https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/company-collecting-ruby-princess-evid...


another stuff up..

A private medical company tasked with collecting crucial evidence from the Ruby Princess cruise ship for a NSW police criminal investigation can be revealed as a prolific political donor with ties to the Liberal party.

The revelation raises further questions about the integrity of the police investigation which has been backed by Premier Gladys Berejiklian as she seeks to shift the blame for the fiasco from her own departments.

Some 650 passengers from the ship have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and it has been linked to 15 deaths, including a 62-year-old South Australian woman who died yesterday.

There are also 200 sick crew members on board.

The UK government reached out to its citizens who work on the ship yesterday. In a letter to crew members, UK High Commissioner to Australia Vicki Treadell said she had asked the Australian government to reconsider its refusal to allow the crew to disembark and get on flights home.

Last night, police boarded the ship, which is docked at Port Kembla, as part of their investigation into the spread of coronavirus on-board.

Detectives boarded the Ruby Princess to seize evidence and question crew members about the docking and disembarkation three weeks ago.

Among items seized was the ship’s black box, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller confirmed on Thursday.

Aspen Medical was tasked by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to get an “honest picture” of the situation on-board the Ruby Princess while Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said the group’s staff would provide his detectives with evidence.

The company donated almost $85,000 to both federal and state Liberal party divisions between 2013 and 2015. Federal Labor also received thousands in donations from the company as recently as 2017.

Former Howard government health minister Michael Wooldridge spent 10 years as a director of Aspen Medical over two stints between 2007 and 2019.

The company disputed the total donations, saying the figures published by the AEC had included $30,000 that had been cancelled, but was unable to be removed from the commissions website.

Aspen Medical said it undertakes a “political engagement” policy. The company said it “does not provide cash donations to political parties” but sometimes pays to attend events or fundraisers.

A spokesman dismissed questions of any conflict of interest.

NSW Deputy Labor leader Yasmin Catley said allowing the private company to collect evidence on behalf of police “does not pass the sniff test”.

“There is something very unusual about a Premier instructing the police to undertake a criminal investigation and then using a private company with ties to the Liberal Party to collect the evidence,’’ she said.

It is understood the company, which has worked on infected cruise ships internationally, was called in to check that crew were isolating and following sanitisation protocols after the passengers were removed.




GROOOOOOOOAN!!!


have they all lost what little commonsense they had?..

why was she ever allowed to berth in the first place..

heads need to roll this is getting worse and we are going to be left with all the fall out to come.

The corruption party strikes again.

Sprintcyclist wrote on Apr 9^th, 2020 at 12:32pm:


It should never have been allowed into Australian Waters, let alone allowed to dock.

John Smith wrote on Apr 9^th, 2020 at 12:33pm:




You do realise those cruise ships kill people all the time through a variety of viruses

they're known as floating petri dishes

especially for people likely to kark when their bodies are put under strain

all the time

in the news all the time

How long ago was it that hundreds had to be hospitalised after picking something up while on a cruise …. couldn't be more than six months ago.   Ambulances ferrying them off and into hospitals

the days of enjoying an ocean cruise are long gone.  They collect their workers in every port and don't screen them.  Standards of hygiene are trashed.  The workers are usually from the third world and sanitation pays the price

although it all looks appetising, no doubt, when it's a free for all buffet with every man and his dog coughing over all that food on open display

not to mention what goes on in the kitchens

But let's make a song and dance about an infected cruise ship now we're under virus-world-order


I'm enjoying seeing Hazzard on the ropes though.  It's time

I’ve been on 8 amazing cruises and never had a problem.
Only gripe I have is with a huge 5000 passenger ship Ovation of the seas.
Way too many people, buffet was so over crowded that we decided to do a more private a la cart dining area instead. So peaceful, table cloths. Being waited on.
All other cruises were 3000 approx passengers.
I will never book a cruise without a balcony. Just in case. With what happened, and those on the inside cabins during isolation would’ve been stifling!!
Once this is all over, next on my bucket list is to do a river cruise.

Have you ever been on a cruise PZ ?

Gordon wrote on Apr 9^th, 2020 at 1:57pm:


I’ve been on a few that had lots of young families and kids.
It’s not just for elderly.
The kids absolutely love it. Swimming pools, hot dogs, burgers, tacos  and chips nearby, soft serve ice cream, oh I meant the kids loved it “too” 🤗

Sophia wrote on Apr 9^th, 2020 at 1:59pm:


What you mentioned above is nothing that appeals to me.
It's actually the polar opposite to my idea of fun.

When the world gets back to normal, my next family holiday will be to rent a beach house in Nth Shore Oahu to surf, chill out, snorkel.

My next boys holiday which a mate and I are cooking up will be something like this.

https://www.gravel-travel.com/tour-description/kapstadt-windhoek-tour-2016-17.ht...