Report liken the mining super tax to the waterfront reforms under the Howard Government , give me a break.

    • Botfly says:

      07:58am | 21/05/10

      Seno I could not agree more. I think its definatly time for a change, N.S.W Labor seems to so settled in the job, they have forgotten they are there to make out state better. I am honestly wondering if its time we got rid of State Governments and councils.

    • Ryan says:

      10:22am | 21/05/10

      @Seano : I almost chocked reading this post, are you the same Labor slanted Seano? What has happened?

    • Seano says:

      05:12pm | 21/05/10

      @Ryan. “Nearly choked”....of course you did and you should be embarrassed. Unlike many of my conservative counterparts I don’t rabbidly and blindly follow one side. I have an obvious preference but it takes someone who terminally stupid to see good governance in a democracy like ours only in terms of shades of black or white (or maybe I should say blue or red).

    • S.L says:

      07:46pm | 20/05/10

      No matter what side of politics you are on only a moron goes behind a wifes/ husbands back when you have a public profile and I still can’t believe these dopes are getting caught regularly. They are high profile people and as was said on ACA tonight “rumours about Mr Campbell have been around for years”. The conservatives can’t play the political game on this one either as there are more than enough skeletons in their closet too. If you are a public person, no matter what your lifestyle, the only smart thing to do is “put the cue in the rack” at least until you reach the more permanant position of “hasbeen”.

      Reply

    • Robert of Rural SA says:

      11:36pm | 20/05/10

      Would it be OK if he was a foot ball player? ?

    • iansand says:

      07:52pm | 20/05/10

      The only thing that would surprise me now about NSW Labor would be if they all peeled their skins off and revealed themselves to be aliens.  And I would only be surprised if they didn’t look like lizards.

      Reply

    • Chewy says:

      08:08pm | 20/05/10

      Sounds like David Icke’s world leaders reptile conspiracy theory!

    • Chewy says:

      08:01pm | 20/05/10

      Why is it always the Labor side caught up in sex scandals? The numbers must be in the dozens by now. Are the Liberal freaks just too smart to get busted? Or perhaps conservatives are just too conservative.

      Reply

    • Ben says:

      08:14pm | 20/05/10

      How about the former Treasurer of WA Troy Buswell for having an affair with a greens mp?

    • iansand says:

      08:38pm | 20/05/10

      But in the UK it is the Conservatives.  It must have something to do with the water going down the plughole….

    • Mark says:

      10:12pm | 20/05/10

      This is not an appropriate time for plumbing analogies.

    • matt says:

      06:40am | 21/05/10

      The Tories here are just as bad - but at least the exposure of their affairs has been because there is stealing going on - the rorting of travel expenses (see Bob Woods, Michael Cobb, Troy Buswell etc…)

      Campbell has done nothing wrong (or at least nnothing wrong which needs to be explained to the public, as opposed to his wife).

      This is his PRIVATE life. You know, the one that allowed Gordon Brown to keep his two boys out of the media? The one that we’re all supposed to have?

    • Rob r Charteris says:

      07:23am | 21/05/10

      Chewy says:08:01pm; No the liberal are off in back rooms around the country trying to pull off dodgy deals with Chinese mining companies. This is in reality a non issue, the general consensus on this site and just about every other online forum is this is no ones business. I’ve had pay tv for so long I didn’t even know channel 7 still existed. This sort of story is so yesterday and so is channel 7

    • Davo says:

      07:30am | 21/05/10

      Matt you bozo, the last Labor minister to go in NSW went just a few weeks ago for rorting staff allownaces.
      MPs are people and, just like all groups of people there are bad eggs.
      When they get caught, they get in the poo and we all move on. It’s not a left/right/labor/liberal/ issue.

    • I smell a rat says:

      08:10pm | 20/05/10

      This seems a little staged to me, perhaps by the minister himself?

      Look at the evidence, he uses a government car, somebody was filming, he uses Ken’s which is on a main road (Anzac Pde) and he then resigns from his mister position but doesn’t actually quit. It was almost like he was being the opposite of discrete. 

      All he did was visit, so there is no proof that he actually did anything inside.

      Perhaps a convenient way to exit the NSW transport minister role and avoid some looming disaster? All while still keeping his personal salary entitlements.

      Reply

    • Mark says:

      07:48am | 21/05/10

      You are kidding right?

      Pro tip. Wear the tinfoil hat, do not eat it. Heavy metals are not meant to be ingested.

    • See no evil says:

      08:12pm | 20/05/10

      Poor old David drove his govt car a few blocks to a naughty place and had to give up his job. Not fair it would seem as we had some other politicians go all the way to New York 1st class no doubt in a 747 visit a naught club and end up with the biggest job in the country.

      Reply

    • James says:

      09:03am | 21/05/10

      TRUE

      If they are caught by the holier-than-thou Australia media practicing infidelity, does that make them infidels?

