Good liars need a good memory

As my dear old Dad used to say... "if you are going to be a bullshit artist, then you better have a good memory"

Cop this, on his second day on the job.

"ALEXANDRA KIRK: On your voting record Peter Garrett, can you explain to us when you went on the silent roll and what your understanding was then, and what year did you go on the silent roll?

PETER GARRETT: I'm still digging out the details of this. What I do know, is that it was my understanding that I was on the silent roll, and I think from a period somewhere towards the late eighties, early nineties, and from that point on, I voted whenever I was able. I went into the polling booths, you know, I filled my voting form in, I lodged my vote.

I never received any communication from the Electoral Commission to the effect that I wasn't on the roll or that my vote hadn't been received.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: Well we've examined the electoral roll from 1990 on, and you may be surprised to learn that from 1990 to '94, you're actually on the roll and not as a silent voter, but your address in the Northern Beaches of Sydney was named there until '94. Can you explain that?

PETER GARRETT: Well I think what's happened is that the period when I've gone onto the silent roll or thought I had, probably comes from that '94 period on, when it looks like I've dropped off.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: So it wasn't the late eighties that you went on, it was the mid-nineties was it?

PETER GARRETT: I think it looks like it is the mid-nineties Catherine, that's right. And when I said yesterday at the press conference, I said look, we'll dig out the details of this. I had no more idea than anybody else, and I said from the best of my recollections I want to be completely upfront and honest about it, and as the material comes to light, I'm going to respond to it, but I think without any doubt now – and certainly I've seen the reports this morning, '94 seems to be the date when we disappear, and from '94 seems to be the date when I believed I was on that silent electoral roll.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: So did you when you moved away from that northern beaches area of Sydney, did you change your electoral enrolment, your address and those details?

PETER GARRETT: No, because at that point in time I thought I was on the roll.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: But when you moved home from that area of Sydney.

PETER GARRETT: That's correct.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: Sorry, when, when did you move from that area of Sydney?

PETER GARRETT: Well I don't know the exact date, as I said again, I'm starting to dig that information out, but it'll be in that sort of '94, '95 period.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: So you did, as far as you know, put in a change of address to the Electoral Commission at that time?

PETER GARRETT: Catherine, I don't have a complete recollection at this stage. I've got to tell you that in absolute honesty, what I'm saying is that my belief was that I was on the roll, that I was on the silent roll, on that basis I went to vote. When we moved, and we did move '94/'95, I continued to go in to vote, said I was on the silent roll…

ALEXANDRA KIRK: So did you vote, just clarifying, did you vote in '96 and '98 and 2001?

PETER GARRETT: 2001, definitely yes. '98, I'm pretty sure, and '96 I'm not certain yet, I'm checking.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: And what about the public referendum in 1999?

PETER GARRETT: Look, I voted whenever I was able Catherine, I'm going to dig these details out and present them to you when I can do it in an accurate fashion. I don't want to sort of give you answers on the run, I want to be able to do it in an honest and straightforward fashion."

The full article here

Short memory must have a?... I forget!