by emad » Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:31 am
Politician tries to kill himself after 'mail-order bride' disgrace<br>By Our Foreign Staff<br> <br> <br> <br>A LEADING Australian politician was reported to have tried to kill himself as new allegations emerged about his predatory sexual behaviour a day after he resigned from office in disgrace. <br><br>John Brogden, 36, leader of the opposition Liberals in New South Wales, was found unconscious in a back room of his office at Mona Vale yesterday. Australian police said that he had tried to commit suicide. He was taken to hospital with self-inflicted stab wounds, where he was said to be in a stable condition. He is expected to be discharged today. <br><br> <br> <br>Mr Brogden resigned on Monday after reports that he had called the Malaysian wife of a political rival a “mail-order bride” at an alcohol-soaked function and sexually harassed two women journalists. <br><br>The Australian Daily Telegraph published further lurid details of Mr Brogden’s stormy private life yesterday. It alleged that during a boozy Christmas party in his parliamentary office in 2003 he invited two women journalists for a group sex session. He is said to have told them that they were so attractive they should be kept in a nunnery. “He jokingly made this suggestion about threesomes,” one of the women was quoted as saying. They declined his offer. <br><br>The paper also reported that Frank Hooke, the father of Mr Brogden’s wife, Lucy, had been concerned in the past about his son-in-law’s relationship with women office staff. Mr Brogden is alleged to have asked a young receptionist to accompany him on an overnight trip. <br><br>Mr Hooke, former treasurer of the Liberal Party in the state, also intervened when gossip linked a 25-year-old employee with Mr Brogden. The woman, who denies an affair with her boss, was removed from the office and went abroad. <br><br>Before his career fell apart on Monday as the first alllegations surfaced, Mr Brogden was tipped to have a good chance of winning the premiership at the next state elections in 2007. He initially tried to weather the storm by apologising for his “inappropriate” behaviour, but a few hours later colleagues forced him to step down. “I acted dishonourably and now is the time to act honourably,” he told a news conference. <br><br>He denied being drunk at the party thrown for the media by the Australian Hotels Association three weeks ago, although he admitted drinking six beers to celebrate the resignation of Bob Carr, the long-standing premier. It was about Mr Carr’s wife, Helena, that Mr Brogden made the “mail-order bride” remark. <br><br>Mr Carr, who stepped down last month after leading Australia’s most populous state for ten years, at first rejected Mr Brogden’s apology. “I think that his apology is entirely unacceptable to Helena and that is the greatest insult not only to her but to every woman of Asian background,” he said. <br><br>But yesterday Mr Carr offered his support to the disgraced politician, saying that he and his wife had put the insulting comment behind them. <br><br>“The world accepts that everyone makes mistakes and he’s got a big future as a politican, member of this community and as a father,” Mr Carr said. “We wish him well and we want to encourage him to move beyond this thing.” <br><br>Helena Carr, 58, a businesswoman to whom Mr Carr has been married for more than 30 years, had described the slur against her as hurtful. <br><br>John Howard, Prime Minister and leader of Mr Brogden’s Liberal Party, applauded his resignation, having condemned his remarks. “That sort of comment should never have been made,” he said.<br> <br> <br> <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1757891,00.html">www.timesonline.co.uk/art...91,00.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <p></p><i></i>
