Taylor responds to “outrageous” accusations over doctored documents

Last week, Angus Taylor sent Sydney’s Lord Mayor Clover Moore a letter accusing her of “hollow virtue-signalling” over emissions, suggesting she could reduce her council’s carbon emissions by cutting back on international travel.

Angus Taylor (oil)
Angus Taylor

The letter, as reported by The Daily Telegraph, accused Moore of having a $15 million travel bill for the year 2017-18, however the actual report from the City shows the council spent $4206.32 on domestic and $1727.77 on international travel for councillors, leading to accusations of doctoring the documents.

Now Taylor is defending himself against these “outrageous accusations”, saying he got the figures from the City of Sydney website.

Related article: As Taylor accuses Moore of “hollow virtue-signalling”, who doctored the documents?

“The last 24 hours has seen outrageous accusations made against me by the Labor Party,” Taylor said in a press release on Friday.

“On 9 September, my office, in preparing a reply to a letter from the City of Sydney Lord Mayor, accessed a report on the City of Sydney website.

“The details in that report were the basis of my letter to the Lord Mayor.

“What is clear now, is that the numbers in that document were not correct.

“I reject absolutely the suggestion that I, or any members of my staff, altered the document in question; however, I will be writing to the Lord Mayor to offer my apologies for not clarifying those numbers with the City of Sydney before writing to her.”

Saying that the accusations of forgery were a “dramatic overreach” by the Labor Party, Taylor added that there are different versions of the same report online.

Related article: Sydney unveils $60m green energy deal

“Clearly, given the document and its various drafts and versions, are on the servers of the City of Sydney, only they can prove which documents have existed, and may still currently exist,” he said.

“The Labor Party has a track record of using police referrals as a political tool. And the Shadow Attorney-General has obviously done so in this instance without even a casual regard for the facts.

“The fact he has leaped to assume the document is a forgery, rather than an alternative version from the City of Sydney’s website, shows this to be another opportunistic and political smear from a desperate and irresponsible party.”

Previous articleNet zero energy homes to save homeowners on costs
Next articleTransmission investment a good idea: Energy CEO