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I’d rather be treated like a criminal than protect them

Derryn Hinch

by Derryn Hinch

05 Nov 06:00am

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Filed under: Criminals, High Court, Justice, Law, Sex Crime, The Castle, Tim Holding, Victorian Government

160 comments

Getting ready for my appearance before the High Court in Canberra this week I did some eccentric research. I watched The Castle for the first time.

Shame, shame, shame. Hinch addressing the victims of crime rally. Picture: Craig Borrow

And whether your name is Daryl or Derryn it is pretty daunting walking up those steps to the towering glass façade of the High Court building in Canberra. With life imitating art, some of the media gang and camera crews who played extras in The Castle were there again in real life for my High Court battle.

That’s where the similarity ended. The battler fighting to retain his home on the grounds that a man’s home is his castle had a suburban solicitor and a QC played by Bud Tingwell against a couple of high-powered lawyers.

In our case there were 30 lawyers packed along two rows. Only four of them were on my side. The other 26 represented most states of Australia and the Commonwealth.

I was there because, earlier this year, I had the rare privilege of being granted leave to challenge the legality of a Victorian law on the grounds that it was unconstitutional.

We challenged on two grounds:

That through suppression orders, our justice system is not being open and transparent – as justice constitutionally must be in a democracy like ours. I believe that the way some of our laws are being interpreted and enforced by our judges, justice is not being done and not being seen to be done.

And, secondly, that I have been denied my right to ‘political communication’ in a long-running public campaign to have a bad law changed.

It stems from my naming two notorious sex offenders at a victims of crime rally on the steps of Parliament House in Victoria several years ago.

Thousands of supporters shouted the names but the DPP chose to prosecute only one. Me. Consequently in the Magistrate’s Court I face five charges which carry maximum penalties of $60,000 in fines and up to five years in jail. If the High Court action fails I go back to the lower court for sentencing only.

In the High Court, before a Full Bench of seven judges, I was opposed by the attorneys-general for New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Commonwealth Solicitor-General.

One state was surprisingly missing. Victoria. The state where I allegedly committed this offence on the steps of their own Parliament.

The irony in all this, is that I applauded when that Government appeared to get tough by announcing they were amending the 2005 Serious Sex Offenders Monitoring Act. It meant the Secretary of the Department of Justice could apply to the County or Supreme Court for a supervision order if a convicted sex offender is assessed as posing a serious risk to the community of re-offending on his release from jail.

And they could then have tabs kept on them under an Extended Supervision Order. Where they could live. If they changed their name or their job.

Even be ordered to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.

Nobody mentioned to us that, in return, some of the worst rapists and paedophiles in this country could have their names and addresses and photos suppressed by law. For ever. Even after they die. That they could return to the community incognito and melt back into the community without the public knowing who they are or where they are. 

That they could be living next to you, or next to your kids’ school, or your local park. They didn’t trumpet that minor point.

Police Minister Tim Holding said in 2005 ‘The public can be reassured that every precaution is being taken to protect the community against these people.’  And Corrections Minister Bob Cameron said ‘The new scheme will….. result in enhanced community safety.’

Both were speaking rubbish. Dangerous rubbish. These suppression orders are not used to protect the identity of other criminals like murderers, or tax evaders, or drug dealers.They are only invoked for serial sex offenders whom the courts believe are likely to re-offend.

I know what I did, and what several thousand others did, on the steps of Parliament House, was morally right. The High Court will decide if I was legally right. Whatever they decide I am proud of what I did and I am ready for whatever happens.

But I can say, whatever happens, I have won. The issue of public interest and open courts is now being debated in the highest court in the land. Questions are being asked. The door of secrecy and suppression has been prised open. And some light is getting in. Can’t ask for more than that.

I accept that at times there must be restrictions and evidence and names must sometimes be suppressed. But that should be a rarity and not the norm as increasingly, and ominously, seems to be the case.

I have said this many times before—in the 23 years since I went to jail for naming a paedophile priest—but never before has this simple question been so important:

Who’s looking after the children?

Footnote:  I only got to the High Court this week because of a legal team that understands the constitutional issues at stake here. They are all working pro bono and have put in months of work on my behalf on a complex and, I believe, nationally important, legal matter. I thank them. David Bennett QC, for ten years the Solicitor-General of Australia, my barrister, Geoff Slater and from HWL Ebsworth Nic Pullen and Andrew Thompson.

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160 comments

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    • Eric says:

      05:12am | 05/11/10

      There is a wide range of issues in this area.

      Convicted sex offenders sometimes (and only sometimes) have their names suppressed. Many people - mostly men - who are simply accused of a sex crime have their names prominently featured in the media. This happens even if they are innocent.

      At the same time, the name of the alleged victim is almost always suppressed - as is reasonable. But in the many cases where an accusation is false and malicious, the identity of the accuser is still protected! That is a discriminatory abuse of the justice system.

      We need more fairness and accountability all around.

      Reply

    • Adam Diver says:

      06:46am | 05/11/10

      The Brett Stewart case comes to mind. Named and shame before trial (where names should be suppressed), and then we have convicted felons who commit terrible, terrible acts, being released with anonymity.

      Individual rights always seem to be given to the wrong people.

    • Anon says:

      11:04am | 05/11/10

      My husband was falsely and maliciously accused of child sex offences and we suffered four years of persecution and prosecution until the evil witch finally admitted she lied. She did it for attention. Because she was only 16yo when she finally admitted the truth, she suffered no punishment and got to go on her merry way like nothing happened. My husband on the other hand,whilst not publicly named in the media (thank god) suffered the indignity of members of our community knowing about it, strangers who this bitch blabbed to and 24 people who sat on 2 dismissed juries never knowing the real truth. We’d love to tell our story publicly, by it’s just not worth it because some idiots think where there’s smoke, there’s always fire. I say, where there’s fire, there’s often an arsonist! Whilst I abhor TRUE sex offenders, it’s people like you Hinch who make my blood run cold. People like Hinch have no idea what it’s like to be an innocent man accused of a heinous crime. Many men are sitting in jail as innocents because they couldn’t afford decent legal representation. We were lucky, though it cost us nearly $100K, none of which has been reimbursed to us under Qld law. Let alone that it nearly cost us our marriage and family. I’d love to see the alleged false ‘victim’ in our case put in bloody stocks in the middle of the Queen Street mall with a sign telling everyone what SHE did! Our life will never be the same again, and we will never trust the police or the DPP who never had a case to start with, just a series of ever changing fairy tales that didn’t make sense and could never be substantiated, even by so called witnesses!  We felt so sorry for Brett Stewart. That kind of mud never washes off.

    • Eric says:

      01:00pm | 05/11/10

      Well said, Anon.

      False accusations of rape are just as damaging to their victims as real rape. And the punishment should be appropriate.

    • BillfromBendigo says:

      01:03pm | 05/11/10

      Perhaps you forget or are simply unaware that Derryn Hinch was himself a victim of false allegations of sexual assault against a woman who was later found to have fabricated the entire claim against him.  The media were onto him like a seagul outside Macca’s.  If I wanted someone in a foxhole with me, I know who it would be, and here’s a hint Anon.  I wouldn’t be an unidentified sex-offender!

    • Kika says:

      01:45pm | 05/11/10

      Eric, you have missed the point. The issue is not whether they are named before going to trial and thus they are tarnished with the offender brush even though they are acquitted. Derryn isn’t talking about that. He’s talking about convicted sex crime perps who are legally entitled to anonymity despite other criminals names being released on any other type of crime. The issue is that these CONVICTED creeps can continue living amongst us without any of us knowing any better. The reason why they keep their names surpressed is that in the case of another offence being committed, their investigations and prosecution is not prejudiced by public attention and media scrutiny. Let’s face it, look at Denis Ferguson. No matter what he does, the public KNOWS he’s guilty without a proper case being made against him. Getting a conviction against him these days will be next to none. In other words, he won’t get a fair trial because everyone knows his history and would thus presume his guilt prior to him being even presumed innocent. It’s a touchy subject, but I’m with Derryn on this one.

    • Peta says:

      01:45pm | 05/11/10

      I may get strung up for saying this but before I do, Very well said Anon I agree completely.
      I makes me so angry seeing all the hysterical parents on blogs like this.

      It has gotten to the state where its just a witch hunt and a huge majority of innocent men are getting burnt at the stake.

      What is the point of the prison system if you continue to persecute people who the system has deemed not a threat anymore. If you don’t beileve in the system then fight for it to change. It appears to me that these parents would perfer convicted murderers to live next door than some 19yr old man who slept with a 15 yr old girl drunk at a party served his time and now will be chased out of every community he ever trys to settle in by the angry hordes carring there pitchforks.

      WON"T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!!!! (note sarcasm)


      Hell it would appear that middleclass Australia would love to bring back the death penatly for convicted sex offenders, as they obivosly don’t beileve our prison system works and they will never leave these people alone after there sentences.

      I think these witch hunts are ruining ACTUAL victims chances at retribution.

    • Duncan says:

      01:56pm | 05/11/10

      Anon - Get over it! She was 12!!! A child, at least she admitted it in the end. Look to her parents to see why a 12 year old would say such things.

    • Eric says:

      02:39pm | 05/11/10

      Kika, I have not missed Derryn’s point. I have simply brought up some more facets of the issues around naming offenders.

      I think duly convicted offenders should be named - with a few exceptions where the offence is merely technical (like a 16 year old sleeping with a 15 year old), or where victims might suffer further harm.

      However, there is another group of people who are harmed by naming - those who are accused of sex crimes, but later found innocent. This is an equally serious issue.

    • Amy says:

      03:35pm | 05/11/10

      I think a lot of people are missing the point. 

