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ABC Comms Chief needs your help in answering our questions about payment to the Capitol rioter

Friday, 19 February 2021

(Nick Leys with his wife Louise Milligan)

Nick Leys is the ABC's Head of Communications.

Or non-communications.

Yesterday we published details of a potentially criminal act on the part of the ABC.

It's certainly morally wrong.

That is the ABC's payment of USD $2,500 (minus tax) to a known US felon and US Capitol rioter, John Sullivan.

The ABC spouts sermons about President Trump inciting the riots.

Now we know the ABC itself paid a man who video-taped himself doing just that - inciting people to commit crimes.

Before the ABC made the payment, it knew that Sullivan's video it intended to pay him for included footage of himself saying:

"We accomplished this shit.

"We did this together.

"Fuck yeah!

"We are all a part of this history."

"Let's burn this shit down."

If anyone was inciting insurrection against US democracy, it was Sullivan.

So it's important for us to know how and why the ABC paid Australian taxpayer funds to him.

At 09:05AM Sydney time yesterday (0605 my time), I wrote to the ABC's head of communications, Nick Leys.

I'd received no reply by 4PM Sydney time, so I sent this polite chaser.

Keep in mind I'd included links to my reports on the matter, and a copy of the ABC's remittance advice to Sullivan as well as the FBI agent's Affidavit and Indictments against the ABC sub-contractor, Mr Sullivan.

Leys replied:

I was surprised that the ABC's most senior communications professional would adopt that approach, particularly given that I'd forwarded him all the necessary details supporting my request, details that disclosed serious issues in enriching a felon for his crimes.

I replied:

Leys replied:

I was becoming frustrated by this point.

I said,

When I received no reply, I followed up with:

I could not believe it when Leys replied:

I immediately followed up with the original email again.

Hi Nick,

Does the ABC have a statement on its payment of USD $2,500 to Washington riot felon John SULLIVAN?

Affidavit & indictments against ABC-funded Washington Capitol riot ring-leader John Sullivan

Their ABC paid $USD2,500 to left-wing activist John Sullivan - now facing charges over Washington riots

Will the ABC apologise for enriching SULLIVAN as a result of his offending?

Apology to USA from decent Australians - our public broadcaster financed Washington riot ringleader. We are truly sorry.

For convenience, I've attached your remittance advice to the offender SULLIVAN, along with one of his police charge-sheet photographs.

Thank you,

Michael Smith

Attachments area

As at the time of publishing this, Leys has not replied.

I have never experienced such unprofessional, schoolboy behaviour from a taxpayer funded senior executive.

The matter is serious.

It's in the hands of legislators and law enforcement here and in the US.

Every touch leaves it trace.

Like a slobby boozy lunch on a cheap tie.

PS - YOUR HELP PLEASE

You can help remind Mr Leys of his responsibilities BY EMAIL here:

leys.nick@abc.net.au

If the ABC’s PR person Nick Leys is too important to answer questions, despite earning 250k a year to do so - so please direct your questions to the ABC's head of news Gaven Morris.

morris.gaven@abc.net.au

Posted at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (36)

Comments

(Nick Leys with his wife Louise Milligan)

Nick Leys is the ABC's Head of Communications.

Or non-communications.

Yesterday we published details of a potentially criminal act on the part of the ABC.

It's certainly morally wrong.

That is the ABC's payment of USD $2,500 (minus tax) to a known US felon and US Capitol rioter, John Sullivan.

The ABC spouts sermons about President Trump inciting the riots.

Now we know the ABC itself paid a man who video-taped himself doing just that - inciting people to commit crimes.

Before the ABC made the payment, it knew that Sullivan's video it intended to pay him for included footage of himself saying:

"We accomplished this shit.

"We did this together.

"Fuck yeah!

"We are all a part of this history."

"Let's burn this shit down."

If anyone was inciting insurrection against US democracy, it was Sullivan.

So it's important for us to know how and why the ABC paid Australian taxpayer funds to him.

At 09:05AM Sydney time yesterday (0605 my time), I wrote to the ABC's head of communications, Nick Leys.

I'd received no reply by 4PM Sydney time, so I sent this polite chaser.

Leys replied:

I replied:

Leys replied:

I was becoming frustrated by this point.

I said,

When I received no reply, I followed up with:

I could not believe it when Leys replied:

I immediately followed up with the original email again.

Hi Nick,

Does the ABC have a statement on its payment of USD $2,500 to Washington riot felon John SULLIVAN?

Affidavit & indictments against ABC-funded Washington Capitol riot ring-leader John Sullivan

Their ABC paid $USD2,500 to left-wing activist John Sullivan - now facing charges over Washington riots

Will the ABC apologise for enriching SULLIVAN as a result of his offending?

Apology to USA from decent Australians - our public broadcaster financed Washington riot ringleader. We are truly sorry.

For convenience, I've attached your remittance advice to the offender SULLIVAN, along with one of his police charge-sheet photographs.

Thank you,

Michael Smith

Attachments area

As at the time of publishing this, Leys has not replied.

I have never experienced such unprofessional, schoolboy behaviour from a taxpayer funded senior executive.

The matter is serious.

It's in the hands of legislators and law enforcement here and in the US.

Every touch leaves it trace.

Like a slobby boozy lunch on a cheap tie.

PS - YOUR HELP PLEASE

You can help remind Mr Leys of his responsibilities BY EMAIL here:

leys.nick@abc.net.au

If the ABC’s PR person Nick Leys is too important to answer questions, despite earning 250k a year to do so - so please direct your questions to the ABC's head of news Gaven Morris.

morris.gaven@abc.net.au

DATE	EVENT/DOCUMENT
1990	Julia Gillard becomes a Partner at Slater and Gordon and is in the Industrial Relations Department of law firm
20-08-91	Letter to Bruce Wilson from Julia Gillard concerning a vacancy at the AWU
1-05-91	Julia Gillard brought her property at 36 Phillip Street, Abbotsford Vic property settled in July and she borrowed $40,000 from Slater & Gordon for the deposit and the rest from Westpac bank
6-03-92	Advertisement appeared in the paper for Incorporating the Workplace Reform Association - Theiss may have used it for reference

17-03-92	Locals concerned the Accident and Death Fund was being used to buy property and office equipment with the funds they paid into the fund.
18-03-92	Boulder fund suspended
15-05-92	Bruce Wilson and Julia Gillard go to a meeting with the miners in Kalgoorlie
18-05-92	AWU announce it is taking over the fund at Boulder paper article
13-02-93	Contract of sale signed by Bruce Wilson
13-02-93	Purchase of 85 Kerr Street Fitzroy by Julia Gillard and B Wilson who attended the Auction
13-02-93	blewitt-getting-his-addres.html Purchase of 85 Kerr Street Fitzroy by Julia Gillard and Bruce Wilson who attended the Auction
15-02-93	Letter to Slater & Gordon about the 1/85 Kerr Street sale
15-02-93	Ralph Blewitt is appointed Western Australian Branch Secretary in the week 15 to 19 February
16-02-93	Olive Brosnan and Heidi chasing up the Power of Attorney - notes
17-02-93	Olive Brosnan makes this further note regarding Heidi, a sales person with the Real Estate firm GA Thomson. Note that Heidi returns the call and says that she will let Olive Brosnan have the original Power of Attorney (when she gets it?) and will need a certified copy in return
22-02-93	Slater and Gordon acknowledges that it has received the Contract of Sale, Section 32 Statement and the Power of Attorney from GA Thomson.
23-02-93	Olive Brosnan certifies Power of Attorney
3-03-93	A memo from Sylvia to Olive Brosnan about the application for the loan for Ralph Blewitt and the Kerr Street property
4-03-93	Letter/fax from Hewitt & Company stating Ralph Blewitt Wages Ref VB/CS
9-03-93	Memo to Olive Brosnan from Sylvia about the loan approval and the return of the chq for $500 from Ralph Blewitt’s personal account
10-03-93	Letter from Slater & Gordon addressed to Ralph Blewitt explaining mortgage details Page 1, Page 2, Page 3
10-03-93	Memo Julia Gillard wants details of penalty interest rates
12-03-93	Memo to Julia Gillard from Olive Brosnan about penalty interest rates
17-03-93	Memo of fees for house - Bill of costs
18-03-93	Letter to Ralph Blewitt requesting Cheque for $67,772.30
18-03-93	The cheque for $67,772.30
22-03-93	Settlement date for Kerr Street purchase
23-03-93	Land Transfer document
31-03-94	Dawesville project costs
Aug-Sept 94	Julia Gillard went on holidays while Bruce Wilson organised house renovations
Aug-Sept 94	Interview with Slater & Gordon about the Renovations
6-02-95	New bank accounts for Construction Fund
17-02-95	AWU-FIME amalgamate (2 Victorian Branches)
12-04-95	Cheque from AWU WRAI account $46,550
27-04-95	Cheque for $15000 - $10 000 for K Spyridis and $5000 cash
30-06-95	AWU went back to central funding arrangements
25-07-95	Letter from Robert Smith (AWU) to Ian Cambridge and Steve Harrison about the unknown AWU bank accounts
27-07-95	Letter to the National Executives about the freezing of the accounts
2-08-95	Union National Finance committee meet to discuss what was going on start of investigations into the frozen accounts
4-08-95	Bob Smith wrote to Ian Cambridge to say the AWU was going to charge Bruce Wilson
10-08-95	Ian Cambridge visits QC Richard Kenzie from Maurice Blackburn for discussions to fix it (get union money back)
14-08-95	Internal Review into Julia Gillard’s involvement of the AWU -WRA and she is put on restricted duties
14/15 Aug 95	Other Joint secretaries of the Unions paid out the signatories of the accounts - hand writing on the cheques Link 1 Link 2
16-08-95	Bruce Wilson redundancy cheque $55,204
17-08-95	Letter to stop the cheques Ian Cambridge
17/18 Aug 95	All accounts were closed bar 2 general and grants accounts and redundancies given out
18-08-95	Affidavit - Bill Ludwig - Bruce Wilson get sprung
11-09-95	Julia Gillard interviewed by Geoff Shaw, Peter Gordon and Nick Styant-Browne at Slater and Gordon - It’s recorded and she goes on leave of Absence until May 96 (WA AWU-WRA not yet discovered by AWU yet)
31-01-96	Ian Cambridge addresses AWU Qld Branch meeting
3-04-96	Ian Cambridge talked with Commonwealth Bank - Diary entry - Discovery of Workplace Reform Association INC. WA branch
6-05-96	Discovery of Accounts in AWU name by Ian Cambridge letter from Commonwealth Bank
7-05-96	Fax from Com bank listing the accounts in the AWU name - for Ian Cambridge
1-06-96	Newspaper article about Joe Trio and the AWU fraud article from sometime in 1996
3-06-96	Ian Cambridge received bank records after the discussions with the bank back in April Ian Cambridge spoke to AWU Officials in Perth and they never heard of the Workplace Reform Association Inc.
5-07-96	Diary entry Ian Cambridge - spoke to Branch Official Russell Frearson about the $400,000 going through the account
31-07-96	Geoff Shaw Slater & Gordon General Manager gets Subpoena to supply all documents relating to purchase of 1/85 Kerr Street
13-08-96	Court proceeding where Geoff Shaw is to produce the documents from the Subpeona Link 1, Link 2
6-01-97	Memo from Investigating Detective Dave McAlpine about the AWU fraud
6-02-97	Memo to fraud squad from Theiss stating they hadn’t been defrauded Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4
17-02-98	Memo fraud squad about Theiss - Ralph Blewitt said Theiss auditors required that the WRA needed to be Inc.