David Clarke on the backfoot

Australian Broadcasting Corporation
LATELINE TV PROGRAM TRANSCRIPT
Broadcast: 05/09/2005

Clarke denies denigrating Jews, homosexuals
Reporter: Tom Iggulden

TONY JONES: Tony Abbott's comments and subsequent apology are just the latest events in a row which has engulfed the NSW Liberal Party. John Brogden's political demise revealed divisions and disunity and claims that a far-right wing, religious faction was engaged in a bitter battle for control. The man said to be at the centre of that conservative push is David Clarke. Tom Iggulden reports.

TOM IGGULDEN: This was David Clarke, the suburban solicitor, in the late 1970s, posing at a function for the Liberal Party's ethnic council with this man, Ljenko Urbancic. And this is Mr Urbancic in 1986, admitting to the ABC's 'Four Corners' of his involvement with Leon Rupnik, the World War II Slovenian Nazi General.

LJENKO URBANCIC: I did follow Rupnik and I thought it was correct thing to do at that particular time.

TOM IGGULDEN: These pictures are from last year's inaugural meeting of the Bankstown branch of the Liberal Party, attended by David Clarke after his election to the NSW parliament. Police were called when the meeting decended into fisticuffs after conservative Liberal followers of Mr Clarke clashed with moderate party members, who had accused them of branch stacking. And when moderate Liberal John Brogden quit as leader, he made no secret that he held a senior staff member in David Clarke's office responsible.

JOHN BROGDEN, FORMER NSW LIBERAL PARTY LEADER: The federal president of the Young Liberal movement, Alex Hawke, has been named as pushing it. He needs to take a long, hard look at himself.

TOM IGGULDEN: Now there's new claims by a former Liberal Party colleague who's told Lateline that Mr Clarke proposed exploiting Muslim sentiments about Jewish people and homosexuals to recruit Labor-voting Muslims to the Liberal Party.

IRFAN YUSUF, FORMER LIBERAL PARTY MEMBER: I guess in my case, or in the cases that he could side with Islamics, he sort of presumed that, "Oh, well. If you want to get the Arabs in or the Muslims in, then you just tell them that the Howard Government -" or that he in particular, or the people that he is associated with, perhaps -
"weren't all that fond of people of Jewish background."

TOM IGGULDEN: Tonight, Mr Clarke released a statement to Lateline declaring: "I first met Mr Irfan Yusuf a number of years ago when he was a member of the Liberal Party. He has sinced parted company with the Liberal Party and for some years has been running an escalating campaign of denigration against the party and in particular against myself. I categorically deny making derogatory remarks to him about Jews and homosexuals, or encouraging him to sign up Labor Party members as member of the Liberal Party. His allegations are outrageous lies.

TOM IGGULDEN: Mr Clarke's activities have made enemies among current colleagues.

PATRICIA FORSYTH, NSW MLA: When I talk of extremism and I talk of zealots, I'm talking about a group of people who in my view seem to lack a focus on normal, human decency.

TOM IGGULDEN: But Mr Clarke, a member of the catholic sect Opus Dei, has some high-profile supporters.

TONY ABBOTT, HEALTH MINISTER: There is nothing wrong with the NSW Upper House member David Clarke simply because he goes to church on Sunday and simply because he shares some views not uncommon among some decent members of the political party sitting opposite me now.

TOM IGGULDEN: But former federal Liberal leader John Hewson says that claim by Tony Abbott has a dangerous precedent.

JOHN HEWSON, FORMER LIBERAL LEADER: No, they said the same thing about Pauline Hanson.

TOM IGGULDEN: And Dr Hewson says the religious right is a growing influence in the NSW Liberal party. Tom Iggulden, Lateline.