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THE QUALITY OF MERCY... 267 eM ER No. 61 was a of this dereliction, but its graceful and rooms, with handsome chimneys and fire- evoked visions of the age when many of Perth's elite lived in the a It was a prime candidate a sensitive renovation. It therefore came as some to me after several Alistair had Julian Grill restored other houses in the street, but not 61. I bad my Paul Lord agent with a request that sell the property to me. He on the condition that I pay his rozether with all other expenses that he had incurred, and that restore that 111 Its origrnal architects and builders. and the process develoniuv the for the renovation. These terms and my actions become the focus of a out of the Inc comnussron. The of the house was to become cr-r-crr o-s-lv lives 111 Before the builder could start on the the built in Subiaco Show intervened. gokltleJ,js electorate, Mount rip,·pl,pr gLlCiousnl":ss. n~nr,,")mir vIews gave my ministerial office staff perrrussion backvard of of the river and and its to Park make it a no. 61 for a to view the location. Lord Alistair those same sentiments and when and with eskies to they found themselves sbaring a 61 Mount Street came on to market for sale in 1985, he was the vantage with guests of the British peer, and in evening bidder who my agent at the auction. who were a grand dinner party at neighbouring 6la didn't know Lord well then and be too was bidding Mount Street. (I later became aware that Alistair regularly rhrous-h an agem. I found out later that he loved Mount Street so entertained some ofthe world's most famous and beautiful people.) On much that he had several houses there in an attempt to pre- the evening ofthe the rwo groups were not compatible. A few serve its colonial as his eH()[ts in Broome had 'saved' after this event received a call from barrister Adams, the traditional Broome with its wide verandas and then for the group of who indicated that adiusrable shutters. For the reasons set out later in this he was the events of the Show night had been an embarrassment and unsuccessful in Moum Street. it was a noble gesture. In presented two alternatives. The first was the construction of a wall ] 980s, was clear that the steep, street had between the that would block river views from no. 61. The seen better Some of the old homes had been replaced second was that Lord would take the property back and offer and others had been subdivided into Like other inner me a replacement property, further down the at no. 53. The latter areas in the '60s and it sutrered from and the alternative was accepted, despite the lower elevation of this property. It to the suburbs. The and the was already tastefully renovated and it was agreed that we should have gardens were overgrown. both and that there should be a cash settlement for 266 268 THE SCANDALOUS YEARS THE QUALITY OF MERCY", 269 difference. As it the valuers came up with similar values and while my own was nowhere as for both so a cash was unnecessary. In the after- hndl!lgs were made me the cornrrus- of the commission into government business dealings did attach to me as a result. In turn, this led all of these events would be under a r-oo o-ri t t-vi ri o to my in extensive and enduring there would be the Jives of my my the commission was riYlYlr,lpl'pr! commission was run under the most extreme ofcircum- commissions of this sort are often later in terms of stances. The Labor governments of Burke and were seen to success, on the basis successful the wit- have of dollars of money, and nesses. A commission task force of prosecutors and blood. process was set up to evidence and with such prosecutions. Iron- on the one the actual commission was that could Carpenter (a former ABC find 'no evidence and evidence of rll s-o-alr r-o who made the events of 988 which gave rise to the "1"1\1',",01" that 'it considered hom time to was called' to advice and to the and gov- ernment, in very difficult circumstances to government business deal rnzs, not of own those duties to the best unnecessarily compliant to in what was the best interests of the state. it been more critical ofthe Burke of the view that to fear from a to the the of commission came ar these a shock. any notions as to the fairness wi rh cell rral the process. While commissions have their purpose, I am not the first to say that can be very for up to Carmen the innocent. administrative dressed feud within the up to look like and processes. are U1 fact a far cry from the normal rules of evidence, ,LIJ.VVVI"<:, and and with no clear means of or redress. the of counsel the commissioners is unusual, It encompasses examination and cross-examination of mar- shallmg and of and a like a prosecutor in court. the process counsel assisting is in direct contact with the commissioners and either or takes a II1 the report. This very ,'VVV'."".U posmon carnes no for the exercise of powers. The innocent can lose their in such processes, without any real n"""",,.,,n",, to set the facts or take other forms of 270 THE SCANDALOUS YEARS THE QUALITY OF MERCY ... 271 The essential me by the royal commissioners were :::'tc;plIen left my ministerial office, thought that I had dissuaded him- that had behaved in that I had misinformed cabinet (by mistake. While we were away in the coup was launched and my as to the real nature of the WA Inc business dealings. left Switzerland early, to return home to confront it. arrived back It is relevant to note that no adverse findings were made against time for the caucus vote, but the die was cast. The numbers any ministers of the Burke and governments who went on stacked up in favour of Carmen. As we walked into the to form part of the Lawrence cabinet. The commission adverse room, I told Peter that I intended to resign. I hadn't warned my I1nC1J!lgs were to ministers who had, for one reason, or another, or and the news came as a great shock to them. have come to believe that this decision translocated me from a positron made ministers who had re safety, in respeer to the yet-co-be called commission, to one of David Brian Burke, Peter in ] when Carmen Lawrence wasn't the one who had a The U'JVY'U.Ul~ as WA Premier. commissioners and counsel in due course also had a law student at The Universirv ofWest dilemma. At the ofthe once aU the evidence was taken and the articulate and of making the and the report arrived, it was charrrung. However, his at the helm was extremely just one apparent that the comrrussioners had a very difficult matter to There were doubts over his II'iter-personal skills. After brilliantly That was manifested in the convention cabinet Hnur"un the 989 made enemies within rhe party, responsibrhty. All of the critical the of the part 990 the knives were out. commisston were taken by cabinet. That effectively resiznanon was the World Economic Forum that each minister was accountable for the decisions ll1 world leaders and their in cabinet. To overcome and to find some ministers partners attended this an event caught up in the eupho- the Burke and cabinets and some not, the com- ria of the of the Soviet bloc and the impending liberation of missioners had to find either that the cabinet was lied to, or it was not residents east ofthe Berlin Wall. At one session ofthe every head properly and informed. The commissioners opted for the latter. of every eastern country was present. doing so, I believe that were entirely incorrect. For example, Western Australia was a guest to this confer- respect to the critical PICL project, David who had formal ence at an occasion that honoured the State's outstand- carriage ofthe matter, gave a long, technical and detailed explanation of the preceding years. Peter issues for decision, which complemented a cabinet minute. Sadly, and my wife, attended several cabinet members some financial-technical matters were be as was while we were overseas that the their intellectual competence or experience. Others simply relied L'owdmz with Carmen Lawrence was executed. the judgment of the and premier. there 1__!()W'::VcT, the plllI1l1Irig had commenced earlier. never been any doubt in my mind that cabinet was fully informed the rhen secretary of the WA branch of the on all of the important aspects of Rothwells and before cabinet came to see me a few weeks before we left for Davos. He indicated decisions were taken. there was considerable discontent within the caucus and cabinet with There is an old saying, 'Don't let the facts spoil a good Peter and he wanted to know whether I could . The question of informing cabinet was only touched a move to him. declined and counselled against it. When very in the royal commission proceedings. Considering that 272 THE SCMDALOUS YEARS THE QUALITY OF MERCY ... 273 the answer to this issue formed the basis for so many adverse nndrngs, task of the com- and formed the foundation of the doctrine of cabinet menced an into my affairs.