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Sisters just want their day in court in Malka Leifer case

The Australian victims of accused sex predator Malka Leifer have declared they do not care whether the former Jewish school principal serves a prison sentence here or in Israel.

Lawyers for Ms Leifer will seek to exploit a little-known provision of Israeli law to make her extradition conditional on an agreement to send her back to Israel to do time if she is convicted and jailed.

The fallback position emerged during Thursday’s appeal in Israel’s Supreme Court against a court order to return the mother-of-eight to Melbourne to face charges of sexually abusing three sisters while she was head of the Adass Israel school serving the city’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.

The elder sister, Nicole Meyer, told The Weekend Australian their priority was to have Ms Leifer answer for her alleged crimes in an Australian court.

“Honestly, I don’t really mind where she sits for her jail sentence as long as I have a chance to stand up in court and face her and speak,” Ms Meyer, 35, said.

“I think my sisters feel the same way. We are not particularly fussed about the need for her to be in an Australian jail if that’s the deal the Australian and Israeli governments make.

“It’s more about her finally coming here and having to answer for what she did in court.”

Ms Leifer’s first line of defence is to argue that the extradition order issued in September by the Jerusalem District Court was invalid, partly because the offence of digital rape is not recognised in Israel’s extradition treaty with Australia.

But Israeli prosecutors, acting on behalf of the Australian government, sharply disputed this during the Supreme Court appeal hearing. Ms Leifer’s lawyer, Nick Kaufman, said afterwards: “It sounds a bit technical but it is a valid legal argument.”

If the appeal is rejected, as legal observers in Israel consider likely, her bid to serve any sentence of imprisonment in Israel will turn on her residence status when she was in Australia for eight years from 2000 and allegedly abused Ms Meyer and her sisters, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper.

The Supreme Court was told that Ms Leifer, 54, was on a “shlichut Toranit” to teach Judaism, and Israel remained the focal point of her life. Initially, this was on a 457 work visa but in 2002 Ms Leifer waived the opportunity to apply for Australian residence, affirming her commitment to the Jewish state, her lawyers argued.

Legal sources familiar with the law of extradition in Israel said if the Supreme Court accepted this, it would be open to the Israeli government to request that Ms Leifer serve any prison time at home or make this a condition of her extradition.

Attorney-General Christian Porter said the “critical primary step” in the six-year process to extradite her was for the judicial process in Israel to conclude.

The Supreme Court is tipped to deliver judgment on the appeal as early as next week, after which the extradition will go to Israeli Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn for sign-off. This could in turn be appealed, but the grounds are limited. Australia and Israel would then have 60 days to make the arrangements to put Ms Leifer on a plane.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/sisters-just-want-their-day-in-court-in-malka-leifer-case/news-story/d6f9b52d51a8c601094bc5d61ad74dc1

Resignations in the news

Former South Australian transport minister Stephan Knoll to quit at 2022 election

Once viewed as a potential future premier, South Australian Liberal MP Stephan Knoll has announced he is quitting politics.

The former transport minister resigned from Cabinet earlier this year amid the fallout from the Country Members Accommodation Allowance scandal.

He has since been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, but has remained on the backbench.

He was first elected in 2014 and represented the safe Liberal electorate of Schubert, in the Barossa Valley.

In a text message sent to Liberal colleagues on Tuesday, Mr Knoll said he had informed Premier Steven Marshall of his decision not to stand at the next election, in March 2022.

"I want to thank each and every one of you for everything over the past 6.5 years," he said.

"To serve in this place has been the highest honour, all the more because of the group of people I have been able to serve with.

"There is still much to do in the next 16 months, including winning the next election, and I look forward to helping in whatever way I can to achieve that."

In a subsequent statement posted on social media, Mr Knoll said he made the decision in order to spend more time with his family.

"In taking on the roles I have held, it is inevitable that sacrifices were made by those closest to me in order to enable me to devote the time and energy to the enormous task my ministerial workload demanded," he said.

"I have a choice to become either a better politician, or a better person to those closest to me.

"I am choosing the latter. With my daughters at primary-school age, now is an important time to be more engaged and present as a father."

Mr Marshall said he was "disappointed" but understood and respected Mr Knoll's decision.

The ABC has contacted Mr Knoll for comment.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-01/former-sa-transport-minister-stephan-knoll-to-quit/12940358

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Dean Nalder, former Barnett government minister, to quit politics ahead of WA election

WA's Shadow Treasurer and former transport minister Dean Nalder is quitting state politics, making the decision a week after failing in a bid to lead the Liberal Party to the March election.

Mr Nalder confirmed he would not be recontesting the blue-ribbon Liberal seat of Bateman, saying it was a family decision and not a result of his unsuccessful leadership tilt.

It is understood Mr Nalder wants to explore private sector opportunities in the business world, where he worked before entering state politics in 2013.

The former ANZ executive was one of two nominees for the Liberal leadership after the resignation of Liza Harvey, along with Dawesville MP Zak Kirkup.

But Mr Nalder withdrew from the contest on the morning of the partyroom vote, accepting he did not have the numbers to win.

In a statement, Mr Nalder said announcing his departure now would allow the Liberal Party time to select a suitable person to replace him.

"I have given it my all over the past eight years and with the Liberal Party seeking to refresh, my wife Colette and I have made the decision that now is the best time to move on," he said.

"I feel blessed to be a part of the Western Australian community and it's been a privilege to serve my electorate, the best place in the world to live and raise a family."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-02/dean-nalder-to-quit-politics-with-march-state-election-looming/12940572

Exclusive: Prince Andrew's accuser was a prostitute paid off by Jeffrey Epstein, court papers allege

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, 37, claims to have had sex with the prince three times when she was 17

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Prince Andrew's chief accuser was a prostitute who lied about her age and was paid "half a million" by the disgraced paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, new court papers allege.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, 37, who claims to have had sex with the prince three times when she was 17, was "on the game for about a year" before she met Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of sex trafficking her and a number of other young women in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Ms Roberts Giuffre has always insisted she was a victim and never a willing participant, accusing her critics of "recycling fantasies of their version of the truth for years". She claims the men who abused her have been using their wealth and influence to keep her quiet, accusing the Queen's son of "hiding behind his mummy's skirt" saying: "I didn't do it."