      Anon, I sympathise with your situation, but Hinch isn’t advocating making public the names of those *accused* of sex offences. 
      He’s advocating making public the names of those who have been *convicted* of particularly severe sex crimes AND who are being released back into the community after serving their sentence AND are deemed likely to reoffend. 

      I’m not going to get all “think of the children” on this because parents have a responsibility to look after their children too, and shouldn’t be relying on having a list of all known sex offenders - after all, what about the ones who haven’t been caught yet? 
      The issue here is that these people are quite likely to attempt to hurt someone, sometime, be that a child, woman, or man. 
      What about the elderly?  Shouldn’t that trusting little lady next door be told that the guy that just moved into the place down the road has just come out of jail for the second time for sexually assaulting elderly women? 
      Wouldn’t you want to be able to find out that the new guy at the gym who scares you a little with the way he stares, has 3 convictions against his name for violent sexual assaults?  It’s not all about “the children”. 

      These people have specific rules given to them as a condition of release - yes, for paedophiles that means they can’t go to places like schools, playgrounds etc.  But for other sex offenders, they have specific rules about where they can and can’t be too.  There must be some way of enforcing those rules.  Electronic bracelets are one thing, but realistically it’s not easy to be constantly monitoring the movements of many people in real time.  Finding out a week later that they were somewhere they weren’t supposed to be may be a week too late.

      Hinch isn’t advocating a free-for-all in terms of the publication of the names of those *accused* of sex crimes.  He’s advocating the same transparency for those *convicted* of sex crimes as already exists for the publication of the names of murderers, robbers, drug dealers, drink drivers and other criminals.

    • Brett says:

      05:19pm | 05/11/10

      Duncan,

      Until you have had your life destroyed by false allegations, you don’t have the right to say ‘get over it’.  You have no idea of the impact and your comments only indicate a severe lack of knowledge.

    • Carz says:

      06:53am | 08/11/10

      Eric I would love to know where you get that overwhelming statistic of “the many cases where an accusation is false and malicious” Check the real statistics. False allegations of rape and sexual assault run at about the same rate as for other crimes.

      As for Hinch; good on him to trying to provide the public some protection from convicted sex offenders.

    • deb says:

      05:58am | 05/11/10

      i shudder to think of a sexual crim living next door,having enough trouble looking thru that crack in the bedroom blind now.what am i missing out on?fair go for every one.

      Reply

    • Max Symes says:

      06:40am | 05/11/10

      Standing up for your rights is costly aint it. Even though you are morally right,the law is the ass that moves too slow,conservative to the end,but maybe for good reason,better to be sure, than wrong,better that the shock jocks don,t run the law of the land .

      Reply

    • Reg says:

      07:26am | 05/11/10

      Sorry Max. You could say that about anything in life. At what point has the application of due process gone far enough and how much can be left to risk, or chance, if you prefer? There’s no such thing as certainty in anything and the writer of this article has a well established record as a glory seeker of the grand gesture variety. A bit pathetic really and yet his easily led followers traipse along in his shadow.

      I’m sure you’ve heard the term “unelected swill,” well here we have an example of one attempting to bend the law to fit his need of an inflated image. It has little to do with morals at all.

    • Steve says:

      09:13am | 05/11/10

      Reg it doesn’t matter if he is a glory seeker or grand standing, you are ignoring the issue because of the writer.
      So the easily led followers are the people trying to protect their children?

      Maybe because of his fame and is decades of a stance on this subject he can get the laws changed for the betterment of all Australians. The final comment he makes must surely ring true for everyone “who’s looking after the children?” Because he has a high profile you are accusing him of grand standing instead of accusing him of looking after the children?

      I think he can be a sanctimonious windbag at times and is incredibly narcissistic but that doesn’t sway me from the issue that he is trying to do the right thing, he and his probono lawyers and counsel should be applauded for such a thing. Support the man in the issue and try to leave your feelings on the man at the door.

      Good luck Derryn!

    • Reg says:

      05:13pm | 05/11/10

      One important detail. This person is NOT employed to protect criminals as he suggest he is in his headline. The law is, both before and after they are convicted, if they ever are. He pretends to make him-self a criminal by assuming rights that are not his.  Now that’s what I call the illegitimate assumption and execution of power Steve. A criminal offense just like pretending to be a policeman.

    • mary wide bay says:

      06:45am | 05/11/10

      Thank you Derryn on behalf of me, my children and all their peers. You’re a legend.

      Reply

    • femme hensen says:

      10:08pm | 05/11/10

      ditto, thank you Derryn for having the guts to stand up. If we dont stand up for our kids, we dont stand for much.
      I received 9 months probation in a court of law for trying to protect membrs of my family (minors) for a convicted pedophile.

    • St. Michael says:

      12:28am | 06/11/10

      So I presume you’ve no problem with the leniency of sentencing of the courts, femme hensen?

    • femme hensen says:

      01:40pm | 07/11/10

      yes, I have a major problem with the leniency of sentencing. My reply shopuld have read trying to protect members of my family FROM a convicted pedophile.

    • St. Michael says:

      05:28pm | 08/11/10

      So I take it you’d rather have been slapped up in jail for your crime?

      The irony here is palpable.  Or were you simply wrongfully accused?

    • iansand says:

      07:01am | 05/11/10

      What is the justification for suppressing the name of the offender?  Offhand, I can’t think of one and I am curious how this law is justified.

      Unfortunately for Mr Hinch the High Court has become a little timorous about implied rights in the Constitution (as a general proposition I think they should be) so my guess is that he will be facing another holiday.

      Reply

    • RGG says:

      07:52am | 05/11/10

      The justification is that, due to the fact that most sex offences against children are committed by relatives or close friends, revealing the name of the offender will often point directly to the name of the victim. People do not seem to grasp the fact that some victims do not want the world to know that they were a victim of childhood sex abuse.

      Releasing the names does nothing except fuel the retributive passion of the same people who probably support the death penalty.

    • iansand says:

      07:55am | 05/11/10

      Is it fear of vigilante justice?  Is perpetual monitoring a tradeoff for anonymity?

    • iansand says:

      10:31am | 05/11/10

      RGG - That is a reasonable justification, but I get the impression that something else is going on.  If you are correct Hinch is being a blowhard.  If it is something wider he has a real point.

    • Matt says:

      01:00pm | 05/11/10

      Personally I think releasing the names and locations of sex offenders would lead to vigilante style justice and have disastrous results.

      Beyond that, what would it achieve? If a registered sex offender moved next door to you, what would you do differently? Lets look at our options:

      a)  we can try to talk to them and make friends and feel safe around them? Yeah right! I consider myself quite a tolerant and open minded person but I know I would have enormous difficulties doing this whilst fearing for my kids safety.
      b) most likely and most common - live in constant fear for your children. Lock them up super tight. - not good for your or your kids.
      c) move house - someone else moves into your house, problem not solved just displaced
      d) try to make them move house - intimidation, false accusation, death threats, etc. - bad for keeping the peace and while it ultimately might work, it just moves the problem to another family again.
      e) the vigilante option - the only that is final and ‘solves’ the problem. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not arguing for this at all, I’m just showing why it would happen.

      Sometimes I think it is better to live in ignorant bliss.

    • Steve says:

      03:57pm | 05/11/10

      Matt, think of option f) At least you know not to leave your kid in their care next time they ask to babysit.

      However, I think another point here is that ANYONE living next door to you can be dangerous, these people ended up in jail orginally for a reason! As a parent, you just have to do the best you can to protect your kids no matter what.

    • Austin 3:16 says:

      04:15pm | 05/11/10

      “Hinch is being a blowhard” Well that sounds about right, that’s what he’s built his career on to date.

      Unless there’s another Hinch you’re talking about ?

    • Old Salt says:

      07:32am | 05/11/10

      They have an iPhone app that works in the US where it shows where all the registered sex offenders live, why can’t we have that , and more importantly, what Derryn is fighting for, here?

      Reply

    • RGG says:

      07:53am | 05/11/10

      “Oh hey, Mr Jones down the street just got done for molesting an 8 year old 10 years ago. Funny, I know of only one 18 year old living at that address. Better go ask him about it or talk about it with others!”

    • ibast says:

      08:33am | 05/11/10

      The US system is showing many flaws.  Chiefly among which is the definition of a sex offender.  Statutory rape for example is listed as a sex offense.  So some guy had sex with his girlfriend when he was 17 and her father decided to press charges, gets hounded for the rest of his life.  Can’t live in a neighborhood. Can’t get a job.

      Also, not all sex offenses are a mental disorder that stays with an individual for life.  Does a guy that made a drunken mistake on a date deserve to be paying for it years after he gets out of gaol?  He’s already served the sentence a full informed judge saw fit.

      As to naming someone charged with child sexual offenses, that is just ridiculous.  Firstly you would struggle to find an unbiased jury and thus the risk of someone getting off on a technicality is very high.  Secondly the presumption of innocence just goes out the window with this type of thing.  Even if found not guilty, the stigma would stay with the person for years.

    • Ange says:

      02:02pm | 05/11/10

      A 17 year old should not be having sex with an underage child. Boyfriend or not. Just like the 33 year old man who took my virginity when I was 15 shouldn’t have done it either - BOTH are sex offenders like it of not.

    • Mistress D says:

      03:59pm | 05/11/10

      ibast, if it were your daughter on the date with the drunken guy who ‘mistakenly’ raped her….Would you have the same sentiment?

