Premier should reinstate Buswell: Carles

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett should review his decision to sack treasurer
Troy Buswell, the former lover of the embattled MP says.
Greens MP Adele Carles on Sunday revealed she had a four-month affair with Mr Buswell.
Mr Buswell fronted the media on Monday to confirm the affair and at the same time
admitted he misused ministerial entitlements during the relationship.
He said he used his credit card to pay for a hotel Ms Carles visited and used his
ministerial car to taxi him to see her in Canberra and Sydney, as well as the WA
town of Albany.
Mr Barnett accepted his treasurer's resignation on Tuesday, saying Mr Buswell
realised his position was untenable.
The premier said at issue were the parliamentary entitlements and not the affair.
Ms Carles, the Member for Fremantle, on Wednesday said she was shocked by Mr
Buswell's admissions he had misused his entitlements.
"When I heard Mr Buswell's statement I was shocked because I knew it was incorrect,"
Ms Carles told reporters in Perth.
"I am raising this not in an attempt to defend Mr Buswell, not in an attempt to
justify my actions in this matter but because it is very important that the public
knows there is no misuse of parliamentary entitlements."
A trip to Canberra and Sydney to visit Mr Buswell, who was on legitimate business in
the ACT, was a fully-funded personal trip, Ms Carles said.
She made an evening visit to Mr Buswell in Canberra.
"The parliamentary entitlement provisions do not prevent this," she said.
Ms Carles said she was so concerned by Mr Buswell's admission she called Mr Barnett
on his home telephone on Monday night but he had not returned her call.
"I just wanted to explain to him that there had been no misuse of parliamentary
entitlements, that Mr Buswell had been on business trips and that I had visited
him," she said.
"Mr Barnett came out and said he would not sack Mr Buswell for having an affair but
the issue of the parliamentary entitlements had swayed him and that was the issue.
"So I'm saying there is no misuse of parliamentary entitlements and I would like
Colin Barnett to review his advice that he's taken and have a close look at this and
set the record straight."
The former treasurer came out later on Wednesday saying he had sought legal advice
and it appeared he had not misused his entitlements.
"I did not, I did not use my taxpayer entitlements," Mr Buswell told ABC Radio.
Ms Carles said Mr Buswell had been badly advised before making his statement on
Monday about the use of government money.
"I rang him afterwards and said, 'Who wrote that statement?'. He said, 'My chief of
staff.'
"I think he got very poor advice."
Ms Carles said she had no knowledge of the use of ministerial cars by Mr Buswell and
she had never driven in a chauffeur-driven ministerial car or seen the former
treasurer arrive in one.
Ms Carles said that after telling her Greens colleagues of the affair, she did not
want it made public.
"The last thing I wanted to do was go public because of the impact on the families
involved and my children, my husband, Mr Buswell's family ...," she said.
Ms Carles said she was very sorry to Mr Buswell's wife Margaret and their children.
Greens senior member Giz Watson said that while the party was aware of the potential
consequences of Ms Carles admitting to the affair, the Greens thought it was best
she do it.
Ms Watson said the affair had been "the worst-kept secret in Perth".