Former Liberal MP Phil Edman’s bathhouse talk doesn’t wash

The former Liberal MP named in a Corruption and Crime Commission report into the allegedly fraudulent behaviour of a WA Government trade commissioner in Japan finally answered some questions publicly this week about his trip to a Tokyo “soap land” bathhouse.

But Phil Edman, who was the Liberal government’s whip in the Upper House during his 2015 massage, still doesn’t get why his activities leading up to, and during the back rub, required scrutiny.

Journalists had “deliberately” misread the CCC report and told “lies” about it, the former MP bleated on radio.

While Edman wasn’t re-elected in 2017, and is no longer on the public payroll, he was representing taxpayers and earning a six-figure salary when he and his Liberal colleague Brian Ellis headed to Japan on official business.

Even before arriving in Tokyo, Edman displayed a level of indiscretion and immaturity that deservedly came back to bite him when the CCC made its investigation public.

He sent text messages to the State’s man in Japan, Craig Peacock — the primary target of the CCC report — asking him to draw up an itinerary for the visit.

“He stated that he needed to use his electoral allowance before the end of June,” the CCC report said. “In addition, he stated: ‘Which means DSD (Department of State Development) can f... themselves!!!! No need for them to control. Need to spend some $$$ Asap’.”

During his one-off interview on 6PR this week, Edman justified that message to Peacock by saying he was “never a favourite of DSD”.

No wonder.

Even before arriving in Tokyo, Edman displayed a level of indiscretion and immaturity that deservedly came back to bite him when the CCC made its investigation public.

But his explanation for a series of other text messages to Peacock doesn’t meet the pub test, let alone the standards politicians should live up to when the public puts its faith in them.

After touching down in Tokyo in 2015, Edman sent Peacock the following message, complete with spelling mistakes, asking him to arrange a visit to a Geisha bar.

“The boys are sexually frustrates,” the MP wrote. “Never had a Japanese honey before. Your our best trade commissioner.”

On radio, Edman said it was just “banter” between mates and that nothing sexual transpired at the “soap land” bathhouse, which the CCC described as a place where “men are massaged by naked women for a fee and for a further fee, they can obtain sexual services”.

Edman would like the public to ignore the fact that the “mate” was the commissioner of WA’s taxpayer-funded office in Japan, who was acting on instructions from a member of the WA Parliament.

What Edman said next during his radio interview was breathtaking.

“We didn’t know that Mr Peacock was arranging it (the bathhouse trip) using a member of his staff on paid time,” Edman told 6PR.

“We didn’t know.”

Firstly, Peacock was on the public purse at that time. Secondly, when Edman made the bathhouse request, he received this response from Peacock.

“Leave it with me,” he said.

“I will need to consult with Hashimoto on this but he is ultra-discreet, nothing to worry about.”

Who did Edman think Hashimoto was?

The MP says he went to Japan many times representing WA. Hashimoto had been working for the Tokyo office for 13 years as an adviser and part-time employee.

And if there was nothing untoward about this planned massage, why wasn’t Edman concerned when Peacock said there was nothing to worry about because Hashimoto was discreet?

On top of this, Hashimoto escorted the two MPs to the bathhouse on a Sunday.

“Hashimoto accompanied them to translate and conclude the financial arrangements,” the CCC said.

“Hashimoto kept Peacock fully informed of the visit as it was occurring. Peacock was also sent photographs of the visit.”

Shame they weren’t included in the CCC report.

Edman said he paid for the bathhouse visit out of his own money and that the CCC found neither Edman nor Ellis had engaged in anything improper or illegal.

The direct quote from the CCC report said: “The evidence of each of them is that they did not engage in any illegal or improper activity.”

Maybe Edman misread the report.

There was one line from the radio interview that the former Liberal MP should be backed to the hilt on.

“I have no intention whatsoever of returning back to Parliament,” he said.

Hear, hear.