    • Shane From Melbourne says:

      08:14pm | 20/05/10

      How about the Republican Senator who had sex with the interviewer for an abstinence video. Or the head of an anti gay christian lobby who was caught returning from an overseas trip with a rent-a-guy. His excuse was that the guy was just carrying his bags. This NSW incident is minor league stuff.

      Reply

    • Bec says:

      08:56pm | 20/05/10

      Who cares what he does in his private time? That’s his business. It’s certainly not illegal. I personally though think that all politicians, like every other worker, should be responsible for their own transportation to and from work. If you work outside ‘usual business hours’ then you get a cab voucher. Simple. Would save the Australian taxpayers’ millions!

      Reply

    • Andrew says:

      10:43pm | 20/05/10

      On one hand I agree with you - private lives should be kept private, and the sexuality of an MP should not be a basis for attacking them publically, even if it does happen now and again (just ask Bob Brown).

      That being said, when a politician is caught, or at least implicated in doing something contrary to the campaign they ran to get elected, it starts to be a problem. Politicians are elected to be representatives of their constituency. If the politician is then caught lying about a facet of their life that runs contrary to their election campaign, it casts doubt on their integrity and ability to make judgement calls with respect to the espoused viewpoint for which their constituency elected them.

      For this reason, there is a valid argument, albeit a not particularly strong one, that there is an interest in the story being publicised in this case.

    • Jonathan Appleyard says:

      09:06pm | 20/05/10

      The long suffering NSW Governor would be well within her rights to turn the new Ministers away when they turn up at Government House tomorrow and sack the Government, call an election.

      Reply

    • Nick says:

      09:43pm | 20/05/10

      Well congratulations Channel 7 News.  What friggin’ century are in?  The hypocritical media is very happy to soak up the fun of Mardi-Gras each year, revel in the celebration of out-loud-and-proud celebrities and queer personalities (In the same bulletin tonight 7 had an article about rugby leagues’ sexiest man - what’s sexually appropriate and what’s not?  Let’s ask Akers for crying out loud… or would he not feel comfortable with a gay in the room) but what we have here is absolutely nothing short of an old-fashioned witch hunt. ! He has not broken the law. This is stalking, bordering on entrapment.  You have no idea of his personal circumstances.  This is not about his abilities as a minister but his rights as a human being.  Exclusive Seven News Investigation my arse!! You should be ashamed.

      Reply

    • Bella says:

      11:04pm | 20/05/10

      Agree with Nick 100%. He did absolutely nothing illegal. He drove his company car as he’s entitled to do. He went to a gay bar. What business is that of mine or Channel Seven’s? None. It’s his private life. The “journo” who followed Campbell is the partner of Reba Meagher and a former media adviser to Iemma and Lo Po. This is just plain revenge.

    • Bennymac says:

      08:42am | 21/05/10

      Nick, I dont think this is a gay vs straight, and its acceptance in society issue. This guy presents as a family man to the public, has vowed a life of monogamy to his wife, and has breached everyones trust. Gay or straight thats always going to be gossip worthy, he has chosen to be a public figure after all. If he had decided to get a divorce first he would not have a problem. Personaly i couldn"t give a flying **** what the guy does in his spare time, it wouldnt change the way i vote, but im so sick of hearing this 1990’s PC rubbish being bandied about, you can’t tell me channel seven would not have seen it as being newsworthy if he had been cought walking out of a straight brothil.

    • Mike Ferguson says:

      09:51am | 21/05/10

      Agreed.  What exactly is the fuss about?

    • Nick says:

      11:09am | 21/05/10

      Gay, straight, bi - you can be a family-man regardless of your sexuality.  There’s absolutely no doubt whatsoever that Chanel Seven has chosen to ‘scandalise’ this because it was a gay venue, it’s tasty tabloid fodder - I mean look at how much detail they gave about Kens - website, entry times, entry costs, fetish nights!  This was completely and utterly immaterial.  This whole tradgedy is wrong on so many levels - it’s wrong for Campbell to have lied (and felt that he needed to), it’s wrong of Channel Seven to have stooped so low, it’s wrong to implicate a legitimate third party business.  Unfortunately many men and women continue to live repressed lives purely because of the fear of what others will make of their sexuality - and this ‘expose’ reinforces that stereotype.  It’s very easy for Gen X, Gen Y and millenials to accept sexuality for what it is but there’s others in our community who grew up in a time when politcial, religious and soicety attitudes were completely different.  Men of Campbell’s age were faced with the severist of penalites, entrapment and bashings sanctioned and purpertrated by NSW police at an age when nowadays many young gays and lesbians are encouraged to take their parnters to school formals! This is not an expose, not by a long-shot, but a grubby media campaign.  This is totally about sexuality, it’s not about being PC it’s about being equal.

