Reith still in the dark

Mike Carlton SMH Saturday 02/07/2011

Poor old Peter Reith. Never quite knew what was going on. Always in the dark. Why, back in 1998, as John Howard's workplace relations minister, he was astounded to hear that serving defence personnel would be trained as scab wharfies in Dubai to break the maritime dispute.

And no, he'd been given no hint whatever of the rottweilers and balaclava'd goons sooled onto the docks to enforce the lockout.

In 2000, all bewildered innocence, he learned of a $50,000 bill on his government phone card, at least $1000 of that racked up by his son.

A year later, he was flabbergasted again when the Defence brass told him that evil boat people had not actually tossed their kiddies overboard from SIEV 4. ''Well, we'd better not see the video then,'' he cried in shock.

Then, just last weekend, the poor chap believed he had Tony Abbott's support as federal president of the Liberal Party, only to find the stuntman voting, almost ostentatiously, for his rival, Alan Stockdale. Gobsmacked again. He must have missed that famous confession to Kerry O'Brien, that you should always get an Abbott promise in writing.