the response of state report

43
© The Hidden World Research Group Independent Report The Response Of The Commonwealth Of Australia To The Submission Of The Crime Report [With Respect To The Schapelle Corby Affair] The Expendable Project

Upload: irene-slender

Post on 27-Mar-2016

223 views

Category:

Documents


1 download

DESCRIPTION

The response of the Commonwealth of Australia to the submission of the Crime Report

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: The Response Of State Report

© The Hidden World Research Group

Independent Report

The Response Of The Commonwealth Of Australia

To The Submission Of The Crime Report [With Respect To The Schapelle Corby Affair]

The Expendable Project

Page 2: The Response Of State Report

CONTENTS

1. Introduction 2. The Attorney-General 3. The Minister For Home Affairs 4. The Australian Federal Police 5. The Queensland Police Service 6. New South Wales Police Force 7. The Australian Crime Commission 8. Summary & Conclusions

Page 3: The Response Of State Report

[Introduction]

Expendable.TV Page 1 - 1

1. INTRODUCTION

In May 2012, a formal Crime Report was submitted to a number of government departments and agencies. This cited a single illustrative incident of malversation, selected from many examples, to enable simplified tracking of both the process and response of the government. It incorporated a 450 page evidential addendum inclusive of hundreds of exhibits of government correspondence, memoranda, and other documentation. Collectively, these items detailed a catalogue of abuses perpetrated against Schapelle Corby, in a number of cases, involving corrupt and criminal conduct. The response of each recipient is documented within this report.

NOTE: The Crime Report and its addendum can be viewed or downloaded from the following web page: http://www.expendable.tv/2012/05/formal-crime-report-domestic.html

Page 4: The Response Of State Report

[The Attorney-General]

Expendable.TV Page 2 - 1

2. THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL

The package was delivered and signed for on 25th May 2012.

Page 5: The Response Of State Report

[The Attorney-General]

Expendable.TV Page 2 - 2

It is known that the Attorney-General was aware of this development, as the report

segment of the package was also sent directly by email, which generated the

following read receipt:

However, as no acknowledgement or response was forthcoming, a formal Freedom of

Information request was submitted to the Attorney-General's Department on 6th

July 2012, to establish the position.

The response was disappointing:

Page 7: The Response Of State Report

[The Attorney-General]

Expendable.TV Page 2 - 4

Whether the Crime Report was in fact passed to the Attorney-General in an ad hoc

un-documented manner, or whether a government department actually did dismiss

material of such a serious nature this lightly, is impossible to determine from this

reply.

Page 8: The Response Of State Report

[The Attorney-General]

Expendable.TV Page 2 - 5

The following email was therefore despatched:

Page 9: The Response Of State Report

[The Attorney-General]

Expendable.TV Page 2 - 6

Again, this was also sent directly to the Attorney-General herself by email, and

evidenced as read by the following receipts:

Page 10: The Response Of State Report

[The Attorney-General]

Expendable.TV Page 2 - 7

The second response to the Freedom of Information request was equally

unsatisfactory:

Page 11: The Response Of State Report

[The Attorney-General]

Expendable.TV Page 2 - 8

A request for review was therefore confirmed:

Page 12: The Response Of State Report

[The Attorney-General]

Expendable.TV Page 2 - 9

A letter, regarding these developments, and the overall position, was also sent directly to the Attorney-General:

Page 13: The Response Of State Report

[The Attorney-General]

Expendable.TV Page 2 - 10

Again, this was confirmed as read by multiple email receipts:

Again, no reply was forthcoming. Regarding the Freedom of Information request, it was confirmed that the only document located was the original cover letter, which was stamped "No Further Action":

Page 14: The Response Of State Report

[The Attorney-General]

Expendable.TV Page 2 - 11

A bureaucrat's rubber stamp had simply dismissed a formal Crime Report, which had evidenced serious malversation within government. This occurred with the full awareness and knowledge of the Attorney-General herself. Digital receipts also confirmed that an email bearing an electronic copy of the report had been read from the Attorney-General's email account. The Attorney-General failed to respond, even to direct receipted communication, on either the Crime Report itself, or on the conduct of her office.

Page 15: The Response Of State Report

[The Minister For Home Affairs]

Expendable.TV Page 3 - 1

3. THE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS

The package was delivered and signed for on 25th May 2012.

The response, of 10th July 2012, could hardly have been more dismissive, and suggested that Mr Clare had barely ventured beyond the front cover.