    • Closeted Man says:

      10:06pm | 20/05/10

      As a heavy-set not out bi-curious man I am disturbed by the level of scrutiny being given to this men-only venue.  It’s not the venue’s fault, nor is it a crime so is it necessary to name the venue, the admission price, the website and even some of their various weekly fetish nights?  It’s no wonder men and women from all walks of life fear coming out with the continued stigmatizing of lifestyle choices.  If the so-called straight community was subject to the same level of scrutiny as to ones sexual proclivities then we would, indeed, have a sex scandal!!

      Reply

    • Mike says:

      09:22am | 21/05/10

      Bi-sexual men are more common than most people realise, it’s the stigma given to gay or bi men that forces them into secrecy. He’s now being labeled as being gay I hear on radio this morning while having a wife and children. He is obviously bi not gay, it’s common but society still lives in denial. Leave the guy alone, he should have caught a cab there is the only issue.

    • Terry of Brisbane says:

      10:06pm | 20/05/10

      So I wonder how Christina Keneally will react if someone from the opposite side of politics starts making comments about Campbell in the same vein she has been making them about Piccoli.
      Or is it different when the innuendo and slur is directed at one of your own?

      Reply

    • Yawn says:

      10:37pm | 20/05/10

      Perhaps a better title for this article would be ‘Another day in the swill that is Seven News’

      Reply

    • shabangabang says:

      08:21am | 21/05/10

      Exactly. If I were David Campbell I would be taking action against Channel 7. Isn’t it illegal to film someone and release it without their consent? Isn’t it illegal to stalk somebody as they walk down the street? Channel 7 you are a disgrace and I hope somebody in your organisation takes the heat for this.

    • Matt Dee says:

      12:02am | 21/05/10

      There should be a Wood type Royal Commission into the NSW State government as to the dirty corruption this government has been allowed to get away with since they’ve been in power. They all stink like the police that were exposed during the Wood Royal Commission.

      Reply

    • Sirro says:

      12:18am | 21/05/10

      The guy should have been sacked for being an incompetent git rather than have channel 7 go after him for his personal duplicity.
      If Kristina (Read Joe and Eddie) felt any responsibility to the people of NSW he would have gone after the last road debacle.
      I may not agree with his politics or his lifestyle but I feel sorry for him that his exposure has left his life effectively shattered (and his families through no fault of their own).
      Our political leaders will largely be a reflection of who we are collectively as a community. They will act the same as us and be biased in the same ways as many in the population are ..especially if they percieve this to be the way to be re-elected.
      Surely before we censure these people for the sins/faults we should look at the Man/Woman in the mirror and be content that we would/could do any better.

      Reply

    • Diamantina Dick says:

      07:36am | 21/05/10

      I reckon Campbell was about to skewer someone as a scapegoat for the F3 debacle so they got in first and leaked. Perhaps we will find out where he was when he was MIA.

      Reply

    • OldGirl says:

      07:39am | 21/05/10

      Tory I felt pretty sick about this last night when I saw it on tv. Not because the club is gay, I am hetrosexual but I am not predudice against gay people , to me they are just people . But because here we go a bloodygain in N.SW. Can’t anyone keep their underwear pulled up in this state? I feel desperatly sorry that hes been exposed in the manner that he has because of his wife and family. His wife has cancer and its a hard enough disease to cope with, without having to face all this trauma now with her husband. Channel 7 has not come off looking very well over this either.

      Reply

    • Gary Cox says:

      07:40am | 21/05/10

      Any place called ‘Kens’ has got to be dodgy

      Reply

    • Scott Maxworthy says:

      07:51am | 21/05/10

      Newsflash - times have changed.  In today’s highly connected digital world there is less distinction between private and public persona.  As a politician - a public servant, you are just as much in the spotlight of any celebrity or sports star.   

      If you try and present yourself as something you are not, then, if it is of anyones interest (ie news), it will come to the surface. 

      It’s not rocket science!

      In years ahead when we vote for our next PM - local member we’ll Google and search their Facebook and Twitter streams (our whatever’s cool then). 

      Decisions will be made less on what you say you’ll do BUT on what you really deliver to you and I the humble customer (I mean voter).

      Reply

    • yolanda says:

      08:15am | 21/05/10

      I wish we had a society that accepted a human being for what they are and sexual preference was did not effect their place in the World.
      However there is the question in this case of honesty.
      In this man’s job honesty is important and having led a double life for 25 years smacks of much dishonesty.
      I feel very sad for his family and also for him, if we accepted people regardless of their sexuality he would not have had to marry in the first place like so many others who do, just to hide their shame.

      Reply

    • Teddie says:

      09:06am | 21/05/10

      Things were quite different when Mr Campbell were a teenager, so it is a unfair to judge him by todays views.

    • watty says:

      08:27am | 21/05/10

      Totally different from ” just another day in the swill of the Canberra Press Club” ?

      Reply

    • Ange says:

      08:29am | 21/05/10

      What does Eric think?

      Reply

    • Kelly says:

      09:57am | 21/05/10

      Ange, this is about a man being stupid, not a woman, so he will be silent. Sure, we could be annoyed but lets just enjoy the respite while we can!

