Wednesday, January 31, 2007
A group of American scientists say that the US government pressured them to remove references to global warming in their work.
The Union of Concerned Scientists, an independent advocacy group, told a government enquiry that 150 of them had experienced political inteference in the last five years.
"Our investigations found high-quality science struggling to get out," said the group's senior scientist Francesca Grifo. "Nearly half of all respondents perceived or personally experienced pressure to eliminate the words 'climate change,' 'global warming' or other similar terms from a variety of communications," Grifo said.
Phil Cooney, the chairman of the US government's Council on Environmental Quality, is a former lobbyist for the petroleum industry.
(Source: LA Times [US])
The Union of Concerned Scientists, an independent advocacy group, told a government enquiry that 150 of them had experienced political inteference in the last five years.
"Our investigations found high-quality science struggling to get out," said the group's senior scientist Francesca Grifo. "Nearly half of all respondents perceived or personally experienced pressure to eliminate the words 'climate change,' 'global warming' or other similar terms from a variety of communications," Grifo said.
Phil Cooney, the chairman of the US government's Council on Environmental Quality, is a former lobbyist for the petroleum industry.
(Source: LA Times [US])
The US must draw up plans to deal with an all-out Iraqi civil war that would kill hundreds of thousands, create millions of refugees, and could spill over into a regional catastrophe, disrupting oil supplies and setting up a direct confrontation between Washington and Iran., according to a new study.
The study by Britain's Brookings Institution recommended that Western forces should withdraw from Iraqi cities. It said that this is "the only rational course of action, horrific though it will be", and that it would "consign Iraqis to a terrible fate. Even if it works, we will have failed to provide the Iraqis with the better future we promised".
The report, which looked at the experience of similar conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Congo and Afghanistan, said that the conflict could lead to radicalisation and possible secession movements in adjacent countries, an upsurge in terrorism, and intervention by Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. US commanders now claim that thousands of Iranian 'advisors' are arming and training Shia militias in Iraq.
(Source: The Independent [UK])
The study by Britain's Brookings Institution recommended that Western forces should withdraw from Iraqi cities. It said that this is "the only rational course of action, horrific though it will be", and that it would "consign Iraqis to a terrible fate. Even if it works, we will have failed to provide the Iraqis with the better future we promised".
The report, which looked at the experience of similar conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Congo and Afghanistan, said that the conflict could lead to radicalisation and possible secession movements in adjacent countries, an upsurge in terrorism, and intervention by Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. US commanders now claim that thousands of Iranian 'advisors' are arming and training Shia militias in Iraq.
(Source: The Independent [UK])
Monday, January 29, 2007
Fees at government schools have increased to the point that some Catholic schools are now cheaper than the state system.
State schools are now charging parents up to $1000 per child, and threatening to stop children playing sport, taking home artwork or even enrolling if parents don't pay.
Threats against non-paying students breach Education Department guidelines, which say that schools can't stop children enrolling. However the practice is apparently widespread.
One parent was told that their child was "at risk of not being able to participate in extra-curricular excursions and activities in 2007" if subject contributions for 2006 were not paid. The contributions of almost $1000 included material and services costs for core classes.
Schools also withheld re-enrolment when subject fees weren't paid, stopped children taking home their finished artwork or cooking, denied students access to workbooks needed for a course, or stopped pupils participating in inter-school sports.
In some cases parents have been forced to pick subjects with cheaper fees, meaning that students missed out on art, home economics or PE courses.
Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services social policy worker Kathy Landvogt said the organisation had found school charges were increasing. Parents were being charged $200 to $400 at primary schools and up to $1000 at secondary schools.
This was mostly made up of "subject contributions" - which are supposed to cover materials and resources - despite most parents paying for textbooks and stationery.
(Source: Herald Sun)
State schools are now charging parents up to $1000 per child, and threatening to stop children playing sport, taking home artwork or even enrolling if parents don't pay.
Threats against non-paying students breach Education Department guidelines, which say that schools can't stop children enrolling. However the practice is apparently widespread.
One parent was told that their child was "at risk of not being able to participate in extra-curricular excursions and activities in 2007" if subject contributions for 2006 were not paid. The contributions of almost $1000 included material and services costs for core classes.