      Rape/sexual assault is a crime that gives its victim a life sentence. It steals from the victim the ability to trust others, it takes the joy out of a natural act and twists it into a pathetic and vicious assault. It takes people years to recover, some never do. Obviously you haven’t had it touch anyone know or care about (or maybe you just haven’t been told by them, the statistics of how many people have been abused are staggering) I hope you find out, without experiencing or having to help someone through dealing with the experience, the gravity of that act one day.

      Until then, feel free to wave your hands about wildly and say “Oh but he did the time, the judge said”

    • Mal says:

      04:16pm | 05/11/10

      Ange: you can’t see the difference between two teenagers with stars in their eyes and a mature age pervert.  Get real

    • youngsalt says:

      06:01pm | 06/11/10

      the united states also lists underage kids as sex offenders who had carnal knowledge - which would include a fairly majority of aussies if we had that law here… there was a case of a17 year old boy being killed in the US by vigilantes because he had sex with his girlfriend who was 16 and the parents prosecuted .... he was registered as a sex offender even though he clearly was just being a 17 year old boy with full consent from the girlfriend .... he was killed for it by people who found out he was on the sex offenders list but never knew what he was charged with ... just an innocent kid - very sad…  that being said I totally applaud you Derryn for standing up for your passionate beliefs, if more aussies did it we might have a fairer justice system and a fairer way of life for all.

    • Taxpayingrany says:

      07:40am | 05/11/10

      Derryn you get my full support and if I was in your city on the day,I would be there as well; it IS a sad state when we are shelterring these bastards and bastardesses; I hate them with passion and to me as a grandmother it is unimaginable that anyone can hurt these gorges,defensless littl;e people.
      Go,Darryn; shame the rest of us looking after our own asses.

      Reply

    • silly me says:

      06:04pm | 06/11/10

      bastardesses? - I must have missed that one in english vocab .... I should have paid more attention

    • Ben says:

      07:44am | 05/11/10

      While I believe it’s a complex problem - and so I don’t think there’s an easy solution, I too feel that suppression is being handed out like candy.  Suppression should only ever exist where the person has paid their time to society, and is deemed low risk.  (And in the case of paedophiles, they should never, ever be allowed to live near, or loiter around children).

      Reply

    • Andrew says:

      07:48am | 05/11/10

      Good on you, Derryn. All the best with your case! From my experience as a lawyer, I have to agree strongly with Eric’s comments above too.

      Reply

    • Elizabeth says:

      01:36pm | 05/11/10

      Thankyou Andrew well said…..I know what Derryn is trying to do and at a cost as he is quite ill. There is good argument for both sides, but I think the fact that the guilty perpetrators are snickering under the suppression law is sickening. I would support you Derryn for any stand you take as I have always believed you were a fair journalist and said it like it was….and there are not many of them with GUTS like you out there left!

    • Old Clive says:

      07:49am | 05/11/10

      The same rule applies in the work scene, when a person doesn’t do the properly what he is paid to do and somebody gets maimed or killed because of his neglience, he walks away and the victim suffers. Just try charging this bloke for his crime and see the unions protest, it is the firms fault for not making him do his job properly, this happens every day, cover up after cover up, false safety figures on boards. Good luck Derryn and may God be on your side, you are going to need all the help you can get, and thanks to those people on your side. Having some person maimed or killed when you are the safety officer is a burden you live with for a lifetime. I can imagine how the victims families feel about this issue.

      Reply

    • Can't sack 'em and they can destroy you says:

      01:54pm | 05/11/10

      Don’t worry they are trying to change the law so that the business owner wears a charge.
      As to Hinch - he is doing the right thing and I applaud him for that.

    • Jolanda says:

      08:08am | 05/11/10

      The laws are made by those in power more often than not to protect those in and with power where many are corrupt. 

      You are lucky Derryn in that you have managed to get a legal team that will work for you pro-bono.  I take my hat of to you for making this stand. Most people who have issues against the Government and/or State or Laws are not that lucky.

      If only law abiding citizens had the same protection and rights as criminals then these issues wouldn’t rear their ugly head.  The whole set up is such that it really doesn’t pay to be good hence why society is turning so bad.

      You have my support.

      Education – Keeping them Honest
      http://jolandachallita.typepad.com/

      Reply

    • David Liebermann says:

      08:33am | 05/11/10

      I would argue that during court hearings for alleged—sex offenders names could be suppressed in the media. But it is disturbing that convicted—sex offenders have gag orders and identity suppression in place.

      If this is federal law, it must be changed to allow the public to feel safe. This may mean lifting gag orders or conversely bringing in mandatory life to life imprisonment for serious sex offences where an individual is likely to “repeat offend” or has done so.

      Derryn deserves a thought and prayer, and has earned it for standing up what is morally right—even though the law says he is now the criminal and in the wrong.

      If what Derryn has done is determined legally wrong, the courts will convict him - as is their job.

      But is the foundation of law not morality?

      Derryn is a martyr for morality and has not only done the wider community a favour by naming two sex offenders, but is also ironically protecting the integrity of law, by having broken it.

      Go figure!

      Reply

    • St. Michael says:

      12:44am | 06/11/10

      There’s a competing moral here, David.  It’s the moral right that the child molester’s victim doesn’t get to be identified by association with the predator that took his or her innocence.

      The saddest part of this debate is that, overwhelmingly, child molesters aren’t the weird-looking guy who moves into the street and takes opportunities when kids are alone in a playground to strike.  Overwhelmingly child molesters are the neighbour who befriends the parents first, or is the community youth worker, or the uncle, or sometimes the father.  They work their way into the trust of those around them, and that level of trust usually comes because child molester is a close friend or family.  They usually aren’t caught until they’ve committed so many crimes that they start to get careless.

      When you name the molester, you are re-identifying a member of a close circle of people whose immediate circle will probably be aware of the crime, but with the naming those outside that immediate circle become aware of the identity of the molester and fairly easily deduce the identity of the victim.

      That is a double punishment for the victim, all so a few sad desperate housewives can feel happy that the latest child molester released from custody isn’t living in their street.  The reality is that the child molester usually is a close friend or family member.  That double punishment is an unacceptable price to pay for the ambitions of a shock jock who seems to want to rack up some brownie points with Jesus before he has to go answer for his actions face to face.

      It’d also be interesting to see what happens when people start to realise their property values drop when a child molester is resettled on their street.  Will we see a call for re-suppression then?

    • David Liebermann says:

      04:47am | 08/11/10

      St. Michael,

      After reading your response to my comment - I must agree with you.
      If what you say is statistically correct that offenders are within close circles of the victim, then sex offenders names should be gagged.

      Was Derryn also aware of this fact?

      When I’m wrong and someone else is right - I’ll admit you are right. My above comments are now rescinded.

    • Babs says:

      08:42am | 05/11/10

      I guess this is the Denis Ferguson effect - what do you do when a creepy paedophile is given public housing next door to you? Easiest option for the state -don’t let anyone know. Maybe we should revive the whole leper colony idea and send them all to Lizard Island to prey upon one another.

      Reply

    • Brenjuan says:

      08:48am | 05/11/10

      Oh he did not just end with the Mrs Lovejoy.

      “Won’t somebody think of the children!”

      Reply

    • Davida says:

      09:27am | 05/11/10

      It is a double-edged sword.  To expose these individuals in terms of the greater good, we also expose their victims in many cases.  “Who’s looking after the children” whose innocence is taken by these predators, only to have their anonymity and privacy potentially exploited by the fly by night shock-jocks leading the crusade of name and shame for personal glory?

      Reply

    • Warren says:

      09:51am | 05/11/10

      The last thing we need is self appointed “moral guardians” on a crusade to “save the children”. Give me sober, dry & hopefully wise council any day of the week. Shock Jocks are their ilk are not above the law despite their shrill claims, their arrogance knows no limits.

      Reply

    • Victor H Pigott says:

      09:59am | 05/11/10

      While I understand where Derryn Hinch is coming from, he is wrong and I have every confidence that the High Court will dismiss his claim.  There are a number of problems with “outing” convicted sex offenders.  One, despite the conviction they may be innocent as unfortunately juries sometimes make the wrong decisions and an appeal court cannot find an error of law in the judgment.  These allegations are often word against word and like the Witch trials of Salem in the 17th century, emotions rather than the search for truth often cloud decisions. Sometimes, it is the alleged victim who is the real villain and the alleged perpetrator the real victim.  Two, as research shows that some sex offenders can be rehabilitated, they should be given every opportunity to enter suitable programs and if successful to be returned to the community as useful and productive citizens without the fear of constantly looking over their shoulder as I result of publicity.  Three, in countries such as the United States where pedophile registers are available online, vicious attacks, discrimination and other breaches of basic human rights occur.  A distinction needs to be made between sociopathic and non-sociopathic sex offenders as research shows that only the former cannot be rehabilitated.  Neither Derryn Hinch nor any other citizen has the right to ignore these differences.  Nor have they the right to take the law into their own hand.

      Reply

    • TheRealDave says:

      10:18am | 05/11/10

      I don’t often agree with Derryn Hinch, I think he’s a reactionary tool most times pandering to morons BUT on this issue I’m 100% behind him. He is dead right when he says that we name and shame convicted murderers, rapists, drug dealers, white collar crims, thieves etc but when it comes to paedophiles we protect them often times after death as well. Now, I can understand if it was if its a direct family member i.e. father, step father, mother, step mother, brother, sister, Uncle, Auntie, Grandparent etc but not for any person outside the direct family. What’s the justification for not naming a priest or scout leader or sports coach? With large numbers of children they would come into contact with it lessens the burden of identifying the victim.

      As for accusations of vigilante justice or being hounded out of their homes etc? So bloody what?  I have no issues with people despising them for the rest of their lives and running them out of town - they deserve it. Their victims have a life sentence why should the perpetrators be protected and allowed to live happily around unsuspecting neighbours?