    • Hunter says:

      08:36am | 21/05/10

      The only crime I can see in this is the additional cost to the NSW taxpayers of the raft of ministerial portfolio changes. KK should have just called an election instead of shuffling the deck chairs yet again. Just about every Labor member has had a go at some higher paid position which of course increases their super.

      Reply

    • iansand says:

      08:51am | 21/05/10

      I think it is significant that he seems to have jumped and not been pushed.  It does not make Channel 7s actions any less tawdry, but (unless you think homosexuality or bisexuality disqualifies you from office - a ludicrous belief) he is entitled to react to his outing in any way he wants, including resigning. 

      As far as I know Mr Campbell has not adopted any position on gay issues, so there is no whiff of hypocrisy.  It is simply an aspect of his life that he chose to keep private, a decision he has every right to make.  If some rabid anti-gay moralist had been filmed in the same circumstances we would have a different coloured kettle of worms.

      Reply

    • AJ says:

      08:56am | 21/05/10

      I don’t get it. Is there some rule against using his allocated “taxpayer-funded car” for personal use?  Does that rule apply to all Ministers?  What is the exact rule?  If they drive their company car other than to and from work are they breaking the rules?

      Was Channel 7 originally following him and filming him because they suspected him of using his company car “against the rules” or because they wanted a scandalous sex expose and to “out” him?  It seems like the latter is most likely.

      IF he had campaigned against equality for gays and lesbians and perhaps voted against legislation that would benefit gays and lesbians, then there might be a somewhat “justified” reason to “out” him (although “outing” is a pretty terrible thing to do to someone), but I don’t see why it was necessary to go into such detail about his chosen travel destination if the only real infringement of the “rules” was that he used his company car for “personal use”.  The only people who have been hurt by the “scandal” are his friends and family and surely they would have been hurt enough if he’d been confronted and resigned (thus leading to a private admission) without all the media attention on his sexual activities.

      Reply

    • T.Chong says:

      09:03am | 21/05/10

      So folks , the meeja still has a pro Labor bias ?

      Reply

    • watty says:

      09:53am | 21/05/10

      WTF are you on about Cheech?  Trying to say this would have been covered up by the pro Conservative Media (both journalists) if it had been a Lib?

    • T.Chong says:

      12:14pm | 21/05/10

      No watty, relax. But as a long time Puncher, you would have to agree that comments about pro Rudd,pro Labor media are heard here often. Very often.
      Besides good pro conservative coverage can now be found at the ABC.
      Todays opinion piece abour Rudd will warm the coclkes of any true Conservatives heart’
      Chill and havagoodweekend.

    • Macon Paine says:

      02:23pm | 21/05/10

      Put down the bong T.Chong.
      “Besides good pro conservative coverage can now be found at the ABC.”
      Why shouldn’t it be? The abc is paid for by the taxpayers and many of them happen to be conservative. It’s called balance.
      ‘Todays opinion piece abour Rudd will warm the coclkes of any true Conservatives heart’”
      It’s an interesting piece to say the least, even staunch lefties like Bruce Haigh are admitting Rudd’s a dudd, dont worry though Cheech he still thinks Rudd “will flop over the line” at the next election.

    • Darren says:

      09:07am | 21/05/10

      I am looking forward to Channel 7 outing MPs on a daily basis for their peccadilloes - that is unless this was part of a campaign against the ALP by one journalist with a vendetta

      Reply

    • Nick says:

      11:13am | 21/05/10

      Yes, Channel 7, where’s the follow through?  I would assume in all fairness you’d have similar dossiers, all gathered in the public interest, about the heterosexual affairs and indiscretions of other MP’s no matter what their political persurasion - you’ve set the precedent now let’s see it all….

    • voter says:

      09:09am | 21/05/10

      let’s just say if David Campbell had used his own car, his own petrol…etc to drive himself to Ken’s…channel 7 still would have exposed him by claiming this news to be of public interest…

      I just feel bad for his wife and two grown sons…i personally don’t care about Campbell’s sexual adventures or orientation…but his incompetence was blatantly obvious with the many transport/State road kerfuffles under his watch. He should have resigned yonks ago…but not over this tabloid type sensationalised fodder.

      Reply

    • dovif says:

      09:13am | 21/05/10

      Why does all Labor government have the same thing in common

      The abuses privileges
      They waste taxpayer money
      They cannot balance the Budget
      Taxes always goes up
      Economy in caos

      Reply

    • Sean says:

      09:55am | 21/05/10

      It has everything to do with his political aptitude. He is a public servant. Emphasis on the word public. He has cheated on his wife and lied to his family. His integrity is therefore trashed- how can we trust him with our state if his own wife and kids can’t trust him to stay loyal to his marriage vows?

      It’s not about the car, it’s not about the homosexuality (even though many are trying to make it about that), it’s about his integrity. That’s why he resigned. I don’t know how you can’t see that?

