Rees Prefers Myth to Reality

Rees Prefers Myth to Reality
THREE MP's have quit and the state has a $1 billion deficit but Premier Nathan Rees seems more interested in a mythical black panther.
The Premier has declared he believes in the Lithgow Panther. The mysterious black cat, said to roam Penrith, the Hawkesbury, Lithgow and the Blue Mountains, has been credited with a range of activities, largely revolving around dragging sheep up trees.
Mr Rees yesterday said a western Sydney woman had written to him with a database of around 600 people who have supposedly sighted a big cat in Sydney's outer suburbs.
``I don't think it's necessarily an urban myth. There are too many sightings,'' Mr Rees said in Penrith yesterday.
He said the State Government investigated the issue three years ago, but the new sightings may prompt a further inquiry. It is a turnaround for Mr Rees, who as water minister in August said: ``The black panther is an urban myth.''
It appears he may have been referring to African-American freedom fighters.
Daily Telegraph: 20th September 2008