      Lastly, interesting observation about the price of Justice in this country. 24 Lawyers and the Attorney Generals of several states lined up against you. What hope an ordinary bloke off the street has if you want to take on the system if someone as well known and has the Australia wide reputation of Derryn can only get 6 Lawyers on his side to fight them huh? What price the little bloke?

      Reply

    • Paul Horn says:

      12:08pm | 05/11/10

      Real Dave when has a convicted murderer or drug dealer or Bank Robber or any other violent criminal tosser been hounded out of his home by vigilante groups? How many violent offenders have been released over the years with nary a whisper in protest only to recommit even more violent crimes resulting in further killings and human misery? By God convicted drug dealers leap out of court laughing their heads off at the piddling sentences handed down by a progressive incompetent judge more interested in their “disadvantaged” childhood rather than the devastation and destruction they wreak upon their addicted clientele!

      How many hypocrites lined up for Chopper Reads book signing or purchased tickets to hear him speak live? No doubt the same hypocrites who would express disgust and outrage at the mere mention of the word “paedophile”.

      If we are really concerned about paedophilia why do we not jail parents who take their prepubescent children to a Pink concert or allow them to watch the filth called Video Hits on a Saturday morning? Talk about loss of innocence and yet we get in a lather about a few so called “creepy paedophiles” which the vast majority of us will never be exposed to. 

      Whart about the record numbers of young teenage children indulging in sexual activity emulating their perverted rock idols way before they are emotionally mature enough to handle the consequences? Why progressives even proposed the idea of placing condom vending machines in the childrens toilets.

      All this screeching and screaming about a few pathetic types yet the real criminal danger goes completely unheeded, nay in fact worshipped and adored!   

      Mr Hinch you are a hypocrite.

    • Warren says:

      02:15pm | 05/11/10

      And what happens when someone is wrongfully accused?  If a witness or the police were lying for example, then what? Historically vigilante justice has ranged from witches being burnt, black people being lynched, jews & gypsies hounded from their homes. Your first sentence was 100% correct.

    • Dan says:

      10:41am | 05/11/10

      Jail him.
      He is not above the law! This was a cheap stunt for rating and shock value.
      As if he truly cares about where this offender may live…

      Reply

    • NicoleG says:

      11:08am | 05/11/10

      What a ridiculous statement. Do you think he’s doing this for fun? Ratings? Oh yes, because the prospect of sitting in jail while your dying of liver cancer is just so appealing. He’s doing the right thing and I for one take my hat off to him. Child molesters and the wort sort of filth there is and they deserve everything they get.

    • NicoleG says:

      11:28am | 05/11/10

      I need a new keyboard

    • The Badger says:

      11:09am | 05/11/10

      A most excellent philosophy - If you don’t agree with the law then disregard it and do what you please.

      Should be available to all Australians.

      Reply

    • hot tub political machine says:

      11:53am | 05/11/10

      For most people there is a point when the only moral choice is to disregard the law. For example, if the law required us to kill our third child (as a defence against overpopulation) I’m sure most of us would become revolutionaries in a second.

      At what point its morally justified is another question. I’m not sayign Mr. Hinch is morally justified here. I think we need a more complex discussion of the laws he has broken, their intent ect rather than just his explanation of - this is why I did it ect.

      But the rule of law is not a sacred cow. If the rule of law become immoral enough - there is a time to ignore it. The option is available to all Australians - right now. But there are consequences. I say this as someone without a criminal record btw and as someone who would only turn rebel under extreme duress.

      But don’t kid yourself that the rule of law is some untouchable replacement for God in a secular society. The French revolution taught us that. It is to be respected, but not worshipped, and respected only so long as it remains moral…

    • The Badger says:

      12:37pm | 05/11/10

      Exactly HTM
      I’m glad we don’t have to kill our third born child and am quite sure that that is not a law. Lawmakers make laws that are appropriate to the circumstances of the day - so to speak.

      that’s why so many people smoke marijuana in spite of the laws. Because they make no sense when we have other drugs that are legal and do far more harm within society such as Alcohol.

      Hopefully there are police that ignore these laws as well and leave people to go about their business.

    • Kordez says:

      12:58pm | 05/11/10

      @hot tub political machine, He broke the law and made money from the aftermath. The circumstances were quite different to your extreme examples.
      Even though I agree with Derryn’s fight, he could have done it without breaking the law and the threat of jail time.

    • Reg says:

      01:01pm | 05/11/10

      HTPM I can’t work whether you’re crusading for more lenient laws or more draconian ones. I suppose that shows some sort of balance but if you equate child molestation with murder, are you advocating similar treatment? No doubt our wise politicians have pondered this point and decided that it is not so and of course there will always be some who disagree. Presuming they are in the minority, why should anyone take notice of a rabble-rousing mouth who is ego driven. I don’t know what Mr whatch-ma-callit’s views are on capital punishment but if he was FOR it in relation to murder, would he also expect child-molesters to suffer the same penalty? Thus encouraging murder of the victim. I use this comparison only as a means of highlighting the difference. The man could just as easily have begun a political lobby but has instead decided to grandstand his views to get to the head of the queue. I bet I can guess what his views are on boat-people who do the same. Perhaps like the Jews trying to get out of Germany in the 1930s, they have even more pressing motivation to queue jump.  It’s all relative and this man, unlike you apparently, is not known for his balance. I guess that can only mean I’m suggesting he’s unbalanced.

    • j butler says:

      11:53am | 05/11/10

      Its a simple case .suppression orders are used to protect the victim from identification thru association with the perpetrator.Fine In the eyes of the law but consider the wider issue .The perpetrator is once again violating the victim buy using the suppresion order to protect themselfs.Irony is the perpetrator is protected by the victim.

      Reply

    • Matt says:

      11:58am | 05/11/10

      Derryn, you have broken what is considered a ‘moral’ system law. The law is there for a reason. You may think it is wrong, as do many other people, but If you wish to change something you don’t break the law in doing it! Which is clearly what you have done and you deserve to be where you are right now! There is only one legal way of changing a law which is heavily supported argument opposing the morality behind it. Either way as it stands, Law is moral and moral is law. Period. Even though you may not agree! If you don’t agree with it, then argue the point within the law, not by breaking it, again!

      Reply

    • MsS says:

      12:00pm | 05/11/10

      If the public know of the offenders wherebouts, wouldn’t they go underground, out of fear for their life (and rightly so?) And if this happened, wouldn’t they be even more dangerous that NO ONE knows where they are?

      Reply

    • Asdf says:

      12:07pm | 05/11/10

      I back Mr Hinch all the way on this one. I have worked with tamps in the prison system for years and the amount of excuses and justifications they have for their actions is astounding, or the family members that believe their protests of innocence when they have been tried and convicted (false imprisonments are few and far between). As soon as they destroy that childs life, they should lose all civil rights. A good fictional book to read on the topic is Jodi Piccoults ‘Perfect Match’. It covers both sides of the argument when it is your own child that has been abused and is a must read for any mother.

      Reply

    • Robert S McCormick says:

      12:10pm | 05/11/10

      Hinch should be allowed to reveal the names of CONVICTED paedophiles. But ONLY if they have been Charged, brought to Court, FOUND GUILTY & been sentenced to, hopefully, very long terms in prison.
      Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should anyone, including the Police, the Media or, indeed, the Courts be allowed to reveal the identity of anyone suspected or charged with paedophile activity until AFTER they have been actually found guilty.
      The accused have the right to a Fair Trial.
      In recent times there have been situations where the accused has been totally exonerated from any wrong-doing whatsoever yet because they have had their names released to the public they have had their entire lives destroyed for No Good Reason. Marriages have ended, jobs have been lost, & people have been made, without any justification, into pariahs within their communities.
      This is Totally Wrong & anyone who reveals the name of someone SUSPECTED, but NOT yet PROVEN, of Paedophile Activity should be thrown into prison.
      The CRIME of Paedophilia is the most despicable of all crimes. BUT because the stigma attached to those who are Paedophiles is, 100% justifiably, so great every man & woman charged has the roght to Total Privacy until the day of they are found, or plead, guilty.
      Then Hell slap it into them for we will NEVER Forget, NEVER Forgive. Never Ever should we live a 1000 years.

      Reply

    • RGG says:

      01:16pm | 05/11/10

      Murder is the most despicable of all crimes you muppet.

      It seems that as soon as the word ‘paedophile’ is mentioned, all rational discourse gets thrown out the window as people foaming at the mouth struggle to one-up each other in their hatred. We get it guys, you don’t like child molestors. You don’t have to prove it.

      I think it’s a sad indictment on this society that any attempt to rebut actions such as those of Mr Hinch must be preceeded by statements like “Now, I don’t support child molestors, in fact, I hate them and I think they should be tortured, but”

    • Paul Horn says:

      04:17pm | 05/11/10

      Well said RGG spot on the money! The real damage done to so called child “victims” is not due to the actions of a few pathetic child “molestors” but rather the shrill harping sickness of those such as Hetty what’s her name banging on about how egregious the nature of such a crime. These people are acting on a natural urge albeit one that is severely misdirected. The real damage to the victims occurs when the foaming masses start screaming and shouting for all sorts of punishments to be visited on these pathetic creatures.

      For Christ sake children have been forced into marriages from extremely young ages for millenia. Romeo and Juliet was a Shakesperean Play about two children aged 11 and 12 yet our sexually sick and perverted society can’t really treat this “crime” without any objectivity or rationality. Hinch is a perfect example of this stupidity.

      On the same hand we fete sadistic murderous scum with worshipful book launches, mega movie deals, adoring women and the list goes on.