    • Peter says:

      09:22am | 21/05/10

      For 18 months this guys was Police Minister.

      If he was ‘in the closet’ than that represents a massive blackmail threat, and a massive inducement to compromise the integrity of investigations.

      That is the real scandal here - the (realised? unrealised?) potential for the corruption of a senior Minister.

      Reply

    • Alex says:

      02:47pm | 21/05/10

      Peter, potential corruption in the NSW government? Look around in Sydney and see how organised crime is rampant and almost unchecked. it is not ‘potential’ corruption, it is there plain to see.

    • Les Sutton says:

      09:23am | 21/05/10

      So for the sake of a couple of bucks worth of petrol and depreciation of a car he was allowed to use, the bloke is villified in public for something he is legally allowed to do. All for the sake of ratings points. I dropped catholicism at the age of 9 but really, let those who are without sin cast the first stone. I thought Aussie media was above the tabloid american style muck raking.

      Reply

    • Drew says:

      09:41am | 21/05/10

      I feel sorry for his wife - imagine going through months or more of chemo, finally thinking that you were on the up, and then finding out you’d been lied to for 39 years of your life. What a waste.

      Reply

    • Jane says:

      12:39pm | 21/05/10

      Everyone seems to be assuming that she didn’t know. Maybe she did.

    • Justin says:

      09:45am | 21/05/10

      It could’ve been worse. He could’ve been getting his hair done, or meeting with his biographer, or he could’ve been out to dinner with friends.

      Reply

    • Jane says:

      09:58am | 21/05/10

      I don’t think there was any State disaster unfolding at the time though Justin…one that he was in charge of as head of DISPLAN and the only one besides the Premier able to call for a State of emergency…and had just been reported to him that deaths were imminent…..placing eating higher on the agenda…
      I don’t think he lied about his whereabouts to a Royal Commission either….or was rewarded for failure with another lucrative position to ‘help’ those he’d actually abandoned..
      ..other than that….

    • BTS says:

      10:18am | 21/05/10

      He would have had full government support in that case.

    • Gordon Akman says:

      09:54am | 21/05/10

      In the US there are 435 Congressman and 100 Senators for a country of over 300 million people. In Australia we have 150 members of the House of Representatives and 76 Senators for 22 million people. I don’t think I need to go into the details of state governments to make my point. Australia is so over governed it is absolutely ridiculous and not only do we have far too many politicians but look at their performance. Not just NSW state government. Not just QLD state government. Look at the performance of all local, state and federal governments in Australia and the oppositions are an even bigger joke.

      If I were consul things would be very different around here.

      Reply

    • Nicole says:

      09:57am | 21/05/10

      This is an absolute disgrace. I will judge this man on performance alone. And his performance as transport minister is shocking. He should have been given the ass a long time ago.
      As for his private life, that’s exactly what it is. Private. So he’s gay, who cares? He used his Government car for private purposes, who cares? They all do it. I cannot believe that channel 7 followed him and outed him like this. It’s utterly deplorable. Imagine what he and his family are going through. I feel so sorry for them. BTW I thought stalking was illegal.

      Reply

    • Winston says:

      10:12am | 21/05/10

      It doesn’t worry me at all. 

      David is a great singer and entertainer and that won’t change. 
      I’m sure Jimmy will be very supportive too.

      Reply

    • Ronk says:

      10:15am | 21/05/10

      Quite a few posters here seem to have forgotten about, or never heard of, something called integrity. A man doing his job,and a man off-duty in his “personal” life, are the same one man, not two different men.  If the bar has been lowered so far that the only requirement to remain a Minister of State is not to have been convicted of anything technically illegal, then God help our country.

      Reply

    • Les Sutton says:

      12:28pm | 21/05/10

      So a gay or bi-sexual man deosn’t or cannot have integrity? Actually who has proof he is, he was stalked and filmed coming out of men’s club, sober, neatly dressed. He’s being villified here and sacked because of that, not for any past performance issues as a Minister.

    • ChesterTheBear says:

      10:19am | 21/05/10

      Let’s put it all in perspective.  This is the same man who, just a day earlier, had tried to convince us all that Sydney’s traffic is no worse today than it was ten years ago.  This implies two things.  First, it shows he’s oblivious, and clearly doesn’t spend much time in traffic.  Second, it shows that he thinks the way it was ten years ago must be ok because clearly, he and his government haven’t made it better.  On that basis alone, he needs to go. 

      However, the real problem is that he isn’t who he tell us he is.  I don’t think the electorate has a problem with gay politicians.  Really, I don’t think we care, and nor should we.  What we care about is being deceived.  We care about politicians representing themselves as other than they really are.

      Reply

    • Dan says:

      06:03am | 22/05/10

      How is not revealing that he’s gay or bisexual deceiving the electorate? Sexuality is both private and irrelevent. Ultimately, it’s between him and his family. I don’t think that the electorate has any right to know, not unless he campaigned on being anti-gay.

