Book Launch - Bob Bottom

"The Stolen Election Australia 1987 according to Frank Hardy"
written by Dr Amy McGrath OAM
Tuesday 18 October 2005 12:30pm
NSW Parliament House theatrette

Can an election result be reversed? In one seat or a whole election?

Our pre-eminent criminal journalist, Bob Bottom, launched a provocative new book based on Frank Hardy's fable "The Wizard of Oz" which claimed the result of the 1987 federal election had been reversed.

The 1987 election was the first election where the full effect of ALP "democratic reforms" in 1983-4 and 1986, driven by Senators Ray and Richardson, Mick Young MP, and Mr Cirrulis of the Australian Electoral Commission founded in 1984, which created and enlarged loopholes for electoral fraud which exist until this day.

Graham Richardson said "The changes were made so that Labor could embrace power as a right and make the task of anyone trying to take it from us as difficult as we could." (Marian Wilkinson The Fixer)

Bob Bottom in his October 18 launch said:

"For two decades following the enactment of user-friendly electoral laws by a federal labor government in 1983, Labor steadfastly opposed any move at either state or federal levels to tighten up enrolment provisions." Legislation for proof of identity collapsed before 2001, and in 2004 when Queensland and Victoria sabotaged the proclamation of the first bi-partisan support under joint roll agreements at both state and federal levels.

"None of this to-ing and fro-ing - outright sabotage of an historic bipartisan reform - was mentioned in either the recent speech of the Special Minister of State, or the latest report of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters.

"There is really only one explanation. Parliamentarians on neither side of federal parliament are fair dinkum about ensuring the integrity of the electoral roll. The stark truth is the public cannot trust the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Electoral Matters to report honestly nor have confidence in the Special Minister of State to implement reform even when passed on a bipartisan basis by Parliament."