      Perhaps it’s time to make Western society extinct, oh damn we are already well on that road.

    • Put the shame where it belongs says:

      01:24pm | 08/11/10

      Paul Horn, paedophilia is not a ‘natural’ urge. And the real damage is done by the paedophile.

    • Rebecca says:

      12:21am | 10/11/10

      @ RGG.

      Murder is a despicable crime - though my humble opinion is that you’re lessening rape - especially that of a child.

      My personal opinion is that ANY crime against a minor, that is tried, and convicted, should automatically have the maximum penalty imposed - and they should be harsher.

      Whilst I don’t want to reduce it down to ‘who it hurts more’ - a crime against a child puts that child at a much higher risk of living with that for the remainder of their lives - and since the life expectancy rests at around 70-90? whatever portion of the average life expectancy you could have expected is what the minimum penalty is.

      Oh - and as a victim of child sex abuse, which I have never reported, taken to trial, because of the damage it would cause my family - not me.  Its not always about protecting the victim - and I often wish I had been ‘selfish’.  I wouldn’t care about being ‘found’ as a “victim” - and if that identified my related-by marriage family member, would I care? Nope - but the same thing stops me now as what did back then - the other people who would be tarnished by his name.

    • Liberal Voter says:

      12:16pm | 05/11/10

      I’m pretty much sick of Derryn Hinch’s self righteous, ignorant attitude.  Yes of course we get it, pedophiles and rapists are the scum of the earth, but what does he think will be the outcome of this? You will have viglante, bogan parents harassing these people, quite possibly assaulting them physically, further ruining their lives and destroying any chance they have at rehabilitation.  This of course will result in police patrols and assistance for these people, will adds further cost to the taxpayer.  I hope the court throws the book at Hinch for what he’s done.  This article draws comparisions between Hinch and the fictional hero and Aussie battler Darryl Kerrigan, but Derryn Hinch is no hero.  He’s just a loudmouth, populist, reactionary idiot.

      Reply

    • Taxpayinggranny says:

      04:08pm | 05/11/10

      If you are Liberal voter, I am crossing the floor.You are an idiot and people like you in this precious country, make me sick worried. Darryn is talking about convincted ones-not suspicious ones. And if I was parent of the child being abused, yes, I would harras, yes I would bash, yes I would make their lives as miserable as I could humanly do.All you seem to worry is cost to taxpayer! You are a heartless sad unfortunately called human being.Get off my planet.

    • Austin 3:16 says:

      05:00pm | 05/11/10

      And if an innocent member of the public, who happens to have the same name as one of Hinch’s names paedophiles then it’s tough luck I guess.

    • Nelle says:

      09:25am | 08/11/10

      Love the assumption that perps actually want to rehabilitate lol
      So what happens when they’ve been proven guilty in court, served their sentance….and still insist they did nothing wrong once they’re out? Community still has no right to be informed?

    • Kelly says:

      12:19pm | 05/11/10

      FIrst of all, a pedophile was placed in my town..not two blocks from here, just up the road from a kindergarted and a daycare centre. I have two small children. This man was named and an article was put in our local paper informing residents that we were not to be worried as the police were keeping an eye on him. There were no riots or attacks on this man even though we all knew where he lived. the only adverse affect was that mothers became more vigellant with their children. Also the primary school bus stop was moved away from the front of his house and everyone was warned not to accept him as a ‘friend’ on facebook as he may be looking a photos of young children. Thankyou derryn.
      Seconly, if Derryn was ‘grandstanding’ what would he have to gain from it? He is dying, why would he want more fame? Think about it. I think this is his last great deed. Wish there were more like him.

      Reply

    • St. Michael says:

      12:35am | 06/11/10

      If you say the man was “named”, Kelly, how come you aren’t giving us all his identity right here in a wider forum than the local daily newspaper?

      I’m also wondering why you believe that the conduct of your friends and neighbours is going to be replicated across the entire range of communities, and in particular in the case of falsely convicted child molesters?

    • stephen says:

      12:57pm | 05/11/10

      Perhaps public shaming should be considered, legally, as part of the punishment. It would certainly be a deterrent, judging by the energy and forthrightness of the plaintiffs, whether it be the Crown or the convicted, in this case.
      A chap recently, for a conviction of paedophilia, got 5 years prison, and out on parole after 15 months.
      I wish Derryn Hinch wins, and I hope that if Judges don’t believe in shame (they obviously don’t), then perhaps the public can force both.

      Reply

    • youdy says:

      12:59pm | 05/11/10

      We have a family living at the back of us whos son who is older has a illness related to mental retardation and I was informed by my daughter that he exposed himself to my young grandchildren one day. I was not aware of it until later. The family seem like nice people and I have known them as neighbours for about 10 years now and they say to me that they are good christians and belong to some fundamentalist church.

      Now what can I do about that?. And how much of this behaviour goes on unnoticed by even their own families and could they be charged under current laws. Probably not, because they are retarded mentally. How much of this goes on and what catagory would they be placed in. If it happens again then I am going to contact the police in regard to it.

      So we see that there are pedophiles who have their faculties and there are others who are forgiven or their actions bypassed conveniently because they are retarded. Different strokes for different folks. What does the law say about these people and there would be many of them in our communities.  What is the right thing to do, say poor things,they don’t know what they are doing because they are incompetent. Well I don’t know what the right thing to do is, maybe someone could enlighten me on the matter.

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      07:57pm | 05/11/10

      Contact, with tact, their Church, and explain you who are, your relationship to the family, and what happened.
      Say to them you think the events warrant police action, but that you go to the Church first as a matter of concern, then principle.
      Then ask them for a solution.

    • safety first says:

      08:59pm | 05/11/10

      The right thing is to prioritise children’s safety. Teach them what is and isn’t appropriate behaviour and how to respond. Keep them away from known offenders. Tell the offender/guardian that you are aware of the behaviour and will reported their actions if they are repeated. Mental retardation or not, children’s safety should be the priority.

    • David says:

      01:08pm | 05/11/10

      Thats all very well Derryn, but what did you think of The Castle?

      Reply

    • vic says:

      01:36pm | 05/11/10

      Derryn, on this one I and every single person I know support you 100%.  These lowlifes do NOT rehabilitate, so why put the community at risk by hiding their identities. On a different note best wishes and good luck with your health fight

      Reply

    • Reg says:

      04:55pm | 05/11/10

      F*** him. He’s a public pariah with an incurable need for adulation. He has profited by persecuting the innocent along with the guilty and has welcomed his own persecution as penance for having done so. All just so that he can go out with his sycophants intoning “poor Hinch.”  What a low-life.  He probably couldn’t imagine a better end than dying in jail.

    • Boo-hoo says:

      09:15pm | 05/11/10

      Totally disagree. Boo-hoo.. Quess what? it is not about you. It is about the kids. And if anyone is genuinely concerned about being misjudged and misunderstood, maybe step a little outside of your comfort zone and see how you can make a positive difference for the children involved. Perhaps tackle some of the prevailing attitudes in society and on this particular forum where way too many people for my comfort seem to be thinking that child abusers are entitled to a life. Why?
      Anyone ever thinking that I would be up to no good? Thank you for being watchful and on the child’s side, we need more people like you.

    • Reg says:

      08:04am | 06/11/10

      Thanks Peta, I’d have missed all that. It’s real journalists like Miranda who bring some stability to the problem, unlike your you-know-who and boo-hoo. I guess if boo-hoo had been the truck driver in that story, he’d have shouldered his responsibility to the wandering child and come to her rescue without delay. What a hero. Just as well he’s never been put to the test.

    • Zeta says:

      01:49pm | 05/11/10

      Derryn Hinch’s attack on suppression orders is myopic, misguided, and ultimately self-serving. Hinch makes money through alarmism and fear mongering, and not having names and faces to focus that fear on limits the capacity of he and others like him to do so.

      To name a child sex offender means that by extension the children harmed are also named. Since the offence with which the offender is charged is there to protect those children, it is incongruous that those same courts established to protect the innocent would then allow the innocent to be exposed to the likes of Derryn Hinch and their shrill reporting practices.

      You take the specific case Hinch went to gaol for - a pedophile Priest. Naming that individual and identifying the communtiy they preached in then opens up every parishioner to the question of wether it was them or their children who were abused. That’s harmful. That shouldn’t happen.

      The headline of his story is very telling ‘I’d rather be treated like a criminal than protect them’ - it’s indicative of the character of Derryn Hinch. It’s not Derryn Hinch’s job to protect children. It’s his job to scare them, like he does everyone else.

      Reply

    • AdamC says:

      04:06pm | 05/11/10

      Zeta, unless the naming of an offender necessarily leads to the identification of victims -  and, in the case of a priest who would minister to hundreds or thousands, it doesn’t - your argument is totally, and quite bizarrely, spurious.

      Suppression orders seem to be thrown around like confetti in Victoria. I agree with Hinch: justice should be transparent and open to public scrutiny.

      At the same time offenders should not be spared their richly-earned disgrace.

    • Austin 3:16 says:

      09:32pm | 05/11/10

      Hey Adam.

      Yep the priest might minister to hundreds, but as most of them would be adults they could immediately be ruled out. He might only preach to a few dozen children.

    • Reg says:

      08:35am | 06/11/10

      AdamC, I agree, justice should be transparent, but how do you protect the innocent from that transparency? You know what they say about justice delayed. Delay is a necessary part of justice and involves suppression.

      How can anyone advertise a claim of $37 million dollars damages and then walk away without disclosing the final outcome to the public they used as tools in their claim of unendurable distress? Suppression and missing transparency.

