Alan Jones apologies to Kate McFarlane

Some thing a little interesting!


Alan Jones – 7.42am. Friday 8 November 2013
......just on Brad Hazzard, a week ago you might have missed it because it was early in the programme, I had a bit of an altercation with Brad Hazzard on my programme.
He’s a very decent man Brad Hazzard, over whether or not his Chief of Staff, a woman by the name of Kate McFarlane was at meetings with the coalmining outfit Coalpac, who in fact had lost an application to mine in the Lithgow area.
She had been mentioned in a newspaper article as having been present at meetings with the mining company and hadn’t declared an interest in that she allegedly owned a property adjacent to the mine or overlooking the mine.
Let me just say this in the light of quite a bit of material that’s been sent to me. It appears to me that everything that’s been said about this woman, Kate McFarlane, including suggestions by me in that interview with her boss, or I questioned Brad Hazzard, that all of that is wrong. In so far as her property in the area is adjacent or overlooking the mine, I now understand it’s 8kms away.
So I think the Premier in answering questions in the Parliament got it right when he said, if you think Redfern is near or adjacent to or overlooks The Rocks, you probably have a problem. And that’s as adjacent as Kate McFarlane’s property is to the mine.
However the most important point is that these things were answered comprehensively in the Parliament by Brad Hazzard and the Premier and it’s now quite clear that there were three meetings at different times with this Coalpac coal company and its personnel and on no occasion was Kate McFarlane present. As simple as that.
And in a letter from Sam Haddad, the Director General of the Department of Planning & Infrastructure, he makes the point, quote, Ms McFarlane has never sought in any conversation or otherwise to influence the Department’s rigorous and independent merit based recommendation in regard to the Coalpac mine, unquote.
Now we, but if something is done which is wrong in relation to a particular person, it’s very important to let you know about that. And I think much of what was said- all of what was said, I’m sorry, not much [but all] about Ms McFarlane was wrong.
So Ms McFarlane, head high, get on with your work. I think those who’ve had a stab, including in that very rather heated exchange I had with Brad Hazzard, were on the wrong tram. We’ve got off that tram, and hopefully you can continue with your reputation intact.....

2GB [DAB] 2013-11-08 07-43-21.Jones on planning
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