Allegations contained in newly-filed legal documents claim Ms Roberts Giuffre was 16, not 15, when she first met Ms Maxwell in Florida. She is also accused of changing her story about meeting Donald Trump at the last minute and of confusing one of the men she claimed to have been sex trafficked to with another Harvard professor.

It is also alleged that she may have doctored an email and was using legal action as a form of "blackmail".

Ms Roberts Giuffre has always insisted she is trying to expose the truth, and founded non-profit organisation Victims Refuse Silence in 2015 to help fellow survivors of sex trafficking.

The sensational claims emerged in a transcript of a conversation between Sharon Churcher, the journalist who first revealed Ms Roberts Giuffre to be one of Mr Epstein's victims in a 2011 newspaper interview, and Tony Lyons, a New York publisher.

Mr Lyons' Skyhorse Group has published books by Epstein's former lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who Ms Roberts Giuffre has claimed to have been sex trafficked to six times as a minor. The Harvard professor, 81, vehemently denies the claims and has submitted the transcript in defence of a defamation action lodged against him by Ms Roberts Giuffre in April last year.

Ms Churcher met Mr Lyons at Skyhorse's headquarters on West 36th Street, New York, on October 2 last year to discuss a book about the "Me Too" movement she was working on.

During the course of their 80-minute conversation, recorded by Mr Lyons, Ms Churcher made a series of claims about Ms Roberts Giuffre, whom she first revealed as victim "Jane Doe 3" in a story published on February 27, 2011.

The article was accompanied by a never-seen-before photo of Andrew with his arm around a then 17-year-old Ms Roberts Giuffre, taken by Epstein at Ms Maxwell's London flat in March 2001.

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Ms Churcher admits Ms Roberts Giuffre "got paid" for the interview – in which she described how she was recruited by Ms Maxwell to become Epstein's masseuse when she was working at Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago country club in Florida – saying: "It was chequebook journalism."

In the original interview, Ms Roberts Giuffre describes herself as "a paedophile's dream", having been abused as a child, and details how she spent the next four years being pressured to have underage sex with Epstein and "pimped out" to powerful men.

Although she did not at that stage accuse Andrew of any wrongdoing, she claims to have met him three times – when the photograph was taken and they went out to Tramp nightclub; again at Epstein's Manhattan mansion in Easter 2001 "when Ghislaine placed me on his knee"; and a third time on Epstein's Caribbean island, Little Saint James.

It was not until three years later, in a December 2014 Florida court filing, that she described being sex trafficked to the royal at least three times when she was 17 in 2001. Buckingham Palace stated that "any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue", later repeating the denials.

According to the transcript, Ms Churcher claims Ms Roberts Giuffre "lied about her age", telling Mr Lyons that Epstein had "two sides to his operation" – abusing schoolgirls and "pimping out beautiful young women to very powerful men".

Referring to Ms Roberts Giuffre, she said: "She took a year off [her age]. Apparently she was 16, not 15, when she was recruited [by Epstein]. But she'd been on the game for about a year then. Epstein's women were – he basically had prostitutes."

Ms Churcher goes to claim that Ms Roberts Giuffre is "suing everybody", including Prof Dershowitz, adding: "The idea is that he will then pay her off. This really is blackmail."

When Mr Lyons replies that Prof Dershowitz "isn't going to do that" because he doesn't want his "legacy tarnished", Ms Churcher responds: "She'll just move on to other people if she gets away with that one too. She's a big spender. She's spent so much money. Because you see, Epstein paid her off. She had settled with Epstein. She'd taken half a million, I think it was."

Ms Churcher then refers to an email Ms Roberts Giuffre sent her on May 5, 2011, also submitted in evidence, asking her to clarify the names of the men she claimed "JE had sent me to" during the interview to help her with a book pitch. The transcript of the email suggests Ms Churcher responded six days later, on May 11, 2011, saying: "Don't forget Alan Dershowitz. JEs buddy and lawyer… We all suspect Alan is a pedo…"

Ms Churcher tells Mr Lyons she would never use the word "pedo", adding: "I wonder about some of these emails, too, that she's produced. Because of course you can change emails."

Describing Prof Dershowitz as "a victim", Ms Churcher suggests Ms Roberts Giuffre may have "confused him with this other Harvard professor" who was also friends with Epstein.

Ms Churcher also alleges that Ms Roberts Giuffre "changed her story about Trump, too". In a second Mail on Sunday story, dated March 6, 2011, Ms Churcher quotes Ms Roberts Giuffre as saying: "Donald Trump was also a good friend of Jeffrey's. He didn't partake in sex with any of us but he flirted with me. He'd laugh and tell Jeffrey: 'You've got the life.'''

Ms Churcher tells Mr Lyons: "I've written what she told me about Trump. She's now saying she never said it." The transcript, emails and a sworn affidavit by Mr Lyons were filed in evidence at the District Court, New York, on November 20.

A spokesperson for Ms Roberts Giuffre has previously rubbished Prof Dershowitz's claims, saying: "We have been to this rodeo before with Alan Dershowitz. He has been recycling the same fantasies of his version of the truth for years."

Prof Dershowitz's lawyer declined to comment. Representatives for Ms Churcher did not respond to a request for comment.

Chuck Cooper, representing Ms Roberts Giuffre said: "We are looking forward to taking Ms Churcher's deposition under oath."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/12/04/exclusive-prince-andrews-accuser-prostitute-paid-jeffrey-epstein/

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/14945220/giuffre-v-dershowitz/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.513818/gov.uscourts.nysd.513818.210.2_1_1.pdf

OPINION: The PM ignored one of the enduring truths in politics in his over-the-top response to China

Kevin Rudd - Former Australian prime minister

December 5, 2020

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Three decades ago, my then-boss Queensland premier Wayne Goss, shared with me one of the enduring truths of national (and international) politics: never punch below your weight.