Schools also withheld re-enrolment when subject fees weren't paid, stopped children taking home their finished artwork or cooking, denied students access to workbooks needed for a course, or stopped pupils participating in inter-school sports.
In some cases parents have been forced to pick subjects with cheaper fees, meaning that students missed out on art, home economics or PE courses.
Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services social policy worker Kathy Landvogt said the organisation had found school charges were increasing. Parents were being charged $200 to $400 at primary schools and up to $1000 at secondary schools.
This was mostly made up of "subject contributions" - which are supposed to cover materials and resources - despite most parents paying for textbooks and stationery.
(Source: Herald Sun)
Thursday, January 25, 2007
A terminally ill man has accused his employers of waiting for him to die, so as to avoid having to pay redundancy.
61 year old John Beavan worked for car-parts manufacturer Tristar Steering and Suspension for 43 years. In 2006 he fell ill with bowel cancer, followed by secondary liver cancer.
When Tristar began to wind down its Australian operations two years ago and offered voluntary redundancy to its employees, Mr Beaven, an accounts manager, applied. But although 20 of his colleagues were given redundancy, Mr Beaven was refused.
"They knew that he was sick and had cancer, that he was on sick leave, and they decided to play some games," said a spokesman for the family, Colin Wood.
Tristar would not give Mr Beaven any explanation as to why his redundancy application was refused.
After months of frustrated negotiations, Mr Beaven now has days to live. Mr Wood, who is Mr Beaven's brother-in-law, believes the company, which may owe millions in entitlements to other workers, is waiting for Mr Beaven to die, so he will be one fewer liability on its books. His two sons, both at university, and his daughter, who is doing her HSC, will have no income when he dies.
(Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
UPDATE: The company has now agreed to pay Mr Beaven's redundancy after the Workplace Relations Minister intervened.
However the company still has 30 workers who, for the last year, have been coming to a factory with no work to do.
Under their certified agreements, if they are made forcibly redundant, they're entitled to four weeks' pay for every year of service.
It's thus cheaper for the company to keep them on the payroll without any work to do, or wait for them to apply for a voluntary redundancy which entitles them to far less.
The workers, most of whom have been Tristar employees for 30 to 40 years, are likely to end up being paid redundancies worth only 12 weeks' pay.
(SOURCE: ABC News website)
61 year old John Beavan worked for car-parts manufacturer Tristar Steering and Suspension for 43 years. In 2006 he fell ill with bowel cancer, followed by secondary liver cancer.
When Tristar began to wind down its Australian operations two years ago and offered voluntary redundancy to its employees, Mr Beaven, an accounts manager, applied. But although 20 of his colleagues were given redundancy, Mr Beaven was refused.
"They knew that he was sick and had cancer, that he was on sick leave, and they decided to play some games," said a spokesman for the family, Colin Wood.
Tristar would not give Mr Beaven any explanation as to why his redundancy application was refused.
After months of frustrated negotiations, Mr Beaven now has days to live. Mr Wood, who is Mr Beaven's brother-in-law, believes the company, which may owe millions in entitlements to other workers, is waiting for Mr Beaven to die, so he will be one fewer liability on its books. His two sons, both at university, and his daughter, who is doing her HSC, will have no income when he dies.
(Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
UPDATE: The company has now agreed to pay Mr Beaven's redundancy after the Workplace Relations Minister intervened.
However the company still has 30 workers who, for the last year, have been coming to a factory with no work to do.
Under their certified agreements, if they are made forcibly redundant, they're entitled to four weeks' pay for every year of service.
It's thus cheaper for the company to keep them on the payroll without any work to do, or wait for them to apply for a voluntary redundancy which entitles them to far less.
The workers, most of whom have been Tristar employees for 30 to 40 years, are likely to end up being paid redundancies worth only 12 weeks' pay.
(SOURCE: ABC News website)
Monday, January 22, 2007
Prime Minister John Howard has recorded a message of support for an event organised by a group with links to Holocaust deniers, who have implied that Buddhists, Moslems and Hindus worship Satan.
Mr Howard recorded the message of support for a prayer meeting organised by Catch the Fire Ministries, a Christian group whose most prominent member is Pastor Danny Nalliah.
