Aussie lawmakers gifted designer watches, think they're fake

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia's former prime minister and two other politicians were gifted designer watches by a Chinese businessman — but initially kept them only because they thought the 40,000 Australian dollar ($28,000) timepieces were fake, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott was leader of the then-opposition Liberal Party in 2013 when he and fellow Liberal lawmakers Stuart Robert and Ian Macfarlane received the luxury watches during a dinner with a representative of China's Li Guancheng Investment Group, Macfarlane told the Herald Sun newspaper. Macfarlane told the paper the watch-giver's name was "Mr. Li," believed to be Chinese billionaire Li Ruipeng.

"It's quite a tale," Macfarlane said. "It was an informal dinner and at the end of it, he pulls these watches out of a plastic bag."

None of the politicians realized they had each been given a pricey gift, Macfarlane said.

"They came out of a plastic bag from China. We thought they were fakes," Macfarlane said.

He declared the gift on his official Parliament register after looking up fake Rolexes on the Internet and seeing they were worth AU$300 to AU$500. But it wasn't until last year that a fellow lawmaker, who owns a Rolex, spotted Macfarlane's watch and said he thought it was genuine. After having it evaluated in September, Macfarlane was told its real worth.

"I thought, 'What to do?'" he said.

The clerk of the House of Representatives told him because the watch was on his register, he would be allowed to keep it. But he decided to return the watch to the company in China, and informed Abbott and Robert theirs were the real deal. Both Robert's and Abbott's offices said the lawmakers had returned theirs as well.

"There was no way in hell I'd keep a watch worth that," Macfarlane said.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-02-10

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but initially kept them only because they thought the 40,000 Australian dollar ($28,000) timepieces were fake, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

Sure you did.

Representatives of investment groups are world famous for handing over fake sweeteners.

So it is all right for them to ignore the laws about Counterfeits when it is to their benifit.

Not surprising whether they knew they were real or fakes. Either way, they were happy to receive them. Typical behavior of Aussie politicians, the tops for hypocrisy.

Billionaire giving away fake watches.. To policy makers,, sure

Billionaire giving away fake watches.. To policy makers,, sure

Exactly. It wasn't until they got found out by the chap who recognised it as a genuine Rolex and got scared of the possible publicity that they took any action.

And would a politician really want to be seen wearing a fake watch?

A fake Rolex (even a top of the line fake) is easily discernible from the real thing.

So here we have the Aussie parliament again acting like children. You have grown men and women, very well heeled and travelled and for some reason continued to wear a watch every day thinking it was a fake. Ohh my lord , poor PM, you need an 18% pay rise for that.

I think its better to cheat as much as you can on your taxes, because just look at where your money goes. We are all told "Age of entitlement is over" So, no pension, pay 25% tax for what? all decent medical is private, so what exactly are we paying for? Hotels, countless dinners out, field trips etc etc

Edited February 10, 201610 yr by kinmaew

'Law makers' ... law breakers more like it and Abbott is your typical pommy crim who came to OZ, lied, misused and abused everything and everyone

Tony Abbott was born in 1957 in England to Australian parents who returned to Sydney a few years later.

After graduating in economics and law from the University of Sydney, where he was also a leading student boxer, he attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, studying politics and philosophy. .........................

So here we have the Aussie parliament again acting like children. You have grown men and women, very well heeled and travelled and for some reason continued to wear a watch every day thinking it was a fake. Ohh my lord , poor PM, you need an 18% pay rise for that.

I think its better to cheat as much as you can on your taxes, because just look at where your money goes. We are all told "Age of entitlement is over" So, no pension, pay 25% tax for what? all decent medical is private, so what exactly are we paying for? Hotels, countless dinners out, field trips etc etc

Don't worry Barnaby Joyce is about to become deputy P.M and acting P.M then everyone can bugger off.

'Law makers' ... law breakers more like it and Abbott is your typical pommy crim who came to OZ, lied, misused and abused everything and everyone

Tony Abbott was born in 1957 in England to Australian parents who returned to Sydney a few years later.

After graduating in economics and law from the University of Sydney, where he was also a leading student boxer, he attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, studying politics and philosophy. ........................

AUSTRALIAN mother.... BRITISH father.

The reason that they thought that is they are fakes themselves.