Yet that's precisely what Scott Morrison did by responding personally, as Prime Minister of Australia, to an offensive tweet by some junior jerk in the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Morrison's over-the-top response to the ministry's deputy spokesman, Zhao Lijian, would have resulted in high-fives all around Beijing. Morrison was suckered into lowering himself to respond to one of China's self- proclaimed, but also internally despised, wolf-warriors.

Morrison could have had Frances Adamson, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, land one on Comrade Zhao's nose, then haul in the Chinese ambassador for a dressing down, thereby allowing the Prime Minister to take the high ground in Parliament by calling for calmer and cooler heads in Beijing to prevail. Instead, Morrison lost it.

If Morrison's objective was to exercise political leadership in a relationship that's been spinning out of control since 2017, then Beijing would have seen his performance as diplomatic panic rather than considered strategy. Morrison will say we had to defend the honour of our nation and its military – and I agree – but he could have pointed to Adamson's rebuke rather than lowering himself to the level of a mid-career wolf-warrior seeking to boost his profile at the PM's expense.

This incident, however, points to a much bigger problem in the Australia-China relationship, including the absence of any effective Australian strategy for it. As I've said before, any Australian prime minister would find it difficult to manage this rising authoritarian Leninist superpower. But as we chart a way forward, we need a crystal-clear analysis of how our bilateral relationship has become such a mess in the first place. In fairness to Morrison, many of these factors are outside Australia's control, though not all of them.

First, China's behaviour is changing as the balance of economic and military power against the United States improves in Beijing's favour. The Trump Administration's idiocy accelerated this trend. In Beijing's deeply realist view of international relations, power is central to exercising leverage; China is now flexing its muscles with US allies worldwide, including Australia.

Second, this flexing has increased under Xi Jinping since 2013. In December that year, at the party's central work conference on foreign affairs, Xi formally abandoned Deng Xiaoping's 30-year doctrine of "hide your strength, bide you time, never take the lead". The entire world, not just Australia, has been dealing with Xi's more assertive foreign policy across the board.

But a third factor driving the dynamics of the Australia-China relationship is largely within Morrison's control. It is the extent to which his government seeks domestic political advantage by engaging in a rolling diatribe against Beijing, week in, week out, on one issue after another. The bottom line is: mouthing off about China for domestic political effect is not the same as prosecuting an operational strategy for dealing with the substance of the China challenge.

This is where Morrison diverges from most other US allies who do more to advance their core national interests in relation to China, but talk less about it in their public proclamations. That's not appeasement. It's just mature, intelligent strategy.

(continued)

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A case study in recent weeks was Morrison's decision to fly to Tokyo to meet Japanese Prime Minister Suga. Nothing wrong with that. But Morrison then deliberately souped-up an eminently sensible "reciprocal access agreement" to facilitate joint training exercises between our two militaries into a "landmark defence treaty" between Canberra and Tokyo.

Not only was this factually inaccurate, it was deliberately designed to be inflammatory. This so-called "pact" has absolutely zero mutual defence obligation. It was a dumb PR stunt to make Morrison look hairy chested back home. This is just one example of the government bringing out the domestic political egg-beater on actions concerning China, which could have been executed internally with minimal fanfare.

It does not have to be this way. Look at Japan. Like Australia, Japan is a close ally of the United States; like Australia, its principal economic partner is China; like Australia, it is a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad. Unlike Australia, Japan also hosts large-scale American bases on its soil and has a rolling territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea where the two countries' militaries face off every day of the week. Yet despite all of this, and despite the appalling history between Japan and China, both Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga have managed over the last several years to prosecute a bilateral relationship that minimises political invective, maximises economic opportunity and with trade largely unaffected.

What can Australia do? Morrison will need to work overtime with Washington to ensure that any stabilisation of the US-China relationship will apply to America's allies as well. China understands power. But so does the US. Despite the Morrison government putting all its diplomatic eggs in the Trump basket, the deep institutional view in Biden's Washington will be to prevent any American ally being picked off by Beijing. Thursday's statement by the incoming National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on this score is very encouraging.

Morrison will also have to work overtime with other US allies (including the Europeans) to lend support to Australia beyond simple declarations of solidarity. Despite Morrison routinely shunning Europe in areas of central concern to them, such as climate change, Australia now needs France, Germany, Britain, Brussels and others to ensure that any World Trade Organisation action against China's politically driven tariffs receives maximum multilateral support.

And finally, Morrison will also need to take a leaf out of Japan's recent playbook on dealing with China. He'll need to grow up and, importantly, learn to shut up – other than when it's essential for our core values and interests and, where possible, articulated in unison with our friends and allies. The irony is that Morrison's current course is making Australia less secure, not more secure, despite his government seeking to wrap itself in the rhetorical mantle of "national security".

Managing China's rise, and its interplay with American and allied military and economic power, is not a juvenile game for domestic political advantage. The national interests at stake are too high for that.

Kevin Rudd is president of the Asia Society Policy Institute and was the 26th prime minister of Australia.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-pm-ignored-one-of-the-enduring-truths-in-politics-in-his-over-the-top-response-to-china-20201203-p56kj6.html

U.S. Cyber Command Tweets

First-ever #cyber agreement between U.S. & Australia means we can both evolve our virtual cyber training range. Persistent Cyber Training Environment allows U.S. & allied cyber forces to train for real-world missions.

