ICAC

[Diddy]

Apparently NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell is said to have recieved a bottle of birth year Grange (1959) valued at $3k from a lobbyist.

Not a bad gift if true!

http://mobile.news.com.au/national/brea ... 6885006706

[via collins]

This is awesome!

The ICAC hearings have had everything but a wine angle.

(Pulls of comfy chair and pops an aperitif)

[phillisc]

Appears that the '59 left a somewhat bitter taste in the mouth!

Now if only some of the wine "corporates" who have junket as their job description would go the same way

Cheers
Craig.

[sjw_11]

"I did not have sexual relations with that bottle of Grange..."

Woops.

[AaronL]

I can sympathise with Barry. I receive so many bottles of birth year Grange that I can't remember them all

[sjw_11]

I liked the implications in his comment "'59 was a good year"... we should all be so lucky as to taste enough '59s to know that!

[Rossco]

Surely this is the first time a bottle of grange has toppled a Premier?

The Penfolds marketing team must be going into overdrive

[Diddy]

Wow! What an incredible 24 hours in politics since my first post!

[via collins]

Sure has been dazzling Diddy.

The fact that Abbott thinks that not recalling receiving a 1959 Grange is perfectly understandable really does underline just how out of whack some politicians have become from reality.

[Diddy]

Sure has been dazzling Diddy.

The fact that Abbott thinks that not recalling receiving a 1959 Grange is perfectly understandable really does underline just how out of whack some politicians have become from reality.

The only other alternative explanation was that he intentionally misled the ICAC to save his own skin (until of course the thank you note materialised).

I know which scenario I think is more likely...

I think what you're seeing is simply a political exercise in damage control...

[Diddy]

Would anyone care to email the premier's office and ask for a TN?

[Rossco]

Would anyone care to email the premier's office and ask for a TN?

LOL!

Maybe it was corked and therefore he never drank it and thats why he doesnt remember............

[Panda 9D]

Shocking to think that politicians at that level can be bought off so cheaply.

[shauno]

I was given a bottle of grange, can't recall if I sent a thank-you note though! Hope my job is safe!

[GraemeG]

I always thought the '59 was a dangerous sort of wine, but not for this reason...
GG

[Sean]

deleted

[Scotty vino]

Will this be called Grange-gate?

[pc79]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/simoncrerar/hil ... ry-ofarrel

[Scotty vino]

BAZ grange.jpg

[ticklenow1]

Makes you wonder though who had the email saved doesn't it. Did whoever saved the email decide that Barry was no longer playing ball and release it? Why was an email like that saved in the first place? This politics is a dirty business. The lobby groups obviously wield a lot more power that the average punter realises.

I think a lot more will come out of this. One thing for me though, is that most politicians are just corrupt and don't care about Joe Bloggs in the street at all. Both side of politics are a disgrace. The ones that get outed are just the careless ones. Via collins is right, politicians are that far removed from reality, it's beyond a joke. Problem is though, is that both sides are as bad as each other. My disdain for politicians has reached a new low. How much lower can they go??

Cheers
Ian

[phillisc]

Instead of marketing the May releases as iconic and luxurious.....should they not be referred to as....Premier??

I think St Bazza has a nice ring to it...but it could be a little cloying.

Cheers Craig.

[Diddy]

[sjw_11]

image-468x351.jpg

[Chuck]

Great thread. Who else in politics has received a Grange from AWH? Maybe the whole NSW parliament could be outed. Then we could put the show on the road To Canberra and beyond.