An open letter to the Turnbull Government by Allan Hird dated 9 December 2017: On Ray Hadley’s radio show on 7 December 2017 just after 8.30 am (Queensland time) the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection said: ‘One of the cardinal sins in politics is to mislead the Parliament.’ I couldn’t agree more and I am sure the Government would agree that that principle applies equally to public servants when appearing at Senate Estimates. Yet that is precisely what Mr Ben McDevitt did when he was the CEO of ASADA Let me explain On 3 March 2016 at Estimates, the ASADA CEO said in relation to the 34 Essendon players charged with taking Thymosin Beta 4 (TB4): ‘They should have gone to the website where you can look up the substances that are banned but we have no evidence they did.’ (Community Affairs Legislation Committee, 3 March 2016 Estimates Health Portfolio, ASADA, P 31). Compare that statement to the World Anti-Doping Authority 2012 Banned List https://wada-main-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/resources/files/WADA_Prohibited_List_2012_EN.pdf Thymosin Beta 4 is not listed. Yet that is the only substance ASADA charged the players with taking. Thymosin, the substance some of the players say they were administered is not listed either Neither TB4 nor Thymosin are listed. To claim the players would have discovered TB4 was banned by going ‘…to the website…’ when it is not listed is misleading the Senate. It is that simple. This is a very serious matter. On its own, being loose with the truth demonstrates a disregard for our parliamentary system of government. Importantly, the Senators at Estimates would have assumed the ASADA CEO, as a senior statutory office holder, would be a man of integrity and when he provided evidence under oath they could trust his implication that the WADA banned list did in fact list TB4 as a banned substance. In short, they would have trusted his answer. In all probability, it would have caused them not to probe further. Given a senior cabinet minister clearly considers it improper to mislead Parliament, I would urge the Attorney-General and the Minister for Sport to institute an investigation into whether the Government considers Mr Mc Devitt did mislead the Parliament. I say the Government deliberately, because Senator Dunium, as the Chair of the Community Affairs Standing Committee, has dismissed the evidence put to him and declared Mr Mc Devitt did not mislead the Senate. Further, Senator Dunium has steadfastly refused to provide reasons for his decision and indeed has refused to release to me Mr Mc Devitt’s letter in response to mine where I outlined in detail how and where he misled the Senate. Senator Dunium gave a bureaucrat my letter but refuses to give me the bureaucrat’s response. No wonder the public believes Parliament works for the insiders and not the public. Yours faithfully Allan Hird Please help us by registering your disappointment with the Sports Minister Mr Greg Hunt below, or sign and share our petition: Email: Greg.Hunt.MP@aph.gov.au Personal website: http://www.greghunt.com.au/ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/greg.hunt.mp1 Twitter: @GregHuntMP Thank you for your support. For further information, contact Justice of the 34 via their Facebook page. New information may prompt government inquiry into Essendon saga