@DeptDefence @DeptofDefense @USArmy

https://twitter.com/US_CYBERCOM/status/1334869205859135496

US and Australia sign first-ever cyber agreement to develop virtual training range

https://www.cybercom.mil/Media/News/Article/2434919/us-and-australia-sign-first-ever-cyber-agreement-to-develop-virtual-training-ra/

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“Australia and the U.S. have a strong history of working together to develop our cyber capabilities and train our people to fight and win in cyberspace.” – @AustralianArmy Maj. Gen. Marcus Thompson

#partnership @ASDGovAu

https://twitter.com/US_CYBERCOM/status/1334869505638621188

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“This project arrangement is a milestone for U.S.-Australian cooperation. It is the first #cyber-only arrangement established between @USArmy and an allied nation, which highlights the value of Australia’s #partnership in the simulated training domain” – Elizabeth Wilson, DASA

https://twitter.com/US_CYBERCOM/status/1334871461505490944

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US and Australia sign first-ever cyber agreement to develop virtual training range

U.S. Cyber Command | Dec. 4, 2020

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As part of the Dept. of Defense’s efforts to sharpen lethality, reform business practices, and strengthen partnerships in cyberspace, the United States and Australia have launched a first-ever agreement to continuously develop a virtual cyber training range together.

Both nations recently signed a Cyber Training Capabilities Project Arrangement, Nov. 3- this bi-lateral, international agreement enables U.S. Cyber Command to incorporate Australian Defence Force feedback into USCYBERCOM’s simulated training domain, the Persistent Cyber Training Environment.

The PCTE is a cyber training platform for real-world defensive missions across boundaries and networks; its shared use and development will constantly evolve it and sharpen readiness in cyber tactics, techniques, and procedures.

“This project arrangement is a milestone for U.S.-Australian cooperation. It is the first cyber-only arrangement established between the U.S. Army and an allied nation, which highlights the value of Australia’s partnership in the simulated training domain,” said Elizabeth Wilson, the U.S. signatory and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Defense Exports and Cooperation. “To counter known and potential adversarial threats, the Army has recalibrated our strategic thinking; we’ve made smart decisions to refocus our efforts to invest in the new, emerging and smart technologies that will strengthen our ability to fight and win our nation’s wars.”

Previously, U.S. and allied cyber forces developed cyber training ranges for specific scenarios that would be used once, a process that could take months. Now, PCTE offers a collaborative training environment, enabling cyber forces around the world to develop and re-use already-existing content and train at the individual and group levels anytime.

“Australia and the U.S. have a strong history of working together to develop our cyber capabilities and train our people to fight and win in cyberspace,” said Australian Army Maj. Gen. Marcus Thompson, the Australian signatory and head of Information Warfare for the Australian Defence Force. “This arrangement will be an important part of the ADF’s training program, and we look forward to the mutual benefits it will bring.”

Partnerships in cyberspace are key to generating and sharing insights of threat actors, enabling mutual defense against cyber attacks, and conducting the operational training necessary to hold adversaries accountable in cyberspace– and such training platforms enable lethal cyber mission forces in defense of U.S. and allied interests.

“Agreements like this one are crucial to the efficiency of our joint modernization,” Wilson said. “They lay the framework for our mutual growth, allowing us to become stronger and more interoperable as allies.”

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The U.S. Army has the lead in developing PCTE, and worked with the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation on this cooperative cyber project with Australia. The PEO STRI is responsible to deliver and improve PCTE on behalf of the Joint Services; currently, PCTE's primary user is USCYBERCOM and the Service Cyber Components.

“PCTE continues to showcase training opportunities for our cyber equities, and as we evolve this capability we look forward to the ongoing progression and engagements with our partners,” said Rear Adm. Christopher Bartz, Director, USCYBERCOM Exercises and Training. “Our recent Cyber Flag events in June and September of 2020 were prime examples of Five Eyes partner training and collaboration.”

PCTE is one component of the U.S. military’s Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture, an overarching framework that helps guide capability development across all services for a functional, adaptive system of systems.

MORE ON PCTE:

The PCTE training platform delivered its first production version in February 2020 and is designed as a distributed, secure, reconfigurable environment where numerous independent cyber operations training activities may occur simultaneously. These environments include virtual emulations of live networks that allow cyber operators the ability to practice their skills and operations in a closed environment.

A key aspect of PCTE, which provides the earliest access to capabilities, is the incorporation of an iterative development process. This process allows for the continued development and improvement of PCTE while it is in use by cyber warriors.

Cyber mission forces first identified the need for a shared, iterative virtual cyber range during exercise Cyber Flag 2015 and has since galvanized an expedited effort to define the requirement and find technical solutions. Leveraging agile acquisition and rapid prototyping, cyber mission operators actively test and provide feedback during development, enabling PCTE to meet their operational needs.

The long-term goal for PCTE is to provide the DOD cyberspace workforce the capability to build and conduct full-spectrum, combined and joint cyberspace training, exercises, certification and mission rehearsal in a training environment. The training environment requirements, driven by training objectives and user-defined specifications, must emulate a realistic operational environment that provides scope, scalability and fidelity.

The CTC PA is an example of how the cyber mission forces of the U.S. and Australia work together, and showcases success in the Armaments Cooperation. The project arrangement, valued at $215.19 million (USD) over six years, provides the flexibility to develop cyber training capabilities for the future.

https://www.cybercom.mil/Media/News/Article/2434919/us-and-australia-sign-first-ever-cyber-agreement-to-develop-virtual-training-ra/

China’s ‘aggressive diplomacy’ is ‘encouraging’ nations to take Australia’s side

Sky News Australia

Published on 4 Dec 2020

Former foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer says China’s aggressive diplomacy against Australia is only encouraging other countries to side with Australia.

It comes amid escalating tensions between Canberra and Beijing which have most recently seen a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson post a doctored photo to Twitter depicting an Australian soldier holding a bloody knife to the throat of an Afghani child.

“Australia is always going to be polite, there’s no virtue in bullying Australia,” Mr Downer told Sky News host Chris Kenny.

“Having realised that (bullying) isn’t going to work I assume that they will try a different tactic and start engaging with our leaders.

“I think this really aggressive diplomacy by China – including declaring a trade war – is only encouraging other countries to take Australia’s side and uniting the western alliance against China.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvD-tv61JUk

Clearnet test

Andrew Bolt: Time for institutions to apologise for Pell witch hunt

Christmas is a time for reflection and goodwill, and there’s one apology at the top of Andrew Bolt’s wishlist.