    • Michelle says:

      10:20am | 21/05/10

      The issue for me is the myriad of lies that he must have told to his family, colleagues, party, electorate etc. He stood up as a family man but didn’t mind having a bit on the side as well (whether that is with a man or a woman makes no difference to me).

      He must have been lying all of his adult life, and pretending to be something he is not. If I was in his electorate I would feel really cheated. However, I am in the Penrith Electorate so I have to deal with another kind of liar and cheat on June 19th.

      Reply

    • BTS says:

      10:20am | 21/05/10

      Someone should organise a ‘Switch Off From Seven’ day where people don’t watch the station that day in protest for their vilification of homosexuals.

      Reply

    • Willy K says:

      11:18am | 21/05/10

      How is it vilification?  This sort of thing is done to all walks of life.

      How about his wife?  Kids?  The taxpayer?

      I pity the people he has crushed with his vile deceit.

    • BTS says:

      02:37pm | 21/05/10

      Hmm,

      Exposed him as a homosexual for their own gain.
      Exposed him as a homosexual to suggest there was something wrong with being homosexual.
      Exposed him as a homosexual to publicly humiliate him.

      How’s that for starters for vilification?

      Wife, kids?  Not your business, my business or anyone else’s in Australia.

      ‘vile deceit’?  Any homophobia there? At all?

    • Sean says:

      08:27pm | 21/05/10

      BTS: you’re the one mentioning the vilification. It is a gay club. Channel seven reported it as a gay club. Where is the vilification? It’s reporting fact. I think you want this issue to turn into a vilification debate to suit you’re own agenda.

      He was married. He vowed to remain faithful to his wife and had sex with men. Therefore loses his integrity. It’s not an issue of homosexuality so please stop trying to make it one.

    • stevem says:

      10:20am | 21/05/10

      My guess is he was hauled over the coals after the F3 fiasco and told in no uncertain terms “You do anything else to embarrass the Government and…”. This was just the final straw for a flailing government.
      If he was handling his portfolio competently he could have ridden out the storm.

      Reply

    • Ryan says:

      10:21am | 21/05/10

      Oh please, hardly NSW politics, say it as it is, this is Labor politics, both Federal and State, hell even our Prime Minister Rudd has been caught using taxpayer funds to attend a strip club in New York. And these are the people that have a say as to what becomes morally acceptable in the future, these same people with what can be obviously observed as NO MORALS AT ALL.

      Reply

    • Peter says:

      10:48am | 21/05/10

      The people and media who seem to be getting their jolly’s from exposing David Campbell are the sicko’s in all of this. The reason he has had to hide this personal information is because of exactly what is now happening to him. Some time in the future, generations will look back on stories like this in disbelief.

      Reply

    • Micko says:

      10:59am | 21/05/10

      Tory you could have done so much better than this.  The “another nail in the coffin” line is so boring and obvious.  What about a piece about the invasion of the media into the private lives of individuals?  The fact that this is the very first public outing of a politician? 

      Surely to big question is whether the media has any right to expose a person for being gay – and it can hardly be argued that because he put a photo of his wife and kids on his Christmas card that there is any public interest in this matter, after all they are still his family gay or otherwise.  It may be relevant if that politician had been a public morals campaigner such as Ross Cameron, but Campbell has never been one of these. 

      He may have lead a double life, but lets face it, if it had been known in Wollongong that he was gay he probably would not have been elected.  He probably felt he had no choice but to lead a double life…which is very sad and all of our fault, not his.  Nor is the use of his car material in any way whatsoever; the car is provided for his private use as part of his remuneration package.  These have justifications have been put forward by a desperate media network in a pathetic attempt to justify the unjustifiable.

      The simple fact is the Campbell has been a completely useless transport Minister, culminating in the recent disaster on the F3, and should have resigned, on the grounds of incompetence – this is the one issue that should not have been an issue.  The story should have no bearing on the fortunes of the government, it should however result in the dismissal of Peter Meakin and his minions at Channel Seven.

      Reply

    • Traxster says:

      11:02am | 21/05/10

      ‘Let he who is without sin cast the first stone….....’

      Reply

    • Angus says:

      11:09am | 21/05/10

      I’m not sure of the exact rules about vehicles but if it was ok to use the vehicle in this way then channel seven are scumbags for stalking Campbell. However:- I am a resident in Campbell’s electorate. I would often see him walking in Woonona with his wife and sons in tow. Woonona is a nice little beach side suburb with a couple of nice parks and beachside walks/bike tracks and every time I would see David he would be walking with his little posse along the busy, noisy Princes Highway so he could get a bit more exposure to his constituents. Every time I have seen David on the local news he has his faithful wife in tow. Local product, family man, his lifestyle matches the people that live in the area and that he represents. He even had the audacity to present himself as looking after his family when he questioned by media after allegedly becoming involved in attempting to secure a housing commission home for his mother in Bellambi, next to the beach. Well the poor punters now know that that was all a lie and has been for a long time. His public persona that was presented to the voters, one that made him popular, was a complete construction.  If Campbell was gay, bi-sexual, whatever and that was known, I don’t think too much would have been made of it. Fact is he had a residence which Campbell paid for out of salary provided by the taxpayer that he stayed in Sydney, had a vehicle provided by the taxpayer and got some man action all the while his wife is back in Wollongong battling cancer. Scumbag. I don’t think we ask our members of Parliament to be perfect. The issue here and with all politicians it seems is the complete disconnect that they have with the rest of the populace. Once they reach positions of power – anything goes. Present a nice image in the media, get elected, get access to some public funds, do what you want. Citizens need to be able to place their trust in their elected representatives. If Campbell’s life as a private citizen for the last 20 years or so is a lie, what else has he lied about? Campbell’s actions are symptomatic of the contempt that politician’s hold for the rest of the population. I’ll be glad when I don’t have to look at your ugly mug on the TV anymore David. Please resign as a Member of Parliament. Don’t let the door hit your fat arse on the way out.

      Reply

    • Drew says:

      11:33am | 21/05/10

      Ding ding ding! We have a winner…

    • Micko says:

      03:54pm | 21/05/10

      Walking along the beach with his sons…presenting himself as a member of society…while all along he was gay…how outragous….out out scoundrel…he should be flogged.

    • Glenn T @ Leichhardt, NSW says:

      11:28am | 21/05/10

      I am surprised that the standard of clientele at KKK has dropped so much. They need a doorbitch!

      Reply

    • Willy K says:

      11:39am | 21/05/10

      Is this all? Makes a change from the usual ALP MP preferences a la Orkopoulos, Collins etc etc

      Lets have sympathy for his poor wife, kids and all the others he has hurt.

      Reply

    • Victor H Pigott says:

      01:05pm | 21/05/10

      The media has sunk to low levels in the past, but the revelation that David Campbell goes to a gay steam room is nothing short of outright bad taste.  In the case of Channel Seven, given it’s previous notoriety in exposing false allegations against John Marsden without bothering to check their validity and refusing to back down even in the face of legal defeat, one can hardly be surprised.  It seems that gay bashing has become a Channel Seven specialty, obviously without the slightest concern as to the trauma such conduct bring to the individual and his family. Mr.Campbell’s private life is his own business, it has nothing whatever to do with Channel Seven or the general public and does not in any way impinge on his professional duties as a Minister of the Crown.  In my view the man has done absolutely nothing wrong to either cause him to resign his position or to cause embarrassment to the Government.  The fact that a journalist felt the need to trail Campbell, take the photograph and publicly release it, is not a slur against David Campbell but a slur against Channel Seven.  Not only does the journalist and the management of Channel Seven demonstrate their total lack of concern as to the potential negative effect of this revelation on Campbell, but have ignored the effect on his wife and family who are already burdened by his wife’s medical condition.  This is the type of media hunt that was common in the 1950’s during the worst of the Communist witch-hunt. Despite homosexuality having been decriminalized in NSW in 1984, there are still some journalists and media outlets who feel the need to stalk, survey and report the sexual conduct of private individuals.  It seems that we has a society still have a long way yet to go.

      Reply

    • Macon Paine says:

      01:24pm | 21/05/10

      I think your over reacting a little bit here:
      You said: “In my view the man has done absolutely nothing wrong to either cause him to resign his position or to cause embarrassment to the Government.”
      It looks more like he’s simply paying the price for misusing taxpayer funded entitlements (which in my opinion are far too generous and need to be scaled back significantly, but thats a debate for another time).
      Anyway good riddance to him and his hand wringing, dear in the headlights tv statements, he’s just another in a long line of terrible Labor ministers.
      Oh and well said Angus at 11:09am.

    • Geeman says:

      01:25pm | 21/05/10

      The lot of yous need to go and powder your noses and settle down.

      Reply

    • Nick says:

      01:26pm | 21/05/10

      Will he now get a TV show? The David Campbell hour on 7? After all, they were able to fit Matty Johns and Kyle Sandiland within their scale of values.

      Reply

    • Victor H Pigott says:

