EXCLUSIVE: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has today personally been confronted by True Crime News Weekly about allegations he sexually abused a junior staffer with the incident then covered up by a $500,000 hush settlement paid by Australian taxpayers. Pierce Field reports from Melbourne.
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has today declined to respond to allegations of sexually assaulting former Liberal staffer Ms Rachelle Miller in his first year in Parliament in 2010.
Frydenberg, outside of the Hawthorn early voting centre in Melbourne’s east on Friday morning, declined to comment on allegations he was named as one of the multiple Coalition MPs that had assaulted Ms Miller, resulting in a payment of over $500,000 paid to the former Liberal media guru in compensation from Australian taxpayers.
The allegations involving the Treasurer were only revealed to the public for the first time by True Crime News Weekly last week in an article that quickly caused a nationwide sensation. We had attempted to contact Frydenberg for comment prior to publishing our exclusive story but to no avail.
The Treasurer however had nowhere to hide when the question was put to him on the morning of Friday, May 13 by True Crime News Weekly.
After being asked whether he had any statement to make about the allegations concerning sexual assault, Frydenberg could only offer a sheepish two word statement.
“No comment,” was the only response from a purse-lipped Frydenberg.
No denials, no angry excuses, no claims whatsoever that True Crime News Weekly has in any way falsely reported any of the serious allegations concerning the Treasurer.
When asked a second time why he wouldn’t respond to our questions on the matter also involving the Department of Finance and ‘interchange’ Cabinet Minister Alan Tudge, Frydenberg declined to respond again.
A Liberal staffer then approached True Crime News Weekly to ask whether we were a member of the ALP, completely ignoring any questions about the damning allegation.
Independent candidate Dr Monique Ryan was also stationed outside the booth and declined to speak to True Crime News Weekly.
The questioning was an active change of pace for the sleepy early voting centre, where the parties and Team Mon volunteers were making life pleasant for each other with civil discourse and polite smiles.
Frydenberg’s volunteers were a combination of rent-a-crowd and die-hard local branch members or family and friends.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg at pre-polling in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn (Image: Pierce Field)
Teal Independent Dr Monique Ryan has Treasurer Josh Frydenberg spooked that he will lose his seat of Kooyong (Image: Pierce Field)
Outnumbering the royal Liberal Blue was Dr Ryan’s Teal army, whom seemed genuinely happy to be handing out at prepoll – a majority, for the first time.
Many claimed they had never considered party politics before but all agreed the broad church of the Liberal Party ain’t what it used to be, the Greens aren’t for them, and so the Independent campaign was the way to go.
“I just had to do something,” said one Teal volunteer.
“It’s so exciting, there’s a real energy,” said another.
“My House of Reps vote actually matters now.”
Kooyong is an incredibly safe Liberal seat that has been chipped away at over the last six years by the Greens and Independents, making it a real contest for the 2022 poll.
The Liberals are desperately trying to paint Labor, the Greens and Independents as part of some Machiavellian combined grand plan for a hung parliament which will bring about the end of democracy as we know it. The Liberal Party fear campaign seems to suggest that an Australian Parliament featuring people of different backgrounds and views are somehow incapable of working together, although it occurs in nearly every other workplace across the country.
Despite that, the Royal Blue volunteers were there doing their best and perhaps deep down thinking that if they just hold on at a federal level, they may be able to win back Hawthorn at the next state election (which they lost to Labor for the first time in 63 years in 2018) and things will be all okay for the Liberal brand in Victoria again.
One very polite and honest Liberal volunteer was just genuinely thankful Australia pulled through COVID-19 better than most of the world.
Another volunteer said they were still sick of the slightest mention of the word ‘lockdown’, reflecting a genuine concern held by many across the state.
When asked about the allegations put to Frydenberg, the Teal Independent volunteers politely and intelligently pivoted to the urgent need for a Federal ICAC.
It has now been over a week since True Crime News Weekly published the serious allegations involving the Federal Treasurer and we are now investigating further disturbing allegations committed by the Member for Kooyong.
True Crime News Weekly will continue our coverage of Kooyong right up until election day, as we also investigate more damning allegations involving other MPs, including senior Labor Party figures.
MORE TO COME
Feature Photo: Josh Frydenberg in Melbourne (Image: Kieran Butler)
A very good article. It is very fair, and gives good coverage to the views of all sides at the electoral booth. Frydenberg should have answered the question. This is not going to go away.
I agree. This isn’t going anywhere. We should all be grateful of independent media. Well done Pierce Field.
Why run if you have nothing to hide
Hasn’t Nikki Sava written a bombshell story saying the same thing ?