Andrew Bolt - December 6, 2020

Here’s what I’d like for Christmas. A big, fat sorry. A sorry that proves our institutions regret spreading one of the most vicious falsehoods of our time.

Let’s start with Melbourne University.

In 2017 its publishing arm, Melbourne University Press, published Cardinal: the Rise and Fall of George Pell, by ABC journalist Louise Milligan.

It was packed from cover to cover with smears and hearsay to paint Cardinal Pell as a paedophile. It retailed claims by two convicted criminals that as a popular young priest, horseplaying with children in a pool, Pell had fondled them.

More critically, it peddled the claim by one anonymous man that Pell as an archbishop had sexually abused him and a friend, after finding the two boys in a normally busy changeroom right after Mass.

Of course, that was nonsense. The rapes – denied by witnesses, including even one of the boys, now dead – simply could not have occurred as alleged, and the High Court this year threw out Pell’s conviction, seven to zero.

As for the pool allegations, they were so weak that they did not even go to trial.

So why hasn’t Melbourne University apologised even now for publishing this trash, which contributed to such a frantic witch hunt that Pell spent 405 days in jail before being exonerated?

Where is the ABC’s apology for Milligan’s role?

Where is the apology from the Walkley Foundation, which claims it “benchmarks the industry standard for excellence and best practice journalism”, yet made Milligan’s diatribe its Book of the Year?

Where is the apology from the barristers of the Sir Owen Dixon Chambers, who, even before Pell faced trial, made Milligan their “legal reporter of the year” for her book, further poisoning the well of public opinion – and the minds of potential jurors?

Where is the apology from the Melbourne Press Club, which gave Milligan its highest award for articles on Pell, one of which – about the pool allegations – has had to be pulled from the ABC website, being so unfair?

Our society destroys people so easily. But do we know how to admit a grave injustice to someone who was unfairly damned, ruined and jailed?

All those institutions were part of probably the worst witch hunt in Australian history. They crucified Pell.

Christmas is a time of goodwill. A time when some might now atone for their sins.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/andrew-bolt/andrew-bolt-time-for-stubborn-institutions-to-atone-for-sins/news-story/d585152ab78ebf05cf8cc4c70573520f

>>11884225

Biden government will likely keep Aussies and allies from wild actions

By Xin Qiang, Global Times - 2020/12/6

The current cartoon spat between Australia and China is taking a new turn. After Australian government reacted strongly to the tweet of a computer-generated image of an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan boy, its friends, including the UK, France and New Zealand, came out to express support to Australia.

The incoming Joe Biden team, however, has taken a different approach. Jake Sullivan, appointed national security adviser for the Biden team, posted an even handed if veiled tweet on Thursday. It recognized that Australians, "have made great sacrifices to protect freedom and democracy around the world," and that the US will, "stand shoulder to shoulder with our ally Australia and rally fellow democracies to advance our shared security, prosperity, and values." Apart from him, no other senior official from the Biden camp has made any response to this case. However, we can never exclude the possibility that the Biden camp might show more support to Canberra, a long-term and steadfast ally of Washington, in the near future.

There are at least two probable reasons for present low profile of Biden's team. First, it has not officially taken office. Second, it is making a careful assessment of the current situation, likely seeing the broader picture with the key players there.

Indeed, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's argument does not really make sense. Against the backdrop, there is no legitimate reason for Biden to back up Australia's condemnation against China. It already shows that Biden's team is more skilled, sophisticated and rational at handling foreign affairs. This is in glaring contrast to the Trump administration. It will not publicly take Canberra's side and simply rush blindly into what was clearly a PR fiasco for Morrison. It seeks decisive action.

No matter how US domestic attitudes over the incident may change, one thing is certain: Biden will enhance coordination and cooperation with US allies, including Australia. This is a fundamental change from Trump's neglect of US' alliances.

The future of US-Australia ties will, to a certain degree, depend on China-US ties. It can be certain that Australia will keep playing a crucial role in US strategies to safeguard its interests in the Asia-Pacific region. This will be the major foundation for the foreseeable future of relations between Washington and Canberra. Australia is a core member of the Five Eyes alliance, hence it will continue to dance to the American's tune consistently during the Biden presidency.

Against the background of China-US strategic game, US' policy for the next four years will continue to seek multilateral alliance frameworks to contain China. Many observers tend to believe that the Biden administration will to some extent ease tensions with China in the future. If so, Australia, the current anti-China pioneer, will very likely find itself in a predicament while laying bare its strategic misjudgments. If Biden adjusts US' China policy, this will force Canberra to reflect and change its previous calculations with Beijing.

When it comes to diplomacy, the most apparent difference between Biden and Trump administrations will be this: Biden won't take extreme, indiscriminate approaches. The US under Biden will go back to the normal track of ties with China where there will be both confrontation and cooperation - competitive coexistence. Unlike Trump's team with Pompeo, the Biden administration will not expect Australia to treat China in a radical manner with brinksmanship actions that undercut the economy of everyday Aussies.

Biden will surely hope US' allies, including Australia, to keep pace with the US in general and coordinate closely with US strategies.

But in the meanwhile, he will also hope for US allies to act within reason - particularly in the final days of the Trump administration. This does not mean the US will no longer enjoy seeing its allies confront China. As long as such frictions don't trigger military clashes and get the US into quagmires, tensions with China will be welcome to serve US interests.

That being said, Washington will largely want to keep such balance between China-US ties and US-Australia relations, however, it is never an easy job.

The author is deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1209144.shtml

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>>11884225

Australia is standing up to China’s bullying. It needs U.S. support.

Washington Post Editorial Board - Dec. 5, 2020

PRESIDENT-ELECT Joe Biden has pledged to work with other democracies to counter China’s mercantilism and growing belligerence. That’s a good policy, and a good place to launch it would be in Australia, a staunch U.S. ally that lately has borne the brunt of Beijing’s bullying.

