I just recorded a lengthy interview with Kathy - it's the first time I've spoken with her.

Kathy Labor to the bootstraps. She's a lefty. I am convