Election hopeful James Mathison might have just taken another step towards becoming an ‘insider’, ’cause the independent candidate for Warringah has just answered back to his first bona fide political scandal.
ICYMI, the past couple of days have been pretty dicey for the man who wants to unseat Tony Abbott. According to 2GB radio host Ben Fordham, Mathison lied about a $400 debt owed to a make-up artist for work she did on a television pilot.
Fordham claimed that for eight months, that debt went unpaid. After contacting the candidate for clarification early on Thursday afternoon, Mathison said the debt had been paid that very day, and he’d be able to provide proof later in the evening.
“My gut was telling me that he was lying… if I’m being lied to, I will call it out. And that’s why I’m giving you this update right now.”
Well, in response, he’s come through with a Facebook post outlining his perspective – and apologising to the electorate for the way the entire mess has played out.
“I incorrectly told [2GB] Mary had been paid. That night looking through my statement, I was embarrassed to find that was not the case and first thing next morning deposited the money into her account in full view of a journalist.It’s not as if I was trying to hide that fact. The bottom line is I screwed up. I should have been on top of this, and paid Mary as soon as I’d become aware of it.”
Following those claims, Mathison took aim at the Liberal Party for the “hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars being funnelled through the Liberal Parakeelia scheme,” and lamented the fact the radio station chose