    • teresa says:

      02:15pm | 05/11/10

      I am with you Derryn.  I have always admired your brave stands against the failure of the justice system to deal with CONVICTED criminials.  No-one wants an innocent person to be labelled, but the ones where there is no doubt should be named and shamed.  Keep up the good work my friend.

      Reply

    • mona says:

      02:35pm | 05/11/10

      I think those accused shouldn’t be named, unless convicted.
      Those convicted should be named.

      Reply

    • Kira says:

      03:18pm | 05/11/10

      I wish I was employed to kill pedophiles/rapists. They forfeit their right to exist in this world with such acts. One strike, you’re out - that would be my rule.

      Reply

    • RGG says:

      03:47pm | 05/11/10

      Hi Kira,

      What’s it like to be a psychopath?

      Sincerely,
      Rational People Everywhere

    • Reg says:

      05:03pm | 05/11/10

      Then we should understand that you are advising all pedophiles and rapists to KILL their victims to avoid identification Kira. Not good thinking.

    • St. Michael says:

      05:38pm | 05/11/10

      Guess you would’ve been pretty red-faced if you went and took out Kevin Ibbs, then.  So much for vigilante justice when the victim is unquestionably innocent.

    • Luke says:

      03:30pm | 05/11/10

      I know of a sexual predator who molested a 4 year old girl he only got weekend detention and is currently living 2 blocks from a public school in katoomba and two steps outside his front door is a kids park I informed the school they had no idea and I Do think that MORAL responsibility lays on the police to inform schools of any predator living in the area so they can take the appropriate reaction to protect our kids.

      Reply

    • Monisha says:

      03:47pm | 05/11/10

      I would rather be treated like a criminal too if I spoke out against pedophiles, rapists and named as well as shamed the ones who were guilty based on fact. if I happened to name and shame one who is in fact innocent, and proven so, then by the same way I named and shamed, the same way I will make amends.

      Reply

    • St. Michael says:

      12:21am | 06/11/10

      What, as in having your reputation trashed permanently so that wherever you go, people are always whispering about you regardless of every thing you do to try and make amends?

      Get real, Monisha.

    • Vicki PS says:

      04:08pm | 05/11/10

      Paedophilia is bad, m’kay?  Everyone agree?  100 per cent?  Everyone feel uptight, outtasight and morally re-armed? Right ... now shut the hell up.  Go home.

      Reply

    • ChrisP says:

      05:08pm | 05/11/10

      Today i read of the mother and boyfriend of a girl who was prostituted out to over one hundred men were jailed for ten years each BUT their names were suppressed. That is disgusting. Good luck Derryn.

      Reply

    • cRook says:

      09:37am | 06/11/10

      Actually, no. The boyfriends name was published, as was the only one of the clients that has been prosecuted. Only the mothers name was suppressed so that the child wouldn’t be identified.

    • Austin 3:16 says:

      10:50am | 06/11/10

      Yeah ‘cause the whole world needs to know who the girl is. That would do her the world of good.

    • Jimmy says:

      05:54pm | 05/11/10

      This is not just and any judge who is work half their title would agree. Though wonder why they are protecting names, because some blood sucking lawyer is pushing buttons or a guilty conscience on what they have done in the past? Who knows? All I say is keep up the good work! If it was me I would see a lot more done to them than just their names being released!

      Reply

    • Jack says:

      08:49am | 06/11/10

      All protection laws are simply made by and enforced by the very people who are more likely to commit these sickening offences and/or know themselves who are the guilty ones, just take step back and look at what laws protect who. Our legal system is completely twisted and corrupt.

    • Reg says:

      10:01am | 07/11/10

      I think your description of “completely twisted” is a bit immoderate Jack and that is the thread of the whole discussion. Certain members of the public are the ones with completely twisted expectations of justice.

      My pet objection is to plea-bargaining, a means by which an innocent person, having been buffeted by overwhelming evidence,  will agree to plead guilty for a shorter sentence. Imagine that; choosing a shorter sentence and subsequently a life of public scorn, in spite of being innocent. All because of a twisted public expectation of the right to selectively molest the convicted. There’s something wrong there.

    • Mother says:

      05:58pm | 05/11/10

      My family has just been through 5 years of hell thanks to a pedophile rapist. He held all the legal cards, ALL OF THEM. My daughter, as the victim was raked over the coals, questioned for 2 full days, she was so distressed that at one point she vomited in the witness room (and the slimy defence barrister made it look to the jury that she was upset because she was ‘unable to back up her story’ actually she was phiscally ill at being questioned so hard about things that had happened more than 4 years before. The defence had so many excuses to adjourn, THEN used the time it took to get to court against HER. 90% of the evidence against the accused was not allowed as it was too prejudicial to the defence, so the jury was not allowed to hear the proof, so of couse found him not guilty. This man is now living in the community, coaching children in sport, with access to many many other children who could be his next victim. I cant publicly name him to warn his neighbours. I wish that Derryn had named him to warn other parents about this mans sick and twisted ways.

      Reply

    • Jolanda says:

      07:53am | 06/11/10

      This is one of the biggest problems in our system, the fact that the evidence is controlled and that evidence that should be permitted to be presented, as all evidence should be required to be put before the courts, is not allowed in order to protect the accused.  You have to wonder who designed this system and who it is that they are trying to protect .  I say it is the pedophiles in high places setting precedents that are designed exclusively to protect themselves.

      I feel for your daughter and family, you deserved better that being treated like that.

      Education – Keeping them Honest
      http://jolandachallita.typepad.com/

    • Austin 3:16 says:

      03:40pm | 06/11/10

      So the whole rules of evidence for our court system haven’t evolved over centuries of law to ensure a fair and balanced trial for anybody accused of a criminal offence, they’ve specifically been cooked up by paedophiles in high places to ensure that they are protecting each other.

      What planet are you guys on ?

    • Molly says:

      11:08pm | 07/11/10

      Where there’s smoke…. Unfortunately people tend to be blinded by misplaced caring because of the high moral pedestals they teeter on.

      My perp got off because he had a fantastic legal team, a stupid, naive wife and equally corrupt religious minister - who was also released as wrongfully accused. Between them they had molested and raped over 17 girls and boys!!!!  They cannot be named and they continue their ways - because they can. We were made to feel like we had imagined it all, that we lied - because we didn’t report it immediately!  They used condoms and made us promise to keep it “our secret” so when it came to being charged there was no proof - even when there was a whole group of us! How is that fair?

      I feel your daughter’s pain and know how hard it was for her. I wish I could offer that it gets better but over 30 years later, I am still in therapy. Some of the other victims committed suicide or are on anti-depressants, in and out of psych hospitals… She is lucky to have your support!

      I’m all for branding them for life - on the forehead like a horse or cattle with a red hot iron - so that everyone knows just how dangerous they are. Giving their names is not enough as they just go and change it and move onto other victims.

      My mother was threatened with jail because she tried to warn another mother about him! He had his hand on her shoulder as he was talking to her and his hand was slipping to the front. When she yelled at him to leave the girl alone, he smiled and called the police!

      These monsters deserve to be put on public display!

      All evidence states that once a pedophile has committed an offense, they CANNOT be reformed. So why let them mingle with children???

    • Fred Ward says:

      05:11am | 06/11/10

      The issue here is open justice and accountabllity of the courts. I have just watched a clip on Youtube by JusticePreacher and it opened my eyes. What juries don’t hear is amazing. In it was the fact 95% of people escape conviction for pedophilia. Are they all innocent or has the pendulum swung too far and too much evidence withheld.

      Reply

    • Vin Francis says:

      05:23am | 06/11/10

      Our system, has secret courts, unfair laws that discriminate against the poorer people in society. We have here a man who has vehemently supported this system all his life. Now he is bleating like a stuck pig, when it put him in the spotlight. How can any rational person feel sorry for a person crying wolf!

      Reply

    • Margot says:

      06:07am | 06/11/10

      I say good on you Derryn,I’m with you on this one.Obviously you could never expose accused pedophiles or areas where the assaults took place or the names of the children but upon release into the community after a conviction I think the public have a right to know if a pedophile is living in their area.For those of you who think they’ll go to ground if exposed,where exactly are they going to go?If the police have an eye on them like they state then they can’t really go anywhere without someone knowing can they?Besides which I think it’s part of the rules that you have to live where they put you,I don’t think they can just get up and leave.Yes,bad things can happen sometimes when people are named(2 blocks up the road from where I live the family of a child who was raped and murdered found out where he was living and burnt the house down)but honestly do you really care if a pedophile has his /her house burnt down?Yes the rational, intellectual part of the mind says “how horrible to be hounded for the rest of your life” but deep down in your gut(my gut at the very least)something has to revolt against these people.Something has to say “this is what you get for destroying the innocence and ultimately, life of a child.For tearing their mind apart this is the price you pay"You simply cannot rape a child,serve your time and go on with life unaffected,the child carries the burden of this horrendous betrayal for the rest of their lives so why shouldn’t the perpetrator? Good luck derryn,I hope the courts see reason and amend these stupid laws.

      Reply

    • Dan says:

      07:00am | 06/11/10

      All power to you Derryn and good luck with your health.

      Reply

    • Angry Mum says:

      08:08am | 06/11/10

      The person who molested my husband and my male child got eight years (because he was old?) - we got life. My husband has been dead for many years and I am so paranoid about being with another male and having this dumped on me again I decided to stay single for the last 14 years. My son is alcoholic, low self esteem and has tried to commit suicide. The man is in the community now and should be named. The kind of person we are talking about never stops at one. He molested many. Of those one committed suicide and a number of them are alcoholics/drug addicts. Does this kind of person deserve a normal life, particularly since he doesn’t have a conscience or any remorse? 8years was a gift, we are still in gaol.