Since it called last April for an investigation of China’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, Australia has been the target of mounting de facto economic sanctions from its largest trade partner — including bans, tariffs and other disruptions of exports of barley, coal, lobsters and wine. Meanwhile, Chinese diplomats and state media have been waging a vile propaganda war against the government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The campaign reached a new low week with the tweeting by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman of an illustration portraying an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child. That was a crude exploitation of recent findings by the Australian military of unlawful killings by its troops in Afghanistan — an act of accountability that China would never contemplate for its own security forces in Xinjiang or Tibet.

Chinese authorities have concocted pretexts for the trade sanctions, such as the tariffs of up to 200 percent slapped on wine on Nov. 27. But they also haven’t hesitated to spell out their real agenda, which is almost entirely political. Last month, Chinese diplomats met with Australian journalists to publicize a list of 14 grievances, which included not only Australia’s call for a coronavirus investigation but also government criticism of China’s crackdown in Hong Kong, critical reporting about China by the Australian media and academics, and reports by a government think tank.

The nature and scope of the demands implicit in this broadside is stunning, as is their public advertisement. In essence, the regime of Xi Jinping is demanding that in order to continue selling its products to China, the Australian government must not only censor itself but also silence the country’s media and academics. Its breathtaking aim is to export the repression it enforces inside China to every other nation. No doubt Beijing is aware that there is no chance a rich and stable democracy such as Australia would succumb to such demands. But the message will be heard clearly by weaker countries, especially in Asia, that depend heavily on Chinese trade and investment. They will be watching closely to see if other democracies, starting with the United States, rally to Australia’s defense.

That’s not likely to happen in the waning weeks of the Trump administration, which has pursued its own slapdash sanctions against China — from trade tariffs to travel restrictions on Communist Party members — but has done little to help other nations facing Chinese pressure. Mr. Biden should remedy that quickly once he takes office. He should look for concrete ways to show solidarity with Australia, such as sanctioning Chinese officials involved in the campaign against the country. He should back Australia’s calls for an investigation of the coronavirus’s origins, which is not only justified but sorely needed. And perhaps he should invite Americans to sample a bottle or two of Australian wine.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/australia-is-standing-up-to-chinas-bullying-it-needs-us-support/2020/12/04/666475fa-3656-11eb-8d38-6aea1adb3839_story.html

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Voluntary tech ‘bullies’ code panned

Tech giants Google, Facebook and Twitter have been accused of “watering down” the discredited European Union Code of Practice on Disinformation and passing it off as an Australian model.

Ahead of the Morrison government’s mandatory media bargaining code legislation going into parliament this week, which will force Google and Facebook to pay for news, The Australian understands a fresh fight is looming over an industry-led voluntary code on disinformation.

DIGI — the Australian lobby group representing tech companies including Facebook, Google and Twitter — has been accused of putting forward a model with “no teeth and no transparency”.

Amid a wave of disinformation peddled by nation states and amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic, Reset Australia executive director Chris Cooper said “self regulation” led by the tech giants “will not work”.

Reset Australia is part of a global initiative working to counter digital threats to democracy, which is funded by The Sandler Foundation and Luminate. Luminate is linked to eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.

Following the ACCC’s Digital Platforms Inquiry, the Australian Communications and Media Authority asked DIGI to develop a voluntary code, which had been due to be in place by the end of December.

Separately, Josh Frydenberg developed a News Media and Digital Platforms Bargaining Code — described as a world first — which would force Facebook and Google to pay for news content and share data collection methods. The mandatory bargaining code legislation, which has gone through cabinet, will be put into parliament this week following the Coalition party room and Labor caucus meeting on Tuesday.

Mr Cooper said DIGI’s disinformation code “watered down the failed EU disinformation code”.

“The DIGI code offers no transparency around how the platforms profit from and perpetuate disinformation,” Mr Cooper told The Australian. “There is no independent oversight and no consequences for platforms that ignore the code.

“Australia can be a leader in addressing the harms of social media, but first we need to crack down on these global tech bullies.”

Mr Cooper said ACMA offered a “real chance of collaborating on policy, and instead the platforms have just reheated an already failed approach, hoping we wouldn’t notice that it hasn’t worked overseas”.

In a policy submission sent from Reset Australia to DIGI, the group outlined a raft of recommendations they say is required to deliver on ACMA’s request.

They include broadening the code’s definition of disinformation to include misleading advertising and “clearly partisan” news and commentary.

Another recommendation is that a third-party organisation, which is independent, objective and “prioritises the public interest”, is chosen to be the code’s administrator.

Reset Australia also believes there should be clear data sharing arrangements in place to allow researchers, think tanks and public regulators to research disinformation and audit algorithms to understand how diaspora communities in Australia are targeted through social media.

A DIGI spokeswoman said the lobby group had proposed the new code as “part of an industry effort to collaborate with the federal government on the regulation of disinformation and news credibility signalling”.

“Our approach to the development of the code is informed by learnings from international examples such as the European Union Code of Practice on Disinformation,” she said.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the development of a voluntary code was an important step in “addressing information quality on digital platforms”. He said ACMA would report to the government on the “adequacy of the platforms’ measures and the broader impacts of misinformation” by next June.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/voluntary-tech-bullies-code-panned/news-story/60a2017e2f3208f880bcfb5e8e8136be

Sydney man jailed for livestreaming sexual abuse of a Filipino child

A 63-year-old Sydney man has been jailed for 4 years and 9 months for livestreaming the sexual abuse of a child in the Philippines.

The North Rocks man was arrested in September 2019 following an Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigation, codenamed Operation Culgoa, into an Australian internet user who was uploading child abuse material to social media.

Investigators suspected the victim and further offenders were residing in the Philippines and requested assistance from the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre (PICACC). The subsequent joint investigation with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the International Justice Mission (IJM) resulted in the arrest of a 39-year-old woman and the rescue of a 12-year-old girl. Further information about the arrests can be found on the AFP website.

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/afp-investigation-sydney-and-philippines-leads-rescue-girl

Police successfully alleged in court the man was communicating with and paying the 39-year-old woman to livestream the sexual abuse of the 12-year-old girl.

