Rees faces rebellion in the ranks as MPs join fight to save axed Stewart ' ,

A SENIOR Labor MP has accused the Premier, Nathan Rees, of improperly sacking minister Tony Stewart to ensure a cabinet vacancy for the former unions boss John Robertson.

The explosive claim by Richard Amery a 25-year veteran of State Parliament and one of Labor's longest-serving MPs is a devastating blow for Mr Rees as he tries to quell an uprising in his ranks over the Stewart affair.

Mr Amery said Mr Stewart had been the victim of gross injustice and his colleagues including many who would attend a function at Bankstown Sports Club on June 19 to raise money for the Tony Stewart Fighting Fund would back him as he fights in the Supreme Court to clear his name.

In a warning to Mr Rees, Mr Amery said it would be disgraceful for a Labor Government to try to beat Mr Stewart in a legal war of attrition.

"If you think that this will be resolved by financially ruining Tony Stewart, then it won't be ... for as long as there is a chook out there to be raffled we will be raising money to make sure he gets a fair go," Mr Amery said yesterday. "Big corporations will keep people bleeding through the courts, but it would be disgraceful if a Labor Government was ... hoping high legal costs will force someone into copping an allegation he vehemently opposes."

A spokesman for the Premier said claims that Mr Stewart was sacked for political expediency were completely untrue.

Mr Amery is one of several key witnesses who will be subpoenaed by Mr Stewart's lawyers, but he is the only one who was present when Mr Rees, in two separate meetings on November 11, tried to persuade the then science minister to resign.

Mr Amery revealed how he had urged Mr Rees to refer to police allegations that Mr Stewart had touched staffer Tina Sanger on the leg to stop her leaving the table during a charity dinner last year.

At the time, Mr Rees was under pressure to find a ministry for new MP John Robertson, but had only one spare frontbench spot after the former police minister Matt Brown was sacked.

The Premier knew caucus would not support Mr Robertson still loathed by many Labor MPs because he had led the union movement's campaign against power privatisation and the Stewart vacancy gave him a politically expedient solution, Mr Amery said. Mr Rees banked on caucus giving Mr Robertson one spot in return for picking the second new minister, Mr Amery said.

But Mr Rees rejected a police inquiry because it would have taken too long and robbed him of the chance to give Mr Robertson his promised ministry, Mr Amery said.

"There was an allegation of a touch an uninvited contact and technically I suppose the lawyers would tell you that's an assault," Mr Amery told The Sun-Herald.

"I asked Tony how he would feel about it being referred to police and he said he would be happy with any proper investigation where witnesses were interviewed."

In the second of two tense meetings on November 11, Mr Amery informed Mr Rees that not only was Mr Stewart refusing to resign, but he had been talking to his lawyers.

"[Mr Rees] wasn't happy about it. I said: 'Premier, you're the leader of the Government and you have been hit with this report and you have to somehow handle it and I understand that, but there is an allegation that one of your ministers assaulted, in public, one of his staff. Give it to the police.' That was a very reasonable position, but he was very dismissive of that.

"He said 'I am not having the police waste their time with this.' I said we weren't wasting anyone's time when we were talking about the dismissal of a minister based on an assault charge and offensive behaviour in public."

Mr Amery said he reminded Mr Rees that NSW and federal police had been called in to investigate allegations of bad behaviour at a restaurant by the federal Labor MP Belinda Neal and her husband, the NSW Health Minister John Della Bosca.

"The Premier dismissed it out of hand and again he demanded a resignation, but Tony just stood his ground because he was emphatic he had not done anything wrong."

At the time "caucus was fairly toey ... things were very tense", Mr Amery said. "The word was that John [Robertson] was going to find it hard to get into cabinet and getting a vacancy near the end of the year would be helpful.

"A proper [police] investigation would have taken three or four months. That would have dragged on this tension. I am not saying this particular complaint was engineered to create that situation, but when these things pop up sometimes they give the opportunity to resolve some other problems.

"I alleged [to the Premier] at the time it was political expediency and he was offended by that, but I stand by that opinion.

"The timing was fortuitous."

Mr Amery said he had been impressed by Mr Stewart's emphatic denial of any wrongdoing.

"Right through this whole issue he has been unwavering in his proclamations, his declarations of his innocence," he said.

"I have never seen a person go to so much effort, expense, anxiety, stress ... to clear his name.

"He's not out there saying 'I should be back in the ministry.' He just believes his whole name has been trashed so I have been very comfortable supporting him."

HOW IT UNFOLDED

* Wednesday, October 22, 2008 Tony Stewart is the guest speaker at a charity

dinner. Singer Delta Goodrem, former lord mayor Lucy Turnbull, media personalities

David Koch and Johanna Griggs, St Vincents Hospital chairman Nick Curtis,

and a nun sit at his table.

* Wednesday, October 29 First report that the Premiers office has removed a staffer

from Mr Stewarts office after she complained he verbally abused her and touched her leg at the dinner. Mr Stewart denies the claim, saying: It didnt happen...The incident didnt happen... and I say that absolutely vehemently.

* Thursday, October 30

Staffer is identified as Tina Sanger.

* Monday, November 3

Ms Sanger makes a formal complaint to the Premiers office and Mr Rees immediately stands Mr Stewart down from the ministry.

* Tuesday, November 4

Mr Rees announces he has appointed leading Sydney barrister Chris Ronalds SC to

investigate the claims against Mr Stewart.

* Saturday, November 8

Internal Labor Party ill-feeling against former unions boss and new MP

John Robertson (right) reaches fever pitch with former PM Paul Keating telling

the anti-power privatisation campaigner:  ... if the Labor Partys stocks ever get so low as to require your services in its parliamentary leadership it will itself have no future.

* November 9 and 10 A former policeman and a serving officer accuse Mr Stewart

of trying to intimidate them in relation to criminal investigations.

* Tuesday, November 11 Mr Rees sacks Mr Stewart after the Ronalds Report

concludes the minister had acted inappropriately by discussing work performance in a location other than the office. Mr Stewart ... placed his hand her leg for a few seconds to prevent from standing up to leave while asking her not to be upset and telling her that she would be happier in the other job.

This conversation and the physical touching of Ms Sanger was entirely

inappropriate. Even though there was sexual connotation, he was restraining

her albeit for a few seconds only, against her will, the report says. Hours

after his sacking, Mr Stewart usesparliament call for a judicial inquiry.

* Friday, November 14 Mr Stewart announces he has started legal proceedings to clear his name, claiming he was the victim of a political conspiracy.

* Thursday, January 29, 2009 After a bitter row over Mr Robertson, the Labor

caucus accedes to the Premiers request to give the newcomer a ministry. The other new minister is Steve Whan.

* Sunday, May 10 British university lecturer Mik Heyslop (left) says Ms Sanger made

allegations against him in 1999.

* Friday, May 15 Tina Sanger faces court charged with assaulting her husband William after she allegedly punched him in the face.

* Sunday, May 24 Honorary Solomons Islands consul Trevor Garland (below) says he was sitting within two metres of Mr Stewart at the charity dinner and nothing untoward happened. He says he tried to give evidence to the Premiers office but

there was a line they were taking and it didnt include my account of that night. I got the very strong impression a decision had been made. On the same day it is revealed Ms Sanger falsified her CV by saying she had a university degree.

* Saturday, May 30

Ms Sangers former friend Dawn Hamer and her partner Gemma Wasley claim

Ms Sanger told them she had worked as a lap dancer in London and Melbourne.

The women said they were speaking out because they believed the truth

about Ms Sangers background should be known.