The Other Side of the Fence: Setting the record straight

The Other Side of the Fence

Setting the record straight

by

J.S. Reid

Smashwords Edition

* * * * *

Published by J.S. Reid at Smashwords

The Other Side of the Fence

Copyright 2015 by J.S. Reid

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter One Who’s who in the Zoo

Allison Curry

The Advocate’s role

Nova Peris

Jah Coe

Chapter 2 Warding off Disaster

Great day for Curry and Coe

Enter the Batman Family

Here we go around the merry go round

Chapter 3 -Putting the pieces together

Pandora’s box and the poison within

Let the games begin

Dancing with Bullies

Chapter 4 The nightmare begins

The Stakeholder pool broadens

Don’t shoot the messenger

Stepping down to move forward

Chapter 5 - Sleepless nights and things that aren’t right

Starting all over again

Frustration and suffering, hand in hand

Chapter 6 Legal threats and commitments unmet

Initiatives and commitments to meet

Testing the data in Pandora’s box

What to do when nothing adds up

Chapter 7 The Media campaign and a massive amount of pain

Northern Territory News

Uninvited internet guests

Sex, lies and photographs

Chapter 8 When the truth is no where to be found

False allegations and no where to hide

Silencing the lambs

Misinformed actions and the cost of it all

Chapter 9 The other side of the fence

Walking the walk along with the talk

Stakeholder pool and collateral damage

References

Message from the author

Current Projects

Connect with the author

Introduction

Some people will say anything when confronted with awkward questions in defense of not being able to find the right answer and it is not until we go looking for verification of the data that we are able to test the validity of the information we have been given. In reality this happens a billion times a day... in workplaces and in our public and private dealings throughout life. Every day we are provided with answers to questions that have no connection with fact or truth, yet a great deal of the time this information is taken on board as gospel - then repeated as being evidence based - and before long a situation has arisen where assumptions become facts which get documented and inevitably become part of history. Whether it relates to actions or the accuracy of data, ensuring the highest level of integrity is applied at all times when recording events or relying on data is paramount.

The abridged version of ‘The other side of the fence’, although not as in-depth as the full manuscript which was written to encapsulate the complement of written evidence and events associated with this matter, does provide evidence to support the claim that Senator Nova Peris misled the Senate when she alleged she was the victim of a blackmail attempt to extract money from her and embarrass her family. The evidence published in this Chronicle is directly related to the Senator’s allegations and the most soul destroying and unbelievable of advocacy cases I have ever managed. I am unable to include all of the information attached to the events cited in this Chronicle or the full complement of written evidence (emails, affidavits, text messages and a myriad of other documents) until the investigation into this matter by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) concludes.

From the beginning of this case I was resolute that the majority of the information remain private but by linking this case during a statement in Parliament to a completely different matter that had never been broached with Senator Peris, she opened the door to present the material with the aim of setting the record straight. Drawing public attention to the Senator was the last thing that anyone wanted to do, unless it was in a positive light. We were all volunteers in the community and not inclined to get embroiled in national scandals as a result of an Australian Senator’s indiscretions. Although cognisant of this from the beginning and believing every precaution was taken to avoid the risk… here we all were, more than one year later, right in the middle of bogus blackmail claims - allegations of trying to extort money - AFP meetings - legal threats – uninformed twitter trolls attacking Miracles volunteers and the families involved in the matter and it just kept getting worse. The only solution in sight was to get this Chronicle condensed, updated and published as soon as possible.

I don’t think I ever disputed that there was enough evidence to warrant further investigation of the material we had in our possession but the water was murky and there was concern that Miracles would be getting involved in a matter that would probably result in the messenger being shot… and in this case it was going to be a group of volunteers who donated their time to provide free advocacy representation for those in need. Miracles Australia Inc. was a health promoting charity focused on providing advocacy services and collecting an evidence base to raise awareness for avoidable risks associated with bullying, family violence – alcohol and substance abuse - depression – suicide etc... and getting involved in a national incident wasn’t included in our strategic plan and it certainly wasn’t the path we wanted to go down.

I still believe to this day that it was never Miracles responsibility to investigate material that may relate to inappropriate behaviour of a politician - that task lies with the appropriate agencies or departments who deal with the indiscretions of those in public office. The advocate’s job from day one was to represent three families and facilitate an amicable agreement with the Senator - as per the recommended guidelines set out by the Department of Human Services so the suffering of many individuals could be alleviated. My job, as an advocate, was to reduce the risk of psychological injury for stakeholders and the children and not to get embroiled in a war of words or scandal over a matter that had already caused so much suffering and angst for the individuals involved.