The man was convicted of the following offences before the Parramatta Local Court:

• Procuring a child for sexual activity outside of Australia, contrary to section 272.14 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);

• Using a carriage service to solicit child pornography, contrary to section 474.19 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);

• Possessing child abuse material, contrary to section 91H(2) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW);

• Aggravated offence of using a carriage service for child pornography, contrary to section 474.24A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);

• Two counts of using a carriage service to engage in sexual activity with a child, contrary to section 474.25A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);

• Using a carriage service to access child pornography, contrary to section 474.19(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth)

He was given a non-parole period of 2 years and 9 months.

AFP First Constable Khali Sherer said that this outcome is a reminder to Australians that online actions have serious long-term consequences offline, both for offenders and victims.

“I hope that this sentencing makes other Australians consider the consequences of their actions online,” Constable Sherer said.

“If you are livestreaming the sexual abuse of children, you are complicit in the sexual abuse of children and the lifelong harm it causes – it’s as simple as that. But you are not anonymous and you will be caught.”

“This investigation shows yet again that Australian authorities and our international counterparts won’t tolerate the sexual abuse of children, no matter where they live.”

The Philippine National Police Chief of the Women and Children's Protection Centre, General Alessandro Abella said this outcome demonstrates the close cooperation between the Philippine National Police, the Australian Federal Police International Command Philippines, and our domestic and international partners to detect and disrupt child sex offenders, here in the Philippines and abroad, and protect our children.

“The multi-agency collaborative effort under the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre further highlights the commitment from all our agencies to join forces to combat sexual exploitation of children.” General Abella said.

“This should send a strong message to those offenders considering targeting and exploiting children in the Philippines, including online, you will be detected and you will be prosecuted regardless of your location.”

Members of the public who have any information about people involved in the possession or sharing of child exploitation material are urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

You can also make a report online by alerting the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation via the Report Abuse button.

http://www.accce.gov.au/report

If you or someone you know are impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation there are support services available, visit to learn more www.accce.gov.au/support

http://www.accce.gov.au/support

Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protection children online can be found at ThinkUKnow, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation:

http://www.thinkuknow.org.au/

Editor’s note: Footage of the arrest in the Philippines can be found on Hightail - https://spaces.hightail.com/space/Bv2DHfddbf

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/sydney-man-jailed-livestreaming-sexual-abuse-filipino-child

>>11932212

AFP investigation in Sydney and Philippines leads to rescue of a girl

27 October 2019

A joint investigation between the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the International Justice Mission (IJM) has resulted in the arrest of a woman and rescue of a young girl believed to be the victim of live-streamed child abuse involving a Sydney man.

The investigation stems from a referral from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) in July 2019. The referral related to an Australian user who had uploaded child abuse material to social media. The user was subsequently identified as being a NSW-based man.

AFP investigators from the NSW Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) subsequently commenced Operation Culgoa, an investigation into the 63-year-old Sydney man and possible offenders and victims residing in the Philippines.

On 18 September 2019, NSW JACET investigators executed a search warrant at the man’s home in the Greater Sydney suburb of North Rocks, where they seized electronic devices allegedly containing child abuse material.

The 63-year-old man was arrested and charged with:

• 1 x Procuring child to engage in sexual activity outside Australia, contrary to section 272.14 of the Criminal Code (Cth) – carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment;

• 1 x Use a carriage service to solicit child pornography, contrary to section 474.19 of the Criminal Code (Cth) - carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment;

• 1 x Transmit child pornography material, contrary to section 474.19 of the Criminal Code (Cth) - carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment;; and

• 3 x Possess child abuse material, contrary to section 91H of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) – carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.

He is next due to appear in the Parramatta Local Court on 22 November 2019.

Police will allege that the man communicated with people offshore to procure the children – via a trusted adult – to produce and transmit child abuse material at his request. Further arrests cannot be ruled out.

Due to the suspected offshore offending, the AFP requested international assistance via the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre (PICACC) and a PNP investigation commenced.

On 25 October 2019, PNP officers, accompanied by the AFP, attended a premises in the city of Rizal, about a two hours’ drive from Manila. There, the PNP arrested a 39-year-old woman and rescued a 12-year-old girl.

The AFP’s Senior Officer in Manila, Federal Agent Andrew Perkins, said the international investigation demonstrated the importance of cross-border collaboration to stop the abuse of children.

“Today’s outcome demonstrates the commitment of the AFP, the PNP and our international partners to protect children no matter where they live.

“Sadly there is an appetite for child abuse material online which leads to vulnerable children becoming pawns in a form of abuse that can have devastating impacts.

“The arrest and rescue sends a strong message that, if you are taking part in this vile industry, law enforcement will find you.” Federal Agent Perkins said.

Investigations continue and charges are expected to be formally laid against the woman in the near future. The girl has been placed into the care of the Philippines’ Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The PICACC was inaugurated in Manila in February 2019 as a collective effort to combat child abuse across the Philippines. It involves representatives from law enforcement and non-government agencies from the Philippines, Australia and the United Kingdom. Further details available here.

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/inauguration-philippine-internet-crimes-against-children-center

Members of the community who have information about persons involved in child abuse material are urged to report their suspicions through the ‘Report Child Abuse’ link of the AFP website, via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or their social media provider.

http://www.accce.gov.au/report

Note to media: USE OF TERM ‘CHILD ABUSE’, NOT ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’

Use of the phrase “child pornography” benefits child sex abusers because it:

• indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and

• conjures images of children posing in ‘provocative’ positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

• Every photograph captures an actual situation where a child has been abused. This is not “pornography”.

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/afp-investigation-sydney-and-philippines-leads-rescue-girl

Working in human waste for less than $10 an hour, seven days: This is where your vegies come from

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A human trafficking-style network is feeding international workers to Australian farms, where they’re being exploited, mistreated and threatened – all for less than $10 an hour, explosive allegations reveal.

Mr D, a man in his 50s from Inner Mongolia, is blowing the lid on his experience on one of NSW’s biggest horticulture farms.

Mr D, who asked not to be named for fear of repercussions, came to Australia in July 2018 and has worked cash-in-hand jobs on farms while applying for a bridging visa.

His most recent experience was so bad it has forced him to come forward.

“This is horrible. It should not happen in a civilised country like Australia,” he told The New Daily through a translator.

The farm near Coffs Harbour employs about 50 workers, who are forced to start at 6am every day and pick until 6pm.

In summer, they work until 9pm.

There are no days off, not even breaks.

“There’s no rest on Sunday or Saturday, whatsoever,” he said.

Mr D took the picking job at the farm after seeing an advertisement in a Chinese language group on Facebook.

It promised good working conditions and hourly pay, but the reality was very different.

He did two stints on the farm – the first last year and then, desperate for money and lured back with promises that conditions had improved, again this year, for 100 days.

On the farm, there are only five toilets for 50 people, and if workers don’t get up early enough, they have to go in the greenhouses, next to the crops.

“It looks so dirty because they don’t have a toilet. So workers pee on the vegetables and you know, they have poo everywhere,” Mr D said.

“It’s horrible.”

The showers are the same. There are only 10, so to get one you have to line up early. The doors don’t work. There’s no privacy.

$50,000 for a job

The farm owner, who has connections in China, employs only Chinese workers, many from poor areas who have been brought over on the promise of making big dollars in Australia.

“The master of the farm, he gets agents to go to mainland China to Hubei province and Fujian province, poor places in China,” Mr D said.

“Those workers have to pay the traffic agents or the farmer a large sum of money to come to Australia to be exploited like this.

“I know at least three people who paid 250,000 yuan to come to work in this farm. This is equivalent to $50,000 Australian.”

(continued)

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Many on the farm don’t know their rights, are scared of the outside world and are abused by the farm owner, who threatens them with deportation, he said.

Workers share steel containers that are eight square metres. They’re blistering hot in summer and freezing in winter.

The workers are careful in their conversations with each other – if they dob in someone who is considering leaving or complaining, they are rewarded in their pay.

“They have no idea what the outside is like, so they wouldn’t leave because they are very afraid of the outside world,” he said.

Because he spoke up, Mr D got $10 an hour, but he said some of the workers received as little as $8.

Workers on hourly rates are often asked to lie or sign forms with incorrect hours, and some on piece rates don’t even know how much they should be paid.

A growing plague

Farm work has become a contentious issue in recent months, with farmers and government crying out for boots on the ground, suggesting a labour shortage of backpackers means this year’s harvest will go to waste.

But Australians are struggling to get jobs in the industry, with job seekers reporting farmers turn them down because they’re not “as exploitable” as foreigners.

Australian Workers Union national secretary Daniel Walton said Mr D’s story, while shocking, was not surprising.

“The industry has tried to paint it as a picture of a few bad apples. It’s not the case,” Mr Walton said.

He said dodgy farmers, along with labour-hire companies, ran similar operations across the country.

“A lot of them get their passports taken off them. They’re intimidated. They’ve got limited time out to purchase food and veggies. They are kept and treated like slaves, and pawned like slaves,” he told TND.

“They’re sold on a promise of obviously much higher wages, better conditions, support to transition into other visa types. The reality is none of that happens.”

The horticulture industry has been allowed to run wild.

The government program designed to ensure workers are not exploited, Fair Farms, has only had 30 sign up – and the process is largely self-regulated.

Despite this, the government has pushed ahead with its campaign to get unemployed workers – including gap-year students – out onto Australia’s hardest workspace.

The AWU wants change. In a letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Mr Walton has called for a royal commission into the industry.

“Australia’s horticultural sector has become characterised by a culture of exploitation, abuse and wage theft such that illegality is now a business model,” it reads.

“The majority of horticulture workers in Australia are captive to exploitation at the hands of criminal enterprises – and it has become a national disgrace.”

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/12/07/farm-workers-exploitation/

Bob Montgomery sentenced to four years in prison for historic child sex offences

Robert Bruce Montgomery, 76, who was once a prominent psychologist, has been sentenced to four years in prison over child sex offences committed in the 1960s.

Montgomery was a Scout Leader in Edgecliff in Sydney's eastern suburbs when he abused three boys over a number of years.

In 1965 he was made to resign from the organisation after it was made aware of his offending but no formal legal action was taken.

In 1966 as a teacher at a Marrickville High School he sexually assaulted a fourth boy.

He later had a prominent career as a psychologist and was president of the Australian Psychological Society from 2009 to 2011.

In 2018 Montgomery was extradited from Queensland and charged after his victims reported the abuse.

He will be eligible for parole in 12 months.

His victims, who are now adults, cried and hugged one another in court after the sentencing.

Montgomery was supported in court by his wife.

He handed her his wedding ring prior to the sentencing in anticipation of his incarceration.

The court heard Montgomery had a distinguished career which included working with reality television show Big Brother and preparing reports for Family Court matters.

His role for the Family Court included assessing the credibility of child sex abuse allegations in custody disputes.

In sentencing, Judge Paul Conlon said through Montgomery's study of psychology he would have developed a strong understanding of the suffering of his victims.

Judge Conlon said in regard to the length of the sentence consideration had been given to the fact Montgomery had several health issues including moderate to severe dementia.

An expert medical opinion given to the court estimated he would live another 3.75 years.

'Justice has found its mark

Outside court one of Montgomery's victims said he agreed with the reasons given by the judge.

The man said it had been a harrowing several years since the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse had given him the confidence to come forward.

"Justice has found its mark and accountability, its rightful place," he said.

The victim impact statement that man read to the court detailed decades of instability in his life which he attributed to Montgomery sexually assaulting him at age 12.

"I have developed an acute awareness of how the abuse has had such a devastating impact and effect on my entire life thus far," he said.

"It became clear to me just how the abuse actually has been responsible for so many failings and shortfalls, trials and tribulations, bad choices, paranoia, heartache and mental anguish for myself.

"And just what those people close to me have had to endure because of it."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-07/australian-psychological-society-bob-montgomery-child-sex-abuse/12956704