In 2005 Pastor Nalliah addressed a meeting of the League of Rights, a group who believe in a worldwide Jewish conspiracy and deny the Nazi genocide of the Jews.
On that occasion he shared a stage with Canadian neo-Nazi Paul Fromm.
The meeting was also attended by Frederick Toben, a prominent Australian Holocaust denier. Mr Toben's website says that at the meeting he asked Pastor Nalliah whether he believed in the Holocaust, and he "replied indirectly that Jews had suffered greatly in the past. Toben asked again: 'Do you believe in the 'Holocaust'? The good pastor said something about not knowing anything about the topic."
In 2004 Catch the Fire issued a leaflet which asked people to pray to God that He might pull down "Satan's strongholds", which included Moslem, Buddhist, Hindu and even Freemason places of worship.
Federal Treasurer Peter Costello wrote a letter of support to Pastor Nalliah during a recent legal battle, when he was accused of vilifying Moslems. Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile, former deputy PM John Anderson and former governor-general Peter Hollingworth have made speeches to the group.
(Source: Leftwrites.net)
Mr Howard recorded the message of support for a prayer meeting organised by Catch the Fire Ministries, a Christian group whose most prominent member is Pastor Danny Nalliah.
In 2005 Pastor Nalliah addressed a meeting of the League of Rights, a group who believe in a worldwide Jewish conspiracy and deny the Nazi genocide of the Jews.
On that occasion he shared a stage with Canadian neo-Nazi Paul Fromm.
The meeting was also attended by Frederick Toben, a prominent Australian Holocaust denier. Mr Toben's website says that at the meeting he asked Pastor Nalliah whether he believed in the Holocaust, and he "replied indirectly that Jews had suffered greatly in the past. Toben asked again: 'Do you believe in the 'Holocaust'? The good pastor said something about not knowing anything about the topic."
In 2004 Catch the Fire issued a leaflet which asked people to pray to God that He might pull down "Satan's strongholds", which included Moslem, Buddhist, Hindu and even Freemason places of worship.
Federal Treasurer Peter Costello wrote a letter of support to Pastor Nalliah during a recent legal battle, when he was accused of vilifying Moslems. Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile, former deputy PM John Anderson and former governor-general Peter Hollingworth have made speeches to the group.
(Source: Leftwrites.net)
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Staff at a Melbourne detention centre have been accused of regularly stealing from the centre, and of not turning up but being paid for shifts.
A whistleblower's letter says that there are never enough stores available for inmates of the Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre in Parkville, because of regular theft by staff.
It also accuses staff of going home when they should be on duty, leaving the centre unsafe. The center's inmates include sex offenders, armed robbers and killers.
The letter says management at the centre has been told of the situation repeatedly has but done nothing.
(Source: Herald Sun)
A whistleblower's letter says that there are never enough stores available for inmates of the Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre in Parkville, because of regular theft by staff.
It also accuses staff of going home when they should be on duty, leaving the centre unsafe. The center's inmates include sex offenders, armed robbers and killers.
The letter says management at the centre has been told of the situation repeatedly has but done nothing.
(Source: Herald Sun)
Friday, January 19, 2007
The Queensland government kept a report on Aboriginal disadvantage secret, and then abolished the department that produced it.
The confidential report warning of the devastation of Aboriginal people through violence, alcoholism, disease and hopelessness was drafted last year by the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy at the request of then minister John Mickel. It was to be the first progress report on a five-year plan, Partnerships Queensland.
But the 239-page draft was kept secret and, as soon as Labor was re-elected in September, Premier Peter Beattie abolished the department without warning. Mr Mickel stated during the campaign that he supported both the department and Partnerships Queensland.
The report warns that "there is an urgent need to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's standard of living ... and that by almost every indicator of wellbeing, ATSI Queenslanders are significantly more disadvantaged than other Queenslanders".
The report says indigenous babies are up to 4.6 times more likely to be placed in care, indigenous children are up to 45 times more likely to be admitted to hospital for assault and indigenous children are subject to protection orders up to 4.4 times the rate of children from non-indigenous backgrounds.
(Source: The Australian)
The confidential report warning of the devastation of Aboriginal people through violence, alcoholism, disease and hopelessness was drafted last year by the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy at the request of then minister John Mickel. It was to be the first progress report on a five-year plan, Partnerships Queensland.
