Brutal aftermath of Brogden fall stirs media row

CANBERRA - New South Wales' disgraced former Opposition Leader, John Brodgen, left hospital yesterday after trying to kill himself amid a growing public storm.

The row centres on the role played by brutal political in-fighting and the media in his downfall and its aftermath.

Brogden quit on Monday following revelations he had called former Labor State Premier Bob Carr's Malaysian-born wife Helena a "mail-order bride", and that he had propositioned female journalists at a Sydney function.

Late on Tuesday he was found with slashed wrists in his electorate office, apparently after learning that the tabloid Daily Telegraph was preparing to run further claims of sexual misconduct.

The Telegraph's early editions appeared with the front page dominated by a headline proclaiming "Brogden's sordid past" and a story claiming he had quit under pressure from fellow leaders worried by a "secret shame file".

The story, changed in later editions to focus on the attempted suicide, alleged that Brodgen had drunkenly propositioned two other female journalists at a Christmas party in his office in 2003, and had been romantically linked to a woman who had accompanied him to a fashion launch last year.

The newspaper also alleged that there had been concerns about his dealings with a young secretary, and reported rumours of a relationship with another 25-year-old former staffer, which were denied by the woman in the same story.

Daily Telegraph editor David Penberthy, defending his decision to run the new allegations, indicated that Brogden may have been the victim of enemies within his own party.

"One thing that should be stressed in all of this is that none of these stories would be appearing if there weren't people inside the Liberal Party who were trying to get them out," he told Southern Cross radio.

Brogden showed up for work as a backbencher on Tuesday, arriving to intense media coverage at his Mona Vale electorate office and telling the Manly Daily in his only post-resignation interview that he now had a new chance to completely commit himself to the major issues.

But shortly before 10.30pm on Tuesday police acted on a call from his family and forced their way into his office, where they found Brogden unconscious.

News of the attempted suicide brought a sudden end to a Liberal Party crisis meeting, called to determine a new leader without a renewed bout of self-destructive infighting of the kind that has helped keep Labor in power for years.

The online betting agency Centrebet, which has established a record for accurately tipping electoral moodswings and election outcomes, yesterday reported that the Brogden scandal has wiped out any advantage the Opposition had gained from the recent resignation of Carr as Premier.

But the infighting stopped as the meeting was called off and deputy Liberal leader Barry O'Farrell raced to Royal North Shore Hospital.

"He said at the press conference that I was at on Monday that [inner-Sydney suburb] Balmain boys don't cry, they just get bruised a bit," O'Farrell told Macquarie Radio.

"The problem with bruising is it's not always visible and clearly, as elsewhere in the community, John has been caught up in terrible depression and other things."

O'Farrell withdrew from the leadership race, leaving the field clear for transport spokesman Peter Debnam to succeed Brogden at a meeting tomorrow.

But the suicide attempt has placed new heat on the often-brutal style of Australian politics - which has driven at least three other MPs, including a Labor Senator, Nick Sherry, to try to kill themselves - and on the media's behaviour.

While there was little sympathy for Brogden's racist remark about Helena Carr, talkback radio callers yesterday were furious at the Daily Telegraph's decision to pursue Brogden with further allegations despite the collapse of his political career.

Jeff Kennett, former Liberal Premier of Victoria and chairman of the BeyondBlue organisation formed to combat depression, was scathing of politicians and journalists.

"Once someone apologises, once someone pays the price for their error of judgement, there is no let-up," he told ABC radio.

"In fact, it can be said that the attention, the scrutiny and the criticism had intensified since the person apologised, and that to me is very sad ... Not only did he resign from his position but he would have been pursued by a number of members of his own political party, so I don't think they're blameless."

Other political leaders ranging from Treasurer Peter Costello to NSW Premier Morris Iemma expressed shock and sorrow. Carr said Brogden should put the incident behind him - as he and Helena had - and look to a future as a politician and father.