Abbott’s chief of staff pleads guilty to drink driving

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s chief of staff has entered a plea of guilty to drink driving.

Peta Credlin did not appear before the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday to face the one count of low-range driving under the influence.

The 42-year-old blew 0.075 when she was tested by police outside her Canberra home after Mr Abbott’s budget reply speech in May.

A spokesman from Mr Abbott’s office said Credlin had been at a party function held after the parliamentary address.

Credlin’s lawyer, Ben Aulich, was on Wednesday granted an adjournment until September 3.

Mr Aulich handed a letter to Magistrate Beth Campbell explaining his client was in Queensland with Mr Abbott and not in a position to appear before the court until September.

Ms Campbell expressed surprise at the letter’s mention of Credlin’s high profile as she had never heard of her.

It is understood Credlin will apply for a section 17 – which would allow her avoid a conviction and keep her licence – as it is the first time she has been charged with a criminal offence in her 21-years of driving.

Credlin will appear before the court in September.

Credit: Michael Inman, Canberra Times

Army sex scandal exposed

They are members of the self-proclaimed ‘Jedi Council’ at the centre of an investigation described by Army chiefs as among the worst they have seen.

7News can lift the lid on the scandal engulfing our armed forces, in which 17 Army personnel are being looked into.

An exclusive investigation has revealed the nature of police allegations against three officers, along with the questions being asked of their superiors.

Police have been told the man in the captain’s hat (pictured top left) co-founded the group.

He is an Army reservist and former commando accused of videoing sex with a Victorian woman, and emailing it to his mates on the ‘Defence Restricted Network’.

Images were viewed by up to sixty ADF personnel, followed by comments on her appearance and sexual performance.

Police have identified seven female victims named ‘Married Mole Number Five’ and ‘Virgin Mole’ among others.

There are references to ‘gang bangs’ and demands for more images.

Police have been told a satellite image of one woman’s home was distributed, with personal details so that others could try to quote ‘get some action’ as well.

Investigators flew to Afghanistan to interview another woman in the RAAF.

Among the most bitter of ironies for Army chiefs, offensive comments were shared about one woman, an officer we will not identify.

Her image was once used in a promotional campaign about how great it is to be a female in the Army.

The Chief of Army has personally spoken to her.

“These are actions by men who’ve been in the Defence Force for in excess of ten years,” Lieutenant-General David Morrison said last month.

7News has contacted the three men under police investigation.

One had no comment, while a lawyer for another said his client;

“…denies all allegations of wrongdoing… if charges are proffered against [my client] he will be defending them,” lawyer Peter Woodhouse wrote.

“Mr *********** is a professional of sound reputation.”

Other men scrutinised internally by the ADF include some of the Army’s highest-ranked officers.

They are not accused of criminality, or even distributing the crass material, but they are under investigation over what they knew about the Jedi Council’s activities.

Credit: Robert Ovadia, 7 News.

Man questioned over Assembly powder scare

Police were speaking with a 51-year-old Belconnen man on Monday night after packages containing suspicious white power were received by several members of the ACT Legislative Assembly.
Police were also investigating whether the powder scare, which led to a three-hour lockdown of the Assembly building on Monday, was linked to a similar incident at Parliament House.
Staff in ACT Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson’s first-floor office alerted authorities at about 11.10am after opening a package that contained white powder. More suspicious packages were discovered by staff in the second-floor offices of Chief Minister Katy Gallagher and Greens minister Shane Rattenbury.
A letter inside the package sent to Mr Rattenbury’s office raised concerns about the fluoridation of the ACT’s water supply.

Sergeant Peter Davis, of Civic police station, said police would investigate whether the incident was linked to a similar scare at Parliament House last Friday.
Nobody except firefighters in hazardous material protection suits were allowed in or out of the building after a lockdown was ordered.
Acting Chief Minister Andrew Barr was working in his office during the incident and was unable to attend a lunch with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and a meeting with East Timorese President Taur Matan Ruak. Several other MLAs, including Mr Rattenbury, found themselves locked outside the building.
Ms Gallagher is on leave this week.
Students attending a YMCA Youth Parliament program continued to meet in the Legislative Assembly chamber.
Mr Hanson and several members of his staff waited in a ground-level room while firefighters removed the package from his office and sent a sample to a pathology laboratory for examination.
The packages in the offices of Ms Gallagher and Mr Rattenbury were also removed. Some mail in Mr Barr’s office was examined but did not contain white powder.
The firefighters who removed the mail had wash-down procedures in the Assembly car park.
The building was reopened at about 2.30pm after tests confirmed the suspicious items were safe.
Mr Barr said police and the fire brigade had kept MLAs and their staff updated throughout the incident on what was occurring.
‘‘We had training in this,’’ Mr Barr said. ‘‘We’ve been through exercises before. This, I guess, was closer to the real thing than any of us have perhaps experienced before.’’

Criminal lawyer Peter Woodhouse, of Ben Aulich and Associates, said that using a mail service to perpetrate a hoax was an offence under federal law, punishable by up to 10 years in jail.
Mail routinely goes through a security screening process before being delivered to the Legislative Assembly. In 1996, a man smashed more than 100 windows and panels on the ground floor of the Assembly building, prompting a security upgrade.

Credit: Peter Jean and Lisa Cox, Canberra Times