But the 239-page draft was kept secret and, as soon as Labor was re-elected in September, Premier Peter Beattie abolished the department without warning. Mr Mickel stated during the campaign that he supported both the department and Partnerships Queensland.
The report warns that "there is an urgent need to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's standard of living ... and that by almost every indicator of wellbeing, ATSI Queenslanders are significantly more disadvantaged than other Queenslanders".
The report says indigenous babies are up to 4.6 times more likely to be placed in care, indigenous children are up to 45 times more likely to be admitted to hospital for assault and indigenous children are subject to protection orders up to 4.4 times the rate of children from non-indigenous backgrounds.
(Source: The Australian)
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Quote of the Moment:
"...black passengers were 17 times more likely to be stopped at passport control than white people from the northern hemisphere. But there did not appear to be any evidence that passengers were being stopped on the basis of ethnicity, [the report] said. In fact, immigration officers said they did not consider ethnicity was relevant and made their decisions based on nationality..."
The Guardian proves that British Immigration officers have nothing against blacks, it's those 'citizens of certain countries like Nigeria and Ethiopia' that it's worried about.
"...black passengers were 17 times more likely to be stopped at passport control than white people from the northern hemisphere. But there did not appear to be any evidence that passengers were being stopped on the basis of ethnicity, [the report] said. In fact, immigration officers said they did not consider ethnicity was relevant and made their decisions based on nationality..."
The Guardian proves that British Immigration officers have nothing against blacks, it's those 'citizens of certain countries like Nigeria and Ethiopia' that it's worried about.
The Tamworth council has partially overturned its earlier decision not to accept several refugee families.
The council voted 8-1 to accept the Sudanese refugees for a trial period.
However Tamworth Mayor James Treloar has declined to publically apologise for saying that the refugees were criminal, could cause riots and carried diseases.
Sudanese community leader Ajang Biar told the mayor "If you are saying you do not want 200 [refugees] escaping from the war it means [they] go back to die. I want you to apologise in front of the media, in front of the public because all the Sudanese community in Australia have been affected."
(Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
The council voted 8-1 to accept the Sudanese refugees for a trial period.
However Tamworth Mayor James Treloar has declined to publically apologise for saying that the refugees were criminal, could cause riots and carried diseases.
Sudanese community leader Ajang Biar told the mayor "If you are saying you do not want 200 [refugees] escaping from the war it means [they] go back to die. I want you to apologise in front of the media, in front of the public because all the Sudanese community in Australia have been affected."
(Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
Friday, January 12, 2007
George Bush has threatened to attack Syria and Iran, and has announced that he will send another 21,500 troops to Iraq.
Mr Bush said that "Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops", and that "we will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq."
American troops raided the Iranian consulate in northern Iraq, detaining five staff.
(Source: The Australian)
Mr Bush said that "Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops", and that "we will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq."
American troops raided the Iranian consulate in northern Iraq, detaining five staff.
(Source: The Australian)
Victoria's police force is riddled with "deep-seated and continuing corruption", according to one of Australia's most respected judicial figures.
Don Stewart is a former Supreme Court judge, and the founder of Australia's first national crime agency.
He says Victoria Police and the state Government oppose a royal commission because they do not want the extent of corruption within the force made public.
He writes that "they know that it would reveal what they don't want revealed".
He described the recent convictions of senior Victorian officers on corruption charges as "the tip of the iceberg".
It was revealed on Monday that the Office of Police Integrity was launching an investigation into possible links between corrupt police and organised crime, including allegations that corrupt officers had protected underworld figures.
Mr Stewart conducted three royal commissions, including one into drug trafficking that led to the establishment of the National Crime Authority, which he then headed from 1984 to 1989.
In 2005, former royal commissioner and former ASIO head Edward Woodward said corruption in the state was at its highest level ever.
The Victorian Government, Victoria Police and the Office of Police Integrity all rejected Mr Stewart's call for a royal commission.
(Source: Herald Sun)
Don Stewart is a former Supreme Court judge, and the founder of Australia's first national crime agency.
He says Victoria Police and the state Government oppose a royal commission because they do not want the extent of corruption within the force made public.
He writes that "they know that it would reveal what they don't want revealed".
He described the recent convictions of senior Victorian officers on corruption charges as "the tip of the iceberg".
It was revealed on Monday that the Office of Police Integrity was launching an investigation into possible links between corrupt police and organised crime, including allegations that corrupt officers had protected underworld figures.
Mr Stewart conducted three royal commissions, including one into drug trafficking that led to the establishment of the National Crime Authority, which he then headed from 1984 to 1989.
In 2005, former royal commissioner and former ASIO head Edward Woodward said corruption in the state was at its highest level ever.
The Victorian Government, Victoria Police and the Office of Police Integrity all rejected Mr Stewart's call for a royal commission.
(Source: Herald Sun)
A Uniting Church minister claims to have seen fresh blood stains inside the cell of an Aboriginal man whose complaint of police brutality ignited a riot on Tuesday night in which 300 people attacked a Queensland police station.
Trouble began on Tuesday afternoon after rumours circulated that Warren Bell, 22, had been bashed in police custody.
Mr Bell's arrest, and his obvious facial injuries, reignited tensions over the 2004 death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee on Palm Island and a recent decision not to prosecute the police officer found by a coroner to have been responsible for his death.
Wik elder and Uniting Church minister Ralph Peinkinna said he saw Mr Bell shortly after he claims police bashed him.
"He was a bit swollen around his face and I saw fresh blood stains still inside the cell," the chairman of the local Justice Group said. "I thought it could be a true story...He said the police hit him. That's what he told the Justice Group."
(Source: The Australian)
Trouble began on Tuesday afternoon after rumours circulated that Warren Bell, 22, had been bashed in police custody.
Mr Bell's arrest, and his obvious facial injuries, reignited tensions over the 2004 death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee on Palm Island and a recent decision not to prosecute the police officer found by a coroner to have been responsible for his death.
Wik elder and Uniting Church minister Ralph Peinkinna said he saw Mr Bell shortly after he claims police bashed him.
"He was a bit swollen around his face and I saw fresh blood stains still inside the cell," the chairman of the local Justice Group said. "I thought it could be a true story...He said the police hit him. That's what he told the Justice Group."
(Source: The Australian)
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Two anti-abortion groups have been given a key role in a new pregnancy counselling service, while groups who support access to abortion have apparently deliberately been excluded.
Health Minister Tony Abbott announced that Catholic welfare agency Centacare and the anti-abortion Caroline Chisholm Society would assist health help-line company McKesson in setting up the service.
Mr Abbott is a devout Catholic who has described abortions in Australia as an "unutterable shame". He has also said that 'everyone' would like to see the abortion rate come down.
The contract for the national help-line, which is due to start in May, was worth $15.5 million.
Senator Natasha Stott Despoja said the tender process specifically excluded people working in abortion clinics on the basis that they had a conflict of interest, but didn't apply a similar exclusion to members of anti-abortion groups.
Asked why pro-choice groups were not represented on the group, McKesson Asia-Pacific director Dr Matthew Cullen said: "I think the group we've got will produce the balanced result we need."
(Source: The Australian, The Age)
Health Minister Tony Abbott announced that Catholic welfare agency Centacare and the anti-abortion Caroline Chisholm Society would assist health help-line company McKesson in setting up the service.
Mr Abbott is a devout Catholic who has described abortions in Australia as an "unutterable shame". He has also said that 'everyone' would like to see the abortion rate come down.
The contract for the national help-line, which is due to start in May, was worth $15.5 million.
Senator Natasha Stott Despoja said the tender process specifically excluded people working in abortion clinics on the basis that they had a conflict of interest, but didn't apply a similar exclusion to members of anti-abortion groups.
Asked why pro-choice groups were not represented on the group, McKesson Asia-Pacific director Dr Matthew Cullen said: "I think the group we've got will produce the balanced result we need."
(Source: The Australian, The Age)
Friday, January 05, 2007
British employees worked more than $57 billion Australian dollars worth of unpaid overtime last year - losing an average of almost $12,000 each, according to a new report.
The TUC, Britain's peak trade union body, said that British employees put in 23 billion pounds worth of unpaid overtime, or 4800 pounds each.
(Source: The Guardian [UK])
The TUC, Britain's peak trade union body, said that British employees put in 23 billion pounds worth of unpaid overtime, or 4800 pounds each.
(Source: The Guardian [UK])
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Only 14 percent of Australians believe they will be better off under the new workplace laws, acording to a new survey.
The Newspoll report found that more than double this number - 33 percent - believe they will personally be worse off. The figure is up from 30 percent in April 2006.
47 percent of voters believe they will be bad for the economy, compared to 34 percent who believe they will be good. People with higher salaries were more likely to say that the changes will be good for the economy.
(Source: The Australian)
The Newspoll report found that more than double this number - 33 percent - believe they will personally be worse off. The figure is up from 30 percent in April 2006.
47 percent of voters believe they will be bad for the economy, compared to 34 percent who believe they will be good. People with higher salaries were more likely to say that the changes will be good for the economy.
(Source: The Australian)
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
The Exclusive Brethren sect tried for almost four years to cover up the sexual assaults of two girls, protecting the abuser, ostracising the victims and blaming their mother.
The perpetrator, a senior, respected and rich Brethren elder in a country town, was found guilty in a Sydney court two weeks ago of eight charges, including the digital rape of one girl of eight and the repeated indecent assault of her older sister.
The sect's world leader, Sydney office supply salesman Bruce Hales, was told of the assaults by Brethren elders in 2003 but no action was taken against the perpetrator at that time.
The Brethren leadership also ignored written warnings as early as 1991 that the perpetrator, a serial molester, had sexually assaulted many young women in the sect.
The Exclusive Brethren, a Christian sect, has become known in recent years for running expensive advertising campaigns for the conservative political parties.
They successfully lobbied the federal Coalition Government, and Prime Minister John Howard has admitted meeting their representatives. In New Zealand, the sect hired private detectives to tail Prime Minister Helen Clark, and cost the job of Nationals leader Don Brash when he denied accepting their money.
None of the parties in the recent sexual assault case can be identified for legal reasons, but the distraught father of the two girls said that in 2003, before the case was reported to police, the girls' mother came under intense pressure by the Brethren not to report the assaults to police.
"A local Brethren woman quoted the scripture to my ex-wife. She said: 'It would better for a millstone to be hung around your neck and for you to be cast into the depths of the sea rather than go to the police'."
According to the father, one of the Brethren's most senior Australian members also told the victims' mother that she should take the blame for the sexual assaults.
During this time, the wife of the sexual predator was allowed to interview the older sister for several hours. Towards the end of that session, the abuser himself also joined the interview. Under pressure, the girl was forced to retract her complaints and issue a written apology to her abuser and his wife.
"It was a coerced admission that it was because of my own daughter's naughtiness and sinfulness that she had said such a thing," the father said.
The retraction and apology was presented as evidence for the defence during the man's trial, but rejected by the jury.
Later that year, at the orders of the sect's leadership, two senior Brethren women grilled the girls for several hours. The results of this interview were reported to world leader Mr Hales.
These interviews later led police and the Director of Public Prosecutions to fear that the girls' evidence might have become too contaminated to secure a conviction, the father said.
Seeing the psychological effect the assaults and manipulation were having on her children, the mother wanted professional counselling for them. However, she was warned that a counsellor would be compelled to report the assaults to police.
This warning, and the hold the Brethren had over her, caused a further three-month delay in her seeking professional help for her traumatised daughters, the father said.
It was not until November 2003 that she reported the assaults. In February 2004, police arrested the perpetrator.
In Brethren theology, the "worldly" courts are inferior to their own "assembly". Mr Hales, in words from April 2003 that were recorded and published, to be taken as gospel by the sect's 40,000 adherents, said it was "a very great matter, I think, to know that this place, the assembly, is the highest court". "It's the area of God's direct dealings, and it's got the power to overrule other judgements if there's a righteous basis for it," he said.
The father has seen copies of correspondence from 2004 in which the matter was discussed with Mr Hales.
In this period, the father was also tailed by a private investigator hired by the perpetrator.
The perpetrator offered to help the father in an unrelated matter if he was prepared to provide incriminating evidence against his ex-wife and daughters. He refused.