      Reply

    • cRook says:

      09:48am | 06/11/10

      I wish society wouldn’t force victims of sexual assault to feel ashamed. I wish society wouldn’t tell victims that they have had their lives ruined. I wish that society wouldn’t insist that protecting victims identities was so important that they would expose other children to harm.

      Reply

    • taxpayer says:

      05:00pm | 06/11/10

      Your comment:i quite agree with Derryn they should be named.  I also think there is too much cover up when a baby or toddler dies.  I think the mothers as well as the father or guardian who has the child at the time should be named.
      Mothers are always getting out of things when their babies die and Police always say tragic accident.

      Reply

    • MEDIA MIKE says:

      05:10pm | 06/11/10

      I’m with you Derryn. Too long child molesters have been protected and it’s about time some one stood up for the children and who ever is involved with sex crimes. Any court that DOESN’T allow a name and shame list I DONT think, ???, is doing their job properly. Just another thing I’ve noticed that all criminals get a good deal and the victims get the rough end of the deal.
      NO I SAY “GO FOR IT DERRYN” and any court that punishes you for your effort ISN’T a good court. What we need is “MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU”

      Reply

    • Bitten says:

      05:47pm | 06/11/10

      Suppression of one’s identity as a victim of sexual assault is wrong. It enhances the feelings of shame. It says to the victims “You definitely don’t want other normal people to know about what that person did to you, pretend it never happened, don’t tell anyone, you’re filthy and can never be clean again.” As a society, we have a responsibility to support victims of sexual assault. The people who commit these crimes should be named and shamed, because it is THEIR conduct that is shameful. The victims bear no burden of guilt, they are innocent and if as a society, we cannot honestly and openly acknowledge that, then we are as disgusting and shameful as the criminals.

      Reply

    • lofty says:

      05:57pm | 06/11/10

      “treated like a criminal” ? The man IS a criminal. Hinch has long flouted laws in Australia and been convicted - ergo, he IS a CRIMINAL.
      Some petty “high-ground” on one issue does not make him a saint.
      People like him convince “victims” that their lives SHOULD “fall apart” and that they “will never get over it”. They point the finger at those unable to defend themselves from lies and allegations without making their situation worse. They ride rough-shod over the lives of victims for personal gain and notoriety with callous disregard for others.
      Hinch is a disgraceful attention seeker who thrives on pedophilia like a religious zealot thrives on the “evil’ porn trade. “Protesteth too much” ?

      Reply

    • Reg says:

      12:26pm | 08/11/10

      As well as being a repeat offender. Just as well we don’t have the three strikes rule.

    • Steve Jackson says:

      08:48pm | 06/11/10

      God bless you Derryn for making a stand against the vile bastards that prey on our sons and daughters.
      You have your own serious health issues but still you are our voice.
      For that I respect and honour you.

      thank you sincerely Derryn
      Steve

      Reply

    • Victim says:

      09:09pm | 06/11/10

      As a victim of child sex abuse, still suffering the effect some 26 years later, it’s not the shrill harping that does the damage Paul Horn, it’s the moment that, as a child you suddenly realise no adult can be trusted and nowhere is safe. It’s the few torturous seconds that you are thrust from childhood innocence into a never-ending hell of confusion, guilt and a sense of loss that shatters relationships both current, past and future.
      The fallout that comes after it is soul-destroying, exhausting, relentless. I will never be the woman I was destined to be before I was abused. I am a hollowed-out empty shell. And that is due to one moment of hell, the ‘shrill harping’ and ‘screaming masses’ is all just background noise to my own horrified shrieks.
      Your comment borders on justification and sickens me. There is nothing natural about harming a child.

      Reply

    • Catherine says:

      06:50am | 07/11/10

      Good on you, Derryn! Here we have someone FIGHTING for something. This is what we need, instead of the apathy that is Australia 2010.

      I am sick of so called ‘journalists’ reporting at 6.30pm on what supermarket has the best specials on breakfast cereals.

    • Victim2 says:

      10:27am | 07/11/10

      At age 12. The mental pain of long term abuse is indeed dreadful but in my case and because of my isolation, I like to think I gathered great personal strength from the perception that I had dragged myself to my feet again. I believe Paul’s input is very realistic. I don’t really regard myself as a victim, more as a survivor. I have never had any intention of reveling in depression because of the abuse, nor do I believe in heaven or hell, that’s for the religious to torment themselves with, so I hope my abuser, wherever he is, is religious.

    • Put the shame where it belongs says:

      12:58am | 07/11/10

      “They are only invoked for serial sex offenders whom the courts believe are likely to re-offend.” How terrifying that the very offenders which the courts believe are likely to do it again are the very ones being protected!

      To those of you who say that naming might harm the victim, please read my views as a victim.

      Paedophiles give their victims a life sentence. I was abused from the age of 6-11, over 30 years later I’m still unable to form attachments or to trust. I’m certain that when I got too old, when my abuser left my Mum for another woman with younger girls that they were abused too.

      Do you have any idea what it’s like to tell your first boyfriend “I don’t sleep around, but you should know I have herpes and we have to be careful”? How about the humiliation of giving it to a partner, even though you were careful? How about explaining to your kids that they can’t use the same towels or flannels as Mummy cause a bad man once gave her a disease she’ll always have? Or how about even suffering from the burning and itching every few months for your entire lifetime, reminding you, painfully, of what he did to you?

      The bastards should be named to put the shame squarely where it belongs, I was a little girl, the shame should be his. Take the shame from under it’s nasty, dark little rock, where it hides. Bring it out into the light, hold it up for all the world to see. Here is the shame, not in this once-child-victim, but here in this perpetrator. This monster who steals innocence and trust. In this creep who takes away a person’s right to choose who will be the first to touch their body sexually. Here in this scum who makes a child feel so filthy that they may never feel clean and worthwhile again. Let the paedophiles carry the shame for their entire lives. I’ll never feel ‘normal’, I’ll never have a loving, trusting relationship. I’ll never trust a man alone with my children, so they’ll never have a father-figure. For each victim actually abused, their are dozens of indirect victims of that abuse. My parents, ex-partners, my children, they’ve all been affected too.

      I’m the victim of a nasty, dirty secret, because the ‘justice’ system chooses to keep sex crimes secret. That’s not how you help victims, not by making them keep the secret, like their abuser did. You help victims by proclaiming to the world that the shame is not the victim’s, that they were wronged and who it was that wronged them. You help us by showing that you take the crime as serious enough to do everything in your power to prevent it happening again. Paedophiles are the ones committing the crimes, why should it be the innocent victims living entire lives with shame?

      And for the person who said it’s not Derryn’s job to be protecting the children, you are so wrong, it’s everyone’s job to protect children, to speak out, to demand that children are protected from predators, to demand that predators are given nowhere to hide.

      Derryn, I know that you are battling cancer, you could choose not to fight this and no one would blame you, yet you choose to continue, and I thank you. If you want a support letter for this cause, from a victim, as to why naming MUST happen, you just ask The Punch for my email address.

      Reply

    • Cayce says:

      04:40am | 07/11/10

      For mine Hinch, you are a jumped up, up yourself bighead who thinks you are God’s gift to the media and are above the law.  I thought so when you were with Mornington radio around 35 years ago and you haven’t changed,  except ypur head and ego have gotten bigger!

      Reply

    • Letlive says:

      06:02am | 07/11/10

      The problem with what Derryn Hinch is wanting to do is that sometimes the criminal system does not work and innocent people are wrongly and falsely accused and convicted of being a sexual predator.  The accusor in the case I know about was a 16 year old girl, known for being a compulsive liar and an attention seeker who got on the bandwagon during a discussion at her school about this and said it happened to her.  The legal system says you are guilty unless you can prove you are innocent and it is next to impossible to prove such innocence.  With the knowledge that the legal system does not always work and that there are alot of innocent people in jail (along with all the guilty ones), do you still think what Derryn Hinch is trying to do is right?

      Reply

    • jackson says:

      07:40am | 07/11/10

      I donot give a RATS about Derryn Hinch
        After what he said about   Graham Cyril Kennedy and got away with it he was a bigger man the you NZ peace of trash have a pain full death

      Reply

    • Brent says:

      08:09am | 07/11/10

      While I agree with you about the moral implications of your fight. There is no denying that pedophiles are not a part of society that deserves to breath let alone have a right to privacy but it comes down to this. You broke the law. You didn’t challenge the law before you were charged did you. No! Your a pompous windbag who feels he has the justification to break the law. In a democracy that is not how it works. If you feel a law is unjust you may fight tooth and nail to have it changed. That is most certainly your right. However it’s not your right to challenge and break whichever law you feel like.

      Your not better than anyone else in this country, although it certainly seems like you think you are.

      Before all the fools on here criticize me as being a pedophile sympathizer let me assure you nothing could be further from the truth but just as I expect someone to be punished under the full extent of the law for their disgusting crimes against our communities, I expect Derryn to be punished for the law he has broken. We as a society can not pick and choose the law’s we follow. You say your standing on a high ground, I think your more like a child throwing a tantrum because he has been caught doing the wrong thing. Next time when you disagree with a perceived unjust law approach changing it before you break it.

      Regards.

      Reply

    • Craig says:

      03:03pm | 07/11/10

      and if the law says to you have to kill you brother before you can drive…..do we, or do we never drive?........some laws are made to be broken…....

    • Reg says:

      08:11pm | 07/11/10

      Craig I realise there are lots of people who think politicians are indolent fruit cakes, (I happen to disagree) but I trust them not to accept such a requirement long before a judge sends it back for review. Yes it happened in Germany and I would have fully approved of DH making a stand there.

