Rick Phillips speaks on Mike Rann, Michelle Chantelois
Daniel Wills, Political Reporter
From: AdelaideNow March 10, 2010 4:32PM
MICHELLE Chantelois' estranged husband has appeared at a pre-election debate and declared his campaign to "expose" Premier Mike Rann will end on March 20.
Rick Phillips has pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Rann with a rolled-up magazine in October and said his actions had been motivated by concerns the Premier's relationship with his wife had destabilised their family.
Ms Chantelois, a former Parliament House barmaid, has publicly said that she had a sexual affair with Mr Rann. He has repeatedly denied this, although he has acknowledged the two had a friendship "before I was married" and publicly apologised for any distress it had caused to her or her family.
Mr Phillips appeared at an SA Press Club debate between Treasurer Kevin Foley and Opposition treasury spokesman Steven Griffiths at the invitation of a neighbour.
He said his seating on a table with Liberal MP Ivan Venning was coincidental.
Mr Phillips sat quietly during the hour-long debate and told reporters afterwards that he wanted Mr Rann and his government voted out of office.
"They're just arrogant, arrogant, arrogant," he said.
"I've done my bit to expose what this man is about."
"It makes it a personal issue to slap the guy who destroyed my family, philosophically."
Mr Phillips said he was not satisfied with the Premier's response to Ms Chantelois' allegations.
"It's not the end. This thing started because I wanted some questions answered. I still haven't had those questions answered," he said.
"I'm here to say something, to do my bit.
"She's lovely, she's intelligent, she's been very courageous and brave to come up and stand up against the media machine, but is she smart enough to beat a lie detector test? Give me a break." (After Mr Rann said Ms Chantelois' allegations were untrue, she chose to take a lie detector test and gave the Premier results that had indicated she was telling the truth).
Mr Phillips also said he would turn his back on the Labor Party, despite years of union membership, over the Premier's alleged conduct.
He said the public was growing tired of the scandal and he would do nothing to further it after the state election.
"It'll end for me on the 20th of March. We in South Australia get what we deserve if we re-elect him," he said.
"We've all had enough of it, but I think we all want fresh faces everywhere.
"I don't want my face on TV. I don't think we want Rann and Foley's faces on TV any more. I think we're done with them, we're done with Michelle, we're done with me."
Mr Phillips also rejected Mr Rann's apology during the great debate as political spin.
"His apology to me and my family, which I do not accept, the only thing in that apology was: `Before I was married, before I was married, he said that twice.
"What does that mean? Does that mean `I can do what I like?"'
Mr Phillips also denied his presence was intended to be provocative or disrupt the event.
The Premier's office has told AdelaideNow that Mr Rann has no comment to make on Mr Phillips' statements.
Well, there you go. Its been a Labor Party plot from the beginning - trying to get a sympathy vote for Mike. So not only does "Mr Lonely" come out, "Poor Me Mike" has a shot as well.
Or after the dodgy e-mail affair brought down MHS, they were hoping this little trick would hurt the opposition
Will this Government stop at nothing to get re-elected?
wake me up when this is over.