It was only after the charges were laid, and the court awarded an apprehended violence order against the perpetrator to keep him away from the family, that the Brethren imposed any "assembly discipline" on him, shutting the man out of worship.
"That set the scene for the vilification of my family," the father said. "The kids were excluded at school [owned and run by the sect], jeered at, made fun of. And from that time ensued a period where my ex-wife's house was repeatedly egged - eggs under the doormat, being smashed on the windows, the car being scratched."
Under the pressure, one of the children of the family left the school.
At the first of two trials of the man, the Brethren trustee at the school, and its one-time principal, gave evidence on behalf of the abuser.
In early 2005, a Brethren member broke a lock on a filing cabinet to steal one of the girls' passports, while her mother was absent, apparently with the intention of sending the child overseas. The passport was returned after police were notified.
At this time, according to the girls' father, his former wife asked him: "Please protect me from the Brethren. I can't deal with the pressure they put me under right now".
In mid-2005, as the sexual assault case was being prepared, the Brethren's Sydney-based lawyers, Champion Legal, launched an unsuccessful legal attempt to wrest guardianship of one of the girls away from her parents.
Even then the campaign against the family did not cease. When the case finally came to court in October 2005, another adult Brethren member made bomb threats on the country courtroom where the charges were being heard.
He made phone calls threatening a suicide bomb mission on the court and another attack on the victims' home. These threats forced the evacuation of the court and a security upgrade.
While there is no evidence that the threats were endorsed by the Brethren leadership, police gave evidence that the man was a close friend of the perpetrator of the sexual assaults. He was jailed.
Other children of the family have also come under pressure. The father says another daughter, who was not abused, is no longer in the sect, but Brethren representatives have approached her with a number of offers to return: "money, clothes, trips to different places...restorative surgery...complete orthodontic work, all with the implication that her father wouldn't have the money or the decency to do it himself."
All offers were dependent on the girl cutting contact with her father.
(Source: The Age)
The perpetrator, a senior, respected and rich Brethren elder in a country town, was found guilty in a Sydney court two weeks ago of eight charges, including the digital rape of one girl of eight and the repeated indecent assault of her older sister.
The sect's world leader, Sydney office supply salesman Bruce Hales, was told of the assaults by Brethren elders in 2003 but no action was taken against the perpetrator at that time.
The Brethren leadership also ignored written warnings as early as 1991 that the perpetrator, a serial molester, had sexually assaulted many young women in the sect.
The Exclusive Brethren, a Christian sect, has become known in recent years for running expensive advertising campaigns for the conservative political parties.
They successfully lobbied the federal Coalition Government, and Prime Minister John Howard has admitted meeting their representatives. In New Zealand, the sect hired private detectives to tail Prime Minister Helen Clark, and cost the job of Nationals leader Don Brash when he denied accepting their money.
None of the parties in the recent sexual assault case can be identified for legal reasons, but the distraught father of the two girls said that in 2003, before the case was reported to police, the girls' mother came under intense pressure by the Brethren not to report the assaults to police.
"A local Brethren woman quoted the scripture to my ex-wife. She said: 'It would better for a millstone to be hung around your neck and for you to be cast into the depths of the sea rather than go to the police'."
According to the father, one of the Brethren's most senior Australian members also told the victims' mother that she should take the blame for the sexual assaults.
During this time, the wife of the sexual predator was allowed to interview the older sister for several hours. Towards the end of that session, the abuser himself also joined the interview. Under pressure, the girl was forced to retract her complaints and issue a written apology to her abuser and his wife.
"It was a coerced admission that it was because of my own daughter's naughtiness and sinfulness that she had said such a thing," the father said.
The retraction and apology was presented as evidence for the defence during the man's trial, but rejected by the jury.
Later that year, at the orders of the sect's leadership, two senior Brethren women grilled the girls for several hours. The results of this interview were reported to world leader Mr Hales.
These interviews later led police and the Director of Public Prosecutions to fear that the girls' evidence might have become too contaminated to secure a conviction, the father said.
Seeing the psychological effect the assaults and manipulation were having on her children, the mother wanted professional counselling for them. However, she was warned that a counsellor would be compelled to report the assaults to police.
This warning, and the hold the Brethren had over her, caused a further three-month delay in her seeking professional help for her traumatised daughters, the father said.
It was not until November 2003 that she reported the assaults. In February 2004, police arrested the perpetrator.
In Brethren theology, the "worldly" courts are inferior to their own "assembly". Mr Hales, in words from April 2003 that were recorded and published, to be taken as gospel by the sect's 40,000 adherents, said it was "a very great matter, I think, to know that this place, the assembly, is the highest court". "It's the area of God's direct dealings, and it's got the power to overrule other judgements if there's a righteous basis for it," he said.
The father has seen copies of correspondence from 2004 in which the matter was discussed with Mr Hales.
In this period, the father was also tailed by a private investigator hired by the perpetrator.
The perpetrator offered to help the father in an unrelated matter if he was prepared to provide incriminating evidence against his ex-wife and daughters. He refused.
It was only after the charges were laid, and the court awarded an apprehended violence order against the perpetrator to keep him away from the family, that the Brethren imposed any "assembly discipline" on him, shutting the man out of worship.
"That set the scene for the vilification of my family," the father said. "The kids were excluded at school [owned and run by the sect], jeered at, made fun of. And from that time ensued a period where my ex-wife's house was repeatedly egged - eggs under the doormat, being smashed on the windows, the car being scratched."
Under the pressure, one of the children of the family left the school.
At the first of two trials of the man, the Brethren trustee at the school, and its one-time principal, gave evidence on behalf of the abuser.
In early 2005, a Brethren member broke a lock on a filing cabinet to steal one of the girls' passports, while her mother was absent, apparently with the intention of sending the child overseas. The passport was returned after police were notified.
At this time, according to the girls' father, his former wife asked him: "Please protect me from the Brethren. I can't deal with the pressure they put me under right now".
In mid-2005, as the sexual assault case was being prepared, the Brethren's Sydney-based lawyers, Champion Legal, launched an unsuccessful legal attempt to wrest guardianship of one of the girls away from her parents.
Even then the campaign against the family did not cease. When the case finally came to court in October 2005, another adult Brethren member made bomb threats on the country courtroom where the charges were being heard.
He made phone calls threatening a suicide bomb mission on the court and another attack on the victims' home. These threats forced the evacuation of the court and a security upgrade.
While there is no evidence that the threats were endorsed by the Brethren leadership, police gave evidence that the man was a close friend of the perpetrator of the sexual assaults. He was jailed.
Other children of the family have also come under pressure. The father says another daughter, who was not abused, is no longer in the sect, but Brethren representatives have approached her with a number of offers to return: "money, clothes, trips to different places...restorative surgery...complete orthodontic work, all with the implication that her father wouldn't have the money or the decency to do it himself."
All offers were dependent on the girl cutting contact with her father.
(Source: The Age)
Quotes of the Moment:
"The Persians [Shi'ites] have killed him. I can't believe it. By God, we will take revenge."
"All we can do now is take it out against the Americans and the government."
Saddam Hussein's death helps build a peaceful and democratic Iraq, just as George Bush promised it would.
"The Persians [Shi'ites] have killed him. I can't believe it. By God, we will take revenge."
"All we can do now is take it out against the Americans and the government."
Saddam Hussein's death helps build a peaceful and democratic Iraq, just as George Bush promised it would.
The United States death toll in Iraq has exceeded 3000.
60 per cent of Americans killed since the March 2003 invasion were under 25 years of age, two dozen of them 18 years old.
President George Bush released a statement which said in part that "in the new year, we will remain on the offensive against the enemies of freedom."
Mr Bush has spent part of his Christmas break consulting with top aides on new strategies for Iraq. On the table is the 'surge' option, to deploy another 25,000 troops in addition to the 134,000 already in Iraq.
(Source: The Independent [UK])
60 per cent of Americans killed since the March 2003 invasion were under 25 years of age, two dozen of them 18 years old.
President George Bush released a statement which said in part that "in the new year, we will remain on the offensive against the enemies of freedom."
Mr Bush has spent part of his Christmas break consulting with top aides on new strategies for Iraq. On the table is the 'surge' option, to deploy another 25,000 troops in addition to the 134,000 already in Iraq.
(Source: The Independent [UK])