      02:09pm | 21/05/10

      Some of the comments by readers to this column, Angus in particular, provide cogent reasons to explain David Campbell’s choice of leading a double life. These “holier than thou” types who clearly live in glasshouses looking out would be the first to crucify him and other public figures if they were to publicly proclaim their sexuality. Nick has provided us with the real explanation for this grubby media expose of Campbell’s private life, he is neither straight nor gay, but bi-sexual and therefore as a public figure acting ethically inconsistent.  Because Campbell doesn’t fit into the black and white stereotype that our politically correct culture has imposed he must be, stalked, stigmatized, called a hypocrite and destroyed.  And yet, according to sociology, anthropology and psychology, bi-sexuality is the norm, it is the pure straights and gays that on the fringe.  This fact was shown by Professor Kinsey in the 1970’s in a clinical survey so vast that it has never been replicated. Those that scream “hypocrite” against Campbell should take a good look at themselves before they have the hide to criticize others.  As Nick correctly pointed out, Mr. Campbell grew up in an era of sexual repression in which NSW citizens who sought homosexual expression were vilified by the press and were either criminalized or medicalized by the State.  I do however, thank Angus for reporting Mr. Campbell’s love, affection and care for his family and his concern for his electorate.  At least we know there is a possibility that his family will give him the understanding and compassion that Channel 7, other media outlets and certain individuals have failed to provide.  I might add that I am a traditional Liberal voter and have no love for the Labor party.  In my view this matter goes beyond party politics, this is a grubby personal attack by Channel 7 and other media outlets on the private life of a public figure without any regard whatsoever for the trauma that has been caused for that person and his family. I call upon the Government to implement as a matter of urgency the recent report by the NSW Law Reform Commission which recommends the statutory implementation of the Tort of Invasion of Privacy.

      Reply

    • How it Is says:

      02:16pm | 21/05/10

      Being gay(ish) and wanting a slice of man-action is one thing, but actually getting it is quite another! This man is not God’s gift to anyone as far as I can see. The average gay is quite discriminating, if not downright fussy, as to who they couple up with, so maybe we should feel a tad sorry for this guy, as he wouldn’t be getting bowled over in the rush.

      Reply

    • Ross says:

      02:21pm | 21/05/10

      Very grubby story by a grubby reporter on a grubby network with nothing better to do than stir up crap.What do we expect from third raters who pay the likes of Sanderlands

      Reply

    • Mike Creighton says:

      05:04pm | 21/05/10

      Going to a gay bath house means you are “swill” , does it Tory?  Perhaps a more worthwhile spin on this would have been why he and others feel the need to lead a double life.  Oh, because Aker says they should I suppose.  Pathetic.

      Reply

    • rave rave rant 'n' rave says:

      06:50pm | 21/05/10

      Wife has cancer….this guy should have put her and the family first…no ifs no buts….pardon the pun!!!!

      Reply

    • Tony says:

      09:12pm | 21/05/10

      I am interested in the question at the heart of all of this - why now?  What is going on that warrants a change of minister for the transport portfolio - and why John Robertson?

      Reply

    • Ian says:

      11:27pm | 21/05/10

      For those who think this is some gay bashathon, think again, and imagine the furore if a politician pretended to be gay, and some TV crew revealed him to be straight?
      That’s the issue here.

      Reply

    • Shane From Melbourne says:

      02:44am | 22/05/10

      Ho hum, another thread hijacked by the Christian lobby again…...

      Reply

    • NeilM says:

      04:36am | 22/05/10

      Resigning over this makes no sense. 7 should work out what is worthwhile news before it shives rubbish out just because it thinks it will damage Labor. After all how can they damage the ship with so much list on it already.

      Happy to see Campbell removed as a Minister, by far the worst I’ve ever encountered. Perhaps if he had been removed for the stuff ups he had caused it would have been a bit more news worthy.

      Reply

    • Robert S McCormick says:

      10:54am | 22/05/10

      So long as it is legal I don’t give a tinker’s cuss what any MP does in their Private Lives. It is none of my, nor anyone else’s business and that goes for sleazy Channel 7 too! Have they really got so little to do that all they can think of is spying on people? The world is on the brink of financial disaster and, despite the claims by the Federal Government and Treasury, Australia will be in the midst of it. If, and it is almost inevitable, the Chinese Economic Bubble bursts then it will be “Good-bye Prosperity, Hullo Depression” for Australia. All the while the likes of Channel 7 are only interested in trying to dig up dirt on some State MP who is, like all of our MPs, State or Federal, of absolutely no consequence anywhere other than in Australia. The lack of regard in which Australia is held, other than for it’s minerals and sporting prowess, is easily demonstrated. We in Australia are told by MPs from all sides that “Australia was saved from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) because of it’s tight regulation of the banks and other financial institutions.” Those controls were started by the Hawke/Ketaing govenment and the Howard/Costello government has been creditied with perfecting them. Major economies such as the US, UK, Germany & France & smaller ones such as Greece, Portugal, Spain & Italy are reported as sinking ever-deeper into trouble. Yet, despite it’s brilliance and success, not one of those countries has adopted, or even proposed, adopting our Financial Regulatory System.
      Ch 7 & Ch9 instead of putting on their vapid, giggling, grinning morning programmes and what they, euphemistically,call ‘current affairs’ programmes should start doing what they are paid to do. Present real news and matters which are of real importance and leave the sleaze in the gutter for the rest of the gutter press to pick up.

      Reply

    • JC says:

      09:34pm | 09/01/12

      The main point is: should taxpayers pay for a dishonest polictician to run our state?  If David can lie to his own wife and family, what makes you think he won’t lie to us, who are far less important to him than his family anyway?

      Reply
 
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