      Any judge in Germany at the time, who did not agree with the law he was expected to administer, had no alternative but to resign and face the consequences of his refusal. Perhaps DH can find a politician or a judge who would agree to resign unless everyone agrees to his requirements. Or perhaps, in the best Hollywood tradition he could form a Coalition with Hell’s Angels and force the issue by riding through the front doors of parliament House? . That should tickle his dramatic predisposition.

    • Pro Naming Perps says:

      08:10am | 07/11/10

      I was a victim of a sex crime by a man that was released and allowed to live anonymously in our neighbourhood when I was a child. He preyed not only on me but on others. I am sorry for all those wrongly accused but if you are innocent, you wouldn’t put yourself in a situation with a minor where there could be speculation.
      Name the b@$7@rds and shame them as they deserve - stop thinking about the perps feelings as it may be YOUR child or loved one that ends up on the receiving end.
      Had my parents known, had other parents known about the released criminal next door - things would have developed differently and he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to ruin so many innocent children’s lives.

      Reply

    • Bree says:

      11:00am | 07/11/10

      WE thank you Derryn for your bravery, loyalty, dedication & commitment to those that need their voices heard.  They are the victims/survivors and the laws at the moment needed to be challenged and you have done just that mate.  We stand Proud & United with you in this fight, and we support you 100% in this.  We work with abused children daily, and see the horror, torment, & lifelong scars that are left for these children and victims to carry, & yet they are made to suffer again with laws such as this that are not transparent or clear.  The children & the community deserve protection, it is our & their right, yet at the moment with the suppression order fiasco in Victoria the only ones being protected are the ones that have been convicted of horrendous & evil crimes, only for them to be given the freedom of rights.  We stood alongside Derryn in the High Court, Proud, and we will continue to stand Proud & United in this fight for the better of all in our community.  Thank you again Derryn, for putting your neck on the line, so that others do not have to suffer the horror that surrounds being a victim of crime, especially crimes against our most vulnerable & innocent, Our Children, who are Our FUTURE..  We know in our hearts that it is good people like Derryn that is looking out for the children, & wish more would do the same.

      Reply

    • nick says:

      11:26am | 07/11/10

      i believe that if the person is found guilty, their name should be available..however during the trial, it shouldnt be given out, simply because the person MAY be innocent.

      Reply

    • Russell says:

      12:34pm | 07/11/10

      Unfortunately the use of suppression orders is never going to be sorted to everyone’s satisfaction. In our society even the vilest dirty rotten stinking bastard has the right under our laws to a free and fair trial and a presumption of innocent until found guilty and hence the need for suppression orders.
      One reason, unfortunately, in some cases you have to protect the accused to protect the victim or victims may not come forward and provide evidence. Another reason for suppression is the case of the accused turning out to be the victim of false accusations. Then there is the case of mixing a group of your average morons and a few beers ending up at the accused’s front door as a vigilante posse. 
      Those are the most general reasons suppression orders exist and why, if you break them you end up in court yourself facing a jail sentence and or fine. Judges have a better idea of knowing what is going on than a person sitting in the visitors gallery.

      As for Hinch boasting about going to jail 23 years ago, if I remember correctly, the reason he went to jail was not that he simply committed contempt of court for naming the priest on television but that in doing so he perverted the course of justice.
      When this case eventually came to court, the priest’s lawyer turned around and said there was no way his client could get a fair trial as too many people had seen Hinch name him as a pedophile on TV. Hinch said it so it must be true no matter what any evidence presented said. The judge was forced to agree, the case thrown out and the priest walking out a free man. I feel sorry for the poor alleged (because the case did not proceed) victim not Hinch.

      As for pedophiles, once is unacceptable, more than once is pure evil and should never be allowed to walk the streets ever again.

      Reply

    • Not a radical says:

      02:10pm | 07/11/10

      People should be given a chance to reform.  That’s what the criminal justice system is all about isn’t it?  You could have a murderer, a thief or a drunk driver living next door to you all who have may have done more damage than any sex offender in their past lives, you don’t know who they are do you?

        I’m glad that we’re not giving mobs a chance to Lynch people who have done their time.  In the 50’s gay people successfully lived their lives without being openly gay.  While times have changed and there’s a difference of consent between being gay and being a paedophile, it goes to show that people can control their base urges if society dictates that they should, right or wrong.

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      06:00pm | 07/11/10

      Reforming your behaviour should take place before you are caught.
      (Why should the impetus for redemption and solace be us?)
      It is very convenient for some to fall back on reforms, when, being the ‘information Age’ (where guilt is not so much ‘by association’ but by knowledge), we all know what is a disgrace.
      The legal mechanisms for behavioral change is overrated ; except, perhaps, if Derryn and his High Court gets its way.

    • ric says:

      07:25pm | 07/11/10

      Is everyone missing the point? Hinch broke the law, the law may be wrong and indeed if it needs changing then set about doing just that. Our society runs on laws that most of the time enable us to live in communities with an expectation of freedoms that would not be available if it were a free for all and the survival of the fittest. Not all laws are going to be perfect and cannot please everyone, but if you wish to live in these communities then you must obey the laws or suffer the consequences. You did the crime Hinch, you do the time.

      Reply

    • John Brown says:

      12:28am | 08/11/10

      What an atrocious mess - courtesy of more than 140 years of cover up of the sexual abuses of children by catholic priests and their 140+ years of manipulation of the legal systems and 140+years of the their covering up and of their obfuscation, diversion and digression so that sexually abusive priests would be protected and avoid prosecution - therein lies the root cause of the problems and the failures of our legal/justice/community systems and services.

      The issues will not be fully resolved until those hundred years or so of the clergy crimes against children, the manipulation and the abuses of our social systems are comprehensively addressed and put straight by both state and federal governments as these are the roots of the problems - the problems these interferences and coverup by the Catholic church remain as potent today as at any time in our past and will continue to pollute all and everything it touches until it is fully addressed.

      Reply

    • Reg says:

      08:52am | 08/11/10

      John Brown, you home in on the Catholic Church because some of the perpetrators of sexual offense are also the ones who preach purity and restraint. That’s only the tip of the ice-berg. It is a community wide problem that extends to it’s very base. It is predominantly a male problem that I suspect is not nearly as prevalent today as it was prior to the existence of laws to punish offenders.  The law must have achieved some improvement and yet the problem apparently flourishes. Do you have anything positive to contribute rather than mere observation?

      I must admit that without horrific restriction of lots of innocent men from contact with their families and friends, the few will continue to display their depravity. I believe that, as with restricting vehicles on the road to reduce road deaths, the price of the fix is one we are not prepared to pay for the simple reason that the good contributed by the current situation far outweighs the damage caused by altering it. Does DH contend that damage from sexual molestation is far worse than the damage cause by the dreadful road toll and its horrific aftermath? Perhaps?

    • Leain says:

      08:32am | 08/11/10

      Let me tell you what happens when you hide the identity. I become part of a group of peope who like me were adults and went back to school. We were at each other places for study and sometimes to hang out. Some of us had kids and some didnt. It wasnt till i got a phone call at 4am by one person to find out that one in our group was not only a convicted sex offender but that the NT and SA have an aggreement that they ship each others offenders to the others state, change their name and give them rights. 5 of us had to leave the school we were at because we made a complaint and were told by the principal this rock spider had more rights to be there under this aggreement. we then had to take our kids to Child wealfare for testing on advice of the police and was told that My eldest had been “groomed” at a level 5 which meant he was within days of being assulted by this person. I dont want to crucify anyone if the acuastions are false so i say this. IF they are convicted then they should be named. I nearly lost my son to potential nightmare had it not been for that call and none of us in my group would not have known any better.

      Reply

    • Nelle says:

      09:05am | 08/11/10

      Go Derryn!!!! Support you 100% mate on your battle

      I have no problem with naming attackers. Heard of mine? His surname was Skaf….......hence why naming them is a public service. Didn’t think so!

      And btw, ANON at the start of the thread….hon, that sounds suss as sht. I remember most of my attackers had girlfriends….and they all claimed their partners were innocent too and I was just some lying slut! Sounds eerily familar to your shrill protests and pathetic ranting! Either calm down or stfu!!

      Reply

    • Wonko the Sane says:

      02:39pm | 08/11/10

      Although I have had many cases where I blatently and obstinately would argue that ‘Hinch’ should be pronounced ‘Lynch’ I am regrettably forced to express my total agreement on this subject.

      Australia is a land where Justice is a title and not a process.

      It is a country where you can hack people’s leg off with a machette and receive 2.5 years jail because you did it out of ‘misplaced loyalty’.  Where you can kill and walk free because you might be bullied in jail. 

      It is a country where a victim of our Justice’s lack of insight sees a carer sentenced to 5 years when she should never have been in court in the first place.

      The justice system operates in secret at least in so far as its decisions are frequently a total mystery to the rest of Australia.  Those who should be punished, or at least kept out of harms reach where they can cause no more suffereing are allowed instead to walk the streets.  Those who spend their lives in a manipulated experience where even their own sense of self is destroyed and their ability to follow their own course has been totally destroyed are then jailed for the priviledge.

      If you think that such cases are unique then you are wrong.  Wonko the Sane speaks of many of these that have occurred in Australia recently.  The catalog of walk-aways is huge while the victims and their families spend the rest of their lives suffering.

      If you doubt then feel free to read of the injustices that our so-called justice system has inflicted on us.  Read the opinion of wonkospeaks.com who in this instance agrees 100% with the famous (or infamous) Derryn Hinch.

      Reply

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