Howard knew of slush fund to target Hanson By Mike Seccombe August 27, 2003
The Prime Minister, John Howard, was aware of a $100,000 clandestine trust fund set up by the Workplace Relations Minister, Tony Abbott, to bankroll legal action against Pauline Hanson and One Nation. But it appears Mr Abbott could be in breach of his leader's code of conduct, because he did not formally notify Mr Howard until three months after it began. A spokesman for Mr Howard said last night Mr Abbott had "formally notified the register of ministers' interests and the Prime Minister about the existence of a trust" after the 1998 election. "Mr Abbott did not seek the Prime Minister's approval for the fund-raising activities but Mr Abbott did nothing wrong in pursuing legitimate questions about One Nation's registration as a political party," the spokesman said. But later he clarified the comment, saying media reports of the existence of the trust had run "several months" before Mr Abbott's declaration, and that was how Mr Howard first learnt of the slush fund. The fund was set up in late August, 1998, but not declared until December 3. Mr Abbott declared the trust in his 1998 register of interests, held with the Parliament, under the section headed: "Membership of any organisations where a conflict of interest with a member's public duties could foreseeably arise or be seen to arise." Mr Abbott wrote: "Trustee of Australians For Honest Politics (along with Peter Coleman and John Wheeldon)." Peter Coleman is former NSW and federal Liberal politician. He is federal Treasurer Peter Costello's father-in-law. John Wheeldon was a Labor senator who drifted to the right after leaving politics and was close to Mr Coleman through their association with the conservative-aligned Quadrant magazine.
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http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/26/1061663793191.html?from=storyrhs