25 June 2008

Iguanas the Truth and Do you know who I am?

Today in the lower house in Sydney, NSW Liberal MP Ray Williams was ejected from state parliament after bringing a stuffed-toy iguana into the lower house. Mr Williams produced the toy as Premier Morris Iemma rose to answer a question from Nationals Leader Andrew Stoner relating to the incident at Iguana's Waterfront Bar at Gosford, involving John Della Bosca and his wife, federal Labor MP Belinda Neal.

Speaker Richard Torbay ordered Mr Williams, the MP for Hawkesbury, be removed from the house.

The row at the nightclub is now the subject of a police investigation after conflicting statutory declarations were made about the incident. Staff at Iguana's say Mr Della Bosca and Ms Neal, threatened and abused them.

Ms Neal and Mr Della Bosca, who has been stood down as education minister pending the inquiry, have denied any wrong doing.

Look, some sense is there in the Lower House in Sydney. If a public official acts up and does wrong, he should be reproved. Shame is a bad thing, but it is really better than mockery.

When the truth does come out, it will bring health to an ailing government from all these news reports and Current Affair newsmagazine conversations.

THE federal MP Belinda Neal is accused of interfering with a second statutory declaration, after the husband of her former staff member said the Labor backbencher told him not to include in his statement that she bought a bottle of red wine on the night she was accused of abusing Iguanas bar staff.

David Batten, the husband of Ms Neal's former office staff member Melissa Batten, told Channel Nine's A Current Affair last night that he was instructed by Ms Neal to leave out details of "alcohol" from his statutory declaration over the affair.

Mr Batten's claims were revealed after his wife told the program on Monday she was told to hand over for shredding an original statutory declaration in which she included the comment that Ms Neal had said to staff at Iguanas Waterfront on June 6: "Do you know who I am?"

Wow, Ms Neal would have been well advised to stick to truth. Seems her staffer of only three weeks, Ms Batten, is more committed to such. But you never know.

I recommend we all stick to truth.

So how do you know the Truth? Remember, there was a Jewish rabbi some 2,000 years ago who asked some of his friends, "Who do people say that I am?" Peter was among them and quickly answered, "Some say you are Elijah (the Jewish prophet) or John the Baptist (another who was considered as a prophet in Jewish circles) or one of the prophets." (Good answer Peter)

Y'shua (that's the rabbi's name) answered with a different kind of question that is alleged to have come from Ms Neal. "Who do you say that I am?" might come off as a kind of "Do you know who I am?" But it's not asked with authority, rather genuine curiosity.

Peter replied, "You are the Messiah, the son of the living God." And he was right again.

And if you know Y'shua as your messiah and lord, you will have Truth and eternal life.

That's not good for ratings only; it's good for your whole life.

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