Prior to scratching at the surface and revealing the ugly truth, I was protective of the Senator’s reputation and went out of my way to ignore any perceived indiscretions but as the case progressed and I digested the content of the many thousands of documents, the realisation of the type of person we were all dealing with left me battling with my conscience and all I wanted to do was get an acceptable outcome for the families and disengage with the Senator as soon as possible. The evidence that was available exposed a lack of public accountability associated with the Senator in many areas and a superficial ness that was well concealed. The Senator seemed to be protected from public scrutiny and considered above reproach with the best Teflon coating I had ever seen.

Miracles summed up the whole affair succinctly in a communication sent to the AFP in defence of the unfounded allegations the Senator had lodged with them when stating the following: From the perspective of our committee, having been involved in the matter from the beginning and in receipt of the process maps, timelines and corresponding evidence, it is unbelievable that the Senator can make slanderous and misleading statements under parliamentary privilege and abuse the services of Agencies such as the AFP, to create a smoke screen in an effort to dodge the scrutiny of the public. As a result of the research and evidence collected, Miracles agree that this matter involves threats, attempts to blackmail with the purpose of extracting money and the hacking and leaking of false information with the intent to discredit people and cause harm; but it was not the Senator who was the victim here.

The Senator was advised several times (in writing) before August 2014 that Miracles would be commencing a public awareness campaign and securing legal advice for the families so they could deal with the Senator on a level playing field. Given this fact, it was quite a surprise to hear the Senator state in parliament that ‘as a result of the aggrieved parties having exhausted all legal options available to them etc… ’ considering the Senator was well aware that the families had not yet taken any legal action and were about to commence execution of their legal rights.

Miracles involvement with the Senator over the past 14 months has been the most unpleasant of experiences and extremely traumatic for all concerned. We have been forced to put all of our activities on hold until the facts and truth surrounding this matter are available so the Senator can no longer hamper a national mental health initiative that has been over 19 years in the making - driven by a dedicated group of volunteers who are actually trying to make a difference in the lives of all Australians.

What started out as a simple case of taking emotions out of the equation to negotiate amicable access agreements for three families managed to spiral out of control to the extent where the whole nation was involved. To this day I have not met Senator Nova Peris or even spoken to her directly and after what I have witnessed and experienced over the past 18 months, nor from this time forward do I have any desire to.

The body of evidence presents a pervasive pattern of deceit, abuse of the legal system, manipulation of government services, illegal hacking and the tabling of false and misleading statements - under the auspices of integrity.

Chapter One – Who’s who at the Zoo

When I spoke to Allison Curry over the phone, it was obvious there was something wrong. She was short of breath and her words were hard to understand and muffled by the attempts to fill her lungs with enough air to speak. I managed to work out that her eldest son Jah was in the back of a police wagon in Darwin and she was pretty upset about it all. I knew Jah (pronounced J-eye) and it sounded out of character that he would be mixed up with the police. I told Allison I would come over for a coffee. By the time I got to Allison’s she had recovered her breath and face to face it was so much easier to understand what she was saying.

Jah rang me on his way to the Police station today, he got off the plane on his way back from Hong Kong and was arrested Allison said.

As Allison and I sat down to coffee she told me that Jah been arrested for failing to turn up to a court hearing that he had not received any notification about and then he went off to Hong Kong unaware that a warrant had been issued for his arrest. Jah had moved to Darwin with his partner and her family and now he was separated from his partner and Allison wanted Jah to come back to Canberra - she was concerned that he was fighting a losing battle staying there. With the track record that family has and the violence during Christmas! Allison said getting extremely upset and it’s Jah facing court, what a joke.

Allison had four children and against the odds as a white woman with aboriginal children, she had raised her kids without taking on board the prejudices that existed in her own family and also from others around her. Although there were many opportunities for the kids to find trouble, Allison filled their time with sport and activities that would keep them out of trouble and at school. Allison was so proud when Jah’s finished year 12 and his football career was heading toward A-grade… but then he became a father and although disappointed he would not fulfil his football aspirations, Allison was pleased to be welcoming her grandchild into the family.

I saw Jah in Canberra after the death of World Runner Daniel Batman (car accident in Darwin on the 26th June 2012). Jah and Daniel were related through their ex-partners. Daniel Batman had been married to Senator Nova Peris and