By Heath Aston
POLICE are investigating a claim Senator Bill Heffernan assaulted an employee of Chris Hartcher, the NSW Energy Minister, in an alleged homophobic attack at a fractious Liberal Party meeting on the central coast.
Ray Carter, 67, has accused Senator Heffernan of assaulting him and, according to sources, vilifying him over his sexuality at a gathering of party members in the federal electorate of Robertson.
Bill Heffernan ... history of outbursts.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Senator Heffernan was acting as an emissary of Tony Abbott at the Breakers Country Club at Wamberal on May 3. A Liberal source said the pair had been seen to physically clash on two occasions during the evening and also alleged that Senator Heffernan had aimed ''homophobic slurs'' at Mr Carter.
In a statutory declaration, Mr Carter alleges Senator Heffernan hit him on his shoulder, causing him to fall into his seat, and later saying to him: ''I didn't know you were a poofter.''
Ray Carter … complaint to police.Credit: Richard Gosling
Along with Senator Arthur Sinodinos, the Liberal state president, and Mark Neeham, the party's NSW director, Senator Heffernan was in Wamberal to placate branch members upset at candidates being imposed against their wishes in the seats of Dobell and Robertson.
In Mr Carter's statutory declaration, published in News Limited newspapers today, he said: ''Senator Heffernan leaned over and hit me on my left shoulder and said something I did not hear (I am partially deaf in one ear) and tried to grab a sheet of paper out of my hands. I was knocked off balance. I said: 'Take your hands off me!' I then fell into my seat.''
He continued: ''I was shaken and upset. I said nothing more. At the end of the meeting I was standing next to the exit door leading into the corridor.
''I was alone though many people were milling about. Senator Heffernan walked up to me and said in a low voice: 'I didn't know you were a poofter.' He said this in an aggressive manner. Rather than have a confrontation I left.''
Mr Carter, who has been suspended from Mr Hartcher's electorate office over a donation scandal, waited nearly a fortnight to report the allegation to Gosford police.
Senator Heffernan did not return calls yesterday but his camp claims the assault allegation is an act of revenge. It was he who was tipped off to claims that Mr Carter and another Hartcher staffer, Tim Koelma, had taken donations to support Mr Hartcher's favoured candidates but never declared the money. The Liberal Party referred the pair to electoral authorities alleging breaches of election funding laws. Mr Carter did not return calls last night.
In 2007 he was accused of stealing $2653 from a Gosford council committee. But the charges were dismissed after a court heard police accepted Mr Carter believed he was transferring the money from his own account.
Senator Heffernan has a record of homophobic outbursts. Former prime minister John Howard forced him to apologise after falsely claiming in Parliament that Justice Michael Kirby used Commonwealth cars to procure young men for sex.
Mr Neeham said he saw no altercation at the event. ''Both the state president and the state director had a clear view of the entire room and all attendees and did not witness any incident, assault or even a minor disturbance during or after the meeting.''
Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten declined to discuss the specifics of the incident today but said he was interested in Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's reaction given his harsh criticism of embattled Labor MP Craig Thomson and the Speaker Peter Slipper.
''Mr Abbott has certainly rushed to judgment when it comes to other people but not (those) from his own party,'' Mr Shorten told ABC TV.
''I think the challenge here is will he rush to judgment again when it's his own party? Or will he take the more measured Labor approach of saying that you have to go through a process?''
Prime Minister Julia Gillard refused to comment on the report after touching down in Chicago for a major NATO summit in the United States.
She was quizzed as to whether the allegations had further darkened the cloud hanging over the federal parliament.
''I'm not intending, given particularly we've been in transit for the best part of 24 hours, to be talking to you today about matters involving Senator Heffernan,'' the prime minister told reporters.
With Tim Barlass, Sarah Whyte, AAP