Coalition leader risked lives: Carr: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Jonathan Porter, John Stapleton, Additional reporting: Annabelle McDonald. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 03 Mar 2005: 7.
Abstract
NSW Opposition Leader John Brogden had endangered police lives by revealing in parliament details of a bugging operation at the house of death-crash driver Jesse Kelly, Premier Bob Carr warned yesterday.
Mr Carr told parliament Mr Brogden had acted recklessly. “If police have a listening device at the home of a criminal, how dare you get up in this house and give the game away,” the Premier told the Opposition Leader. “Never, ever, have Opposition leaders behaved like that. It’s disgraceful. How dare you undercut a police operation? That potentially puts at risk police officers.”
“I want this funeral to be a celebration,” he said. “I don’t want the funeral wrecked. Your mates like you, but they don’t love you like they loved [Dylan Rayward]. I don’t condone him getting in a stolen car, but Dylan was a good kid. They say I was a bad father, but I took him to football every week. He loved his football.”
Full Text
NSW Opposition Leader John Brogden had endangered police lives by revealing in parliament details of a bugging operation at the house of death-crash driver Jesse Kelly, Premier Bob Carr warned yesterday.
The accusation came as the wanted man’s father warned police to stay away from his son’s funeral tomorrow and his grandparents made an emotional plea for the 20-year-old to turn himself in to police.
Mr Brogden had asked in parliament if a bug had intercepted 20- year-old Mr Kelly “identifying himself as the driver of the stolen vehicle several hours before presenting to Macquarie Fields police station and being allowed to walk free”.
Mr Kelly remained at large last night, five days after the crash that killed his two mates Dylan Rayward, 17, and Matthew Robertson, 19.
Mr Carr told parliament Mr Brogden had acted recklessly. “If police have a listening device at the home of a criminal, how dare you get up in this house and give the game away,” the Premier told the Opposition Leader. “Never, ever, have Opposition leaders behaved like that. It’s disgraceful. How dare you undercut a police operation? That potentially puts at risk police officers.”
Outside parliament, Mr Brogden said he was entitled to raise the matter because the listening device issue was raised on a Sydney radio station earlier yesterday.
Twenty-seven people have been arrested since the riots started, and 81 charges laid.
Jamie Rayward, father of Dylan Rayward, begged police to stay away from his son’s funeral. The 44-year-old claimed police had laughed at him before he identified his son’s blood-soaked body. He warned that if police showed up at the funeral the riots “are going to blow up again”.
Mr Rayward said he had comforted Mr Kelly on Sunday night after the fatal crash. “All we did was cry together,” he said.
“I want this funeral to be a celebration,” he said. “I don’t want the funeral wrecked. Your mates like you, but they don’t love you like they loved Dylan. I don’t condone him getting in a stolen car, but Dylan was a good kid. They say I was a bad father, but I took him to football every week. He loved his football.”
Mr Kelly’s grandparents, Peter and Barbara Perkins, urged the unemployed 20-year-old to give himself up.
“We have no idea where he is,” Mr Perkins said. “But he knows he is going to do time — he’s prepared to do that.
“He’s grieving very badly because he has the guilt of the accident on his hands,” Mr Perkins said.
Ms Perkins said she feared Mr Kelly might be shot in the coming days, and encouraged her grandson to stay strong.
“We all love you and you’ll do the right thing when the time’s right when the police back off and leave Mac Fields alone,” she said.
Dylan’s brother Jarryd, 16, is to be released from jail for Friday’s funeral.