Fed: Disgraced MP Mike Kaiser likely to get a second chance
By Rosemary Desmond
BRISBANE, Aug 16 AAP - Former Queensland Labor MP Mike Kaiser, who resigned over avote rorting scandal, should be given a second chance, a spokesman for federal OppositionLeader Simon Crean said today.
Mr Kaiser, 40, was expected to make a political comeback and fill a vacancy as assistantALP national secretary.
The move follows the resignation of national ALP secretary Geoff Walsh, who will bereplaced by assistant secretary Tim Gartrell, with Mr Kaiser filling the number two spot.
A spokesman for Mr Crean said the party welcomed the return of Mr Kaiser, who had paida high price for voting in one electorate for a party preselection two decades ago ata time when he was enrolled in another electorate.
Mr Kaiser quit as a Labor MP for Woodridge in 2000 after he admitted at an inquiryhe had falsely signed a voter enrolment form when he was a student.
Mr Crean's spokesman said Mr Kaiser, a former ALP state secretary, had never been chargedwith any offence and the ALP believed he should not be punished all his life.
"It (the party) doesn't think he should be paying again and again and again for onemistake he made 20 years ago when he was 19," the spokesman told AAP.
"He's a very talented person and wanted the job, and Simon Crean supported it."
Mr Kaiser said he looked forward to the challenge of helping the ALP in its campaign battles.
"I'm really delighted to be given the opportunity to serve the Labor Party again inan area I really enjoy, and that is campaigning," he told ABC Radio.
"Federally, the Labor Party faces a huge challenge and I've helped the party throughcampaigning challenges in the past.
"I really welcome this opportunity to do the same thing."
A spokeswoman for Premier Peter Beattie said the decision to appoint Mr Kaiser wasa decision for the federal ALP.
"But if the party decides to take that decision, he won't oppose it," the spokeswoman said.
But Queensland Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said the Premier had the powerto stop Mr Kaiser being appointed.
"The premier has a double standard on this," Mr Springborg told AAP.
"He's forgotten about all the principles he had when he was in a minority governmentnow he has a huge margin in the parliament."
AAP rad/wjf
KEYWORD: KAISER
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