Page 17: The Response Of State Report

[The Minister For Home Affairs]

Expendable.TV Page 3 - 3

A reply was dispatched to Mr. Clare on 25th July 2012, pointing out the serious shortcomings and the implications of his position:

Page 18: The Response Of State Report

[The Minister For Home Affairs]

Expendable.TV Page 3 - 4

Page 19: The Response Of State Report

[The Minister For Home Affairs]

Expendable.TV Page 3 - 5

No reply was ever forthcoming, either from Jason Clare, or from the Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon.

Despite its grave and serious nature, the formal Crime Report had been dismissed on rationale which was so flawed and inappropriate, that it suggested it had not even been subjected to a cursory review. The alternative possibility, that the response was actually intended to be manifestly inapt, would indicate a position of wilful evasion.

Page 20: The Response Of State Report

[The Australian Federal Police]

Expendable.TV Page 4 - 1

4. THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE The package was delivered and signed for on 25th May 2012.

Page 21: The Response Of State Report

[The Australian Federal Police]

Expendable.TV Page 4 - 2

As no response, or acknowledgement, was forthcoming from either Mr. Negus or the AFP, an email reminder was sent on 8th August 2012:

This was followed up during the subsequent week:

Page 22: The Response Of State Report

[The Australian Federal Police]

Expendable.TV Page 4 - 3

A response was received from the AFP on the following day:

As no response was forthcoming "in the immediate future", a formal Freedom of Information request was submitted on 6th September 2012. However, as with all other Freedom of Information requests submitted to the AFP, with respect to Schapelle Corby, this was subjected to a lengthy pattern of delay and evasion. Notification of another pending delay was received on 5th November 2012:

Page 23: The Response Of State Report

[The Australian Federal Police]

Expendable.TV Page 4 - 4

Beyond the following acknowledgement, the OAIC failed to respond again, despite provision of the AFP’s correspondence:

Page 24: The Response Of State Report

[The Australian Federal Police]

Expendable.TV Page 4 - 5

On 3rd February 2013, the Freedom of Information request finally yielded a number of heavily edited documents.

These items revealed that the AFP had declared, via a “brief assessment”, that a detailed investigation was not necessary. At the stroke of a pen, the AFP had cleared the AFP of any impropriety. The documents also contained a number of derogatory terms with respect to the Expendable Project, speculated on the names of members and associates, and included flagrant fabrication with respect to the Crime Report itself (*). A year after its submission, no response has been forthcoming to the original Crime Report, either from Mr. Negus, or from the AFP.

[* Given the disturbing nature of their contents, the documents returned via the Freedom of Information request will be individually examined within a future report.]

Page 25: The Response Of State Report

[The Queensland Police Service]

Expendable.TV Page 5 - 1

5. THE QUEENSLAND POLICE SERVICE

The package was delivered and signed for on 23rd May 2012.

Page 26: The Response Of State Report

[The Queensland Police Service]

Expendable.TV Page 5 - 2

The immediate response indicated that the report and addendum had barely been considered, as the buck was promptly passed to ACLEI.

Page 27: The Response Of State Report

[The Queensland Police Service]

Expendable.TV Page 5 - 3

The reply to this apparent disinterest pointed out that the Crime Report pertained to the activities of politicians, and other non-police related individuals, and that ACLEI, whose mission related to police integrity, was certainly not the appropriate party to investigate:

As no reply was forthcoming, another email was sent on 7th August 2012. This additionally pointed out that ACLEI itself was incriminated in some of the offences documented by the report:

Page 28: The Response Of State Report

[The Queensland Police Service]

Expendable.TV Page 5 - 4

The reply from the Queensland Police Service was short and uncompromising:

Despite this unreasoned and unhelpful response, a final effort was made to explain and press the clear irrationality of this position:

Page 29: The Response Of State Report

[The Queensland Police Service]

Expendable.TV Page 5 - 5

The final response from the Queensland Police Service could not have been blunter:

The Queensland Police Service simply refused to consider an investigation, immediately referring the report to a body which was directly implicated in the corruption documented within, and whose scope was strictly limited to exclude politicians and other third parties. Despite repeated explanation of this disturbing situation, the Queensland Police Service refused any form of dialogue, completely abrogating any responsibility.

.

Page 30: The Response Of State Report

[New South Wales Police Force]

Expendable.TV Page 6 - 1

6. NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE FORCE

The package was delivered and signed for on 25th May 2012.

