"A cleaner, happier, brighter place" in View from the Arch

Premier Alan Carpenter abandoned the economic tigers of India for leopards incapable of changing their spots when he returned home last Friday to deal with CCC findings against his Environment Minister of only a few months, who discussed his need for fundraising with lobbyist Julian Grill while saying he was considering overturning a decision detrimental to one of Mr Grill's clients.

Of course, Mr McRae had already done so, inspiring allegations he had lied to Mr Grill to gain his assistance in raising funds.

Mr Carpenter labelled Mr McRae's actions "a major error of judgement", and asked him to retire from the Cabinet on Sunday, which Mr McRae did.

But he didn't go quietly, saying that the CCC had withheld information that would have cleared him from any wrongdoing, and that he had been judged on the basis of a false perception.

When he was questioned on Monday, Agriculture Minister Kim Chance had a bit more luck when he was cleared of any wrongdoing, after lobbyist Brian Burke said the minister would do anything he was asked.

Mr Burke later backed down from his allegations, and Mr Chance took the opportunity to give his support to the CCC, saying Mr Burke had had a "toxic effect on Western Australia."

"When this is done this is going to be a cleaner, happier, brighter place."

Not so fortunate was Local Government Minister John Bowler, who was asked to resign not only from Parliament but also from the parliamentary Labor Party this week after two days of CCC interrogation.

The CCC revealed he had sent Mr Grill an email containing a draft copy of a parliamentary standing committee report into a mining dispute between Xstrata and Mr Grill's client Precious Metals Australia.

The final report was highly critical of Swiss-owned Xstrata's decision to close the unprofitable Windimurra vanadium mine, against the protests of PMA.

The CCC heard that Mr Grill had sent the report to PMA chief executive Roderick Smith, who had a series of items to add to the committee's findings, some of which made it to the final copy.

The report's criticism of the decision was seen as influential to Xstrata's subsequent decision to settle its dispute with PMA over the mine's future through a $17.5 million payout to the company.

As Mr Bowler faced the very real possibility of contempt of Parliament charges against him, he cut a sorry figure both inside and outside the House this week, saying he had been "duped" and had paid a high price for his friendship with Mr Grill and Mr Burke

In an emotional speech to the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, Mr Bowler admitted to feeling betrayed.

"I place a great deal on loyalty and friendship and you may have heard me say in recent days I do not change my friends," he said.

"That is still true but I now wonder if a true friend would use another in the way I feel (used) now."

One MP who does know the meaning of friendship is Government backbencher Shelley Archer, the partner of influential Construction, Forestry, Mining and Electrical Union Kevin Reynolds, who admitted to acting as a go-between for Mr Burke and the Ministers over whom he had no influence, such as Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan and Fisheries Minister Jon Ford.

That was enough for the Premier to expel her from the Parliament's powerful Delegated Legislation Committee and the Legislative Council's Estimates and Financial Operations Committee.

But he did not move to expel her from the party, a decision that sparked Opposition claims the Premier was not prepared to risk losing the support of Mr Reynolds or his union by taking decisive action.

Mr Carpenter responded by saying Ms Archer's actions were unacceptable and reprehensible.

"If Shelley Archer was a minister I'd strip her of her ministry but to expect me to throw her out of the party on the basis of the evidence that is there I think is expecting me to go too far," he said.

Burke repercussions head east

While his Western Australian Labor colleagues were reeling from the implications of the CCC hearings, a 2005 breakfast, coffee and dinner were causing serious indigestion for Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd.

Mr Rudd was forced to admit meeting with Mr Burke through mutual friend and prominent Labor backbencher Graham Edwards this week after increased levels of scandal talk spread to Canberra.

Mr Rudd, then Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesman, told reporters he had attended a dinner with Mr Burke, Mr Edwards and 20 to 30 local business people when in Perth out of "an obligation of friendship" to Mr Edwards.

Mr Rudd said he was unaware of a ban on state Labor MPs contacting Mr Burke at the time.

"Some things we do out of friendship and politeness," he said.

Mr Edwards told the ABC this morning he had been keen to introduce Mr Rudd to Mr Burke because the now Labor leader was a "bright, young bloke" and it was important he get to know the state of WA and its people.

"I was pretty keen to push him (Mr Rudd) through a number of different areas in Western Australia, to get him to know the state and to get people to know him," Mr Edwards said.

Mr Edwards and a second Labor backbencher, Mark Bishop, have been 'counselled" for remaining in contact with Mr Burke since last November, when former Labor leader Kim Beazley banned all MPs from dealing with Mr Burke.

But Federal Treasurer Peter Costello said Mr Rudd had not completely explained why he held meetings with Mr Burke.

"Why was Mr Rudd prepared to deal with such a man?" Mr Costello asked.

"I think the answer is pretty obvious: he wanted influence."

"And who did they think would help him more than anybody else? The convicted criminal, the corrupt influence peddler, Brian Burke."

Nuclear Energy

Earlier in the week, claims of corrupt influence peddling were flying thick and fast in the House of Representatives, after Prime Minister John Howard revealed on Tuesday that Melbourne Businessman and Liberal Party donor Ron Walker told him last year about his plan to start a nuclear energy company with business partners Hugh Morgan and Robert Champion de Crespigny.

Five days after that conversation, Mr Howard announced a task force under former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski to report on nuclear options.

The Switkowski taskforce later recommended a move to nuclear power, with the possibility of 25 nuclear plants by 2050, the first to appear in 10 to 15 years.

The company, Australian Nuclear Energy Ltd, disclosed on Tuesday that it was examining potential sites for a nuclear plant in South Australia and Queensland.

That was enough to inspire a series of questions from the Opposition about how much influence the businessmen may have had over the government's decision.

For much of question time on Tuesday, Mr Rudd pursued Industry Minister Macfarlane, who seemed to take pleasure in giving non-answers, which simply inflamed Labor's suspicions.

Finally, Macfarlane said: "I have not met with the company, I have not met with representatives of the company about this issue and I've not seen a proposal on a nuclear power station from them."

Mr Howard also denied any form of secret meeting between himself and Mr Walker, saying there was nothing conspiratorial going on between the two.

"I mean, heavens above, I saw the Leader of the Opposition with Ron Walker at the soccer. That's only the half of it. Steve Bracks was there too."

But Labor wasn't about to go without a fight, giving a question to backbencher Julie Owens, who asked if he still had no objections to a nuclear plant going into his electorate of Bennelong.

Mr Howard labelled such questioning Juvenile and idiotic, childish scare tactics.

Maxine McKew makes her debut

The Prime Minister already has a form of nuclear weapon in his backyard, former Lateline journalist Maxine McKew, who this week announced her candidacy for his seat in the upcoming election.

Mr Howard holds the seat by four per cent.

Ms McKew says it was more important for Labor to win Liberal-held marginals than for her to have contested a safe Labor seat.

"If there's a new definition of underdog, I think I've just earned it," she said.

Mr Howard said he would continue to work hard for his electorate.

"I've always had a fight in Bennelong and the redistribution has made it harder, but when I get news like this it only steels my resolve to work even harder for the people I've had the privilege of representing for the last 30 years," he said.

"That's all I have to say about the Labor candidate."

The final word

In a week when Education Minister Julie Bishop channelled her inner school ma'am by accusing Mr Rudd of stealing the ALP's current Education policy from Labor's ultimate bad boy Mark Latham, and telling him he would have to "go to the naughty corner", the final word must go to Treasurer Peter Costello.

It seems like not a week goes by without Mr Costello bringing out some obscure pop culture epithet to demonstrate a point, and this week, while telling Parliament of Mr Rudd's 2005 meetings with Mr Burke, Mr Costello reached a new high.

"The leader of the opposition was staying with Mr Edwards," Costello recounted with growing glee.

"They had nothing to do, so Mr Edwards said why don't we go to Perugino, and guess who was there, Mr Brian Burke.

"It reminded me of that scene in Muriel's Wedding when the mistress of Bill Hunter walked into the Chinese restaurant and Bill Hunter says `Deirdre Chambers, what a coincidence'.

Arch has never seen the 1994 comedy in its entirety, but nonetheless prefers what is the film's immortal line, uttered throughout the movie.

"You're terrible, Muriel."

Arch regrets an inability to decide which MP, State or Federal, most merits the quotation.