After several months without a response, a polite enquiry was made via the dialogue form presented on the NSW Police website. This solicited the following reply:

Page 32: The Response Of State Report

[New South Wales Police Force]

Expendable.TV Page 6 - 3

At this stage, Mr Williams was unable to find the delivered report:

The original information was again provided:

Page 33: The Response Of State Report

[New South Wales Police Force]

Expendable.TV Page 6 - 4

Despite further difficulty, the Crime Report was eventually located:

Page 34: The Response Of State Report

[New South Wales Police Force]

Expendable.TV Page 6 - 5

Ultimately, however, the outcome was disappointing:

The NSW Police Force referred a report evidencing crime by the AFP, to the AFP. Despite a clear explanation of the fundamental conflict of interest this created, and that many of the crimes documented occurred within New South Wales, and thus within its jurisdiction, the NSW Police Force abrogated all responsibility.

Page 35: The Response Of State Report

[The Australian Crime Commission]

Expendable.TV Page 7 - 1

7. THE AUSTRALIAN CRIME COMMISSION

The package was addressed to John Adrian Lawler, CEO of the Australian Crime Commission, and was delivered and signed for on 30th May 2012.

As no acknowledgement or response was forthcoming, a formal Freedom of Information request was submitted on 6th July 2012, to establish the position. The Crime Commission returned one letter from a member of the public, and a number of totally censored pages. Two examples are provided below:

Page 36: The Response Of State Report

[The Australian Crime Commission]

Expendable.TV Page 7 - 2

Perhaps more surprising, however, were the actual reasons cited for what was effectively, total secrecy and censorship.

Page 37: The Response Of State Report

[The Australian Crime Commission]

Expendable.TV Page 7 - 3

These not only suggested that disclosure of the information may cause damage to the agencies involved, but that sanctions might be imposed by other parties, in terms of restricting the future flow of information.

Page 38: The Response Of State Report

[The Australian Crime Commission]

Expendable.TV Page 7 - 4

In response to this refusal to offer any degree of transparency, and the stark rationale provided, the following letter was dispatched:

Page 40: The Response Of State Report

[The Australian Crime Commission]

Expendable.TV Page 7 - 6

The response to this was a rubber stamp of the original decision:

Page 41: The Response Of State Report

[The Australian Crime Commission]

Expendable.TV Page 7 - 7

The limited number of documents identified, and the substance of the replies to the Freedom of Information request, indicate that the Australian Crime Commission failed to undertake the full and exhaustive investigation that the situation required. It had, to all intents and purposes, brushed the Crime Report under the carpet, abrogating its responsibilities and duties of office. Alarmingly, the nature of the written responses, suggested the possibility of undue external influence or interference in the functioning of the Australian Crime Commission itself, with respect to this case. The implied threat of potential sanction, resulting from the disclosure of related information, was clearly stated. Additionally stated was the potential for damage to "the management function of an agency". Bearing in mind that this Freedom of Information request embraced dialogue between the Australian Crime Commission, politicians, the AFP, and ACLEI, this again suggested the possibility of negative and undue influence or interference by an implicated party, or other inappropriate behaviour.

A COMPLIANT TO THE OAIC Given these disturbing matters, a formal complaint was submitted to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), which describes itself in the following terms: “Australia's federal regulatory agency for freedom of information and privacy and we have a role in government information policy issues”. The response was a point-blank refusal even to investigate the complaint:

Note that the OAIC is presented as: “an independent statutory agency within the Attorney-General's portfolio”. See Section 2 for the disturbing position of the Attorney-General’s Department itself.

Page 42: The Response Of State Report

[Summary & Conclusions]

Expendable.TV Page 8- 1

8. SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS

The process documented in the previous sections was also undertaken with respect to a number of other Australian agencies. In every case, the result was the same: a direct refusal to investigate the formally submitted Crime Report to any extent at all. In addition, the Crime Report was sent by email to a majority of federal MPs and Senators. Again, every effort to open a dialogue on its contents was shunned. Also evidenced in the support material was the excessive influence, including political influence, of the national police agency, the AFP. The inescapable conclusion is that the government of the Commonwealth of Australia, and its agencies, wilfully refused to confront cables and correspondence, which evidenced issues of the most fundamental nature in terms of the integrity of office and state. Throughout, obvious and clear attempts were made to avoid acceptance of responsibility to pursue the issues. This abrogation was even evident where due diligence responsibility is defined by law. The scale and uniformity of this behavioural pattern indicate a high degree of orchestration, either direct or through ongoing systemic influence, or a shared prejudice, interest, or agenda.

Page 43: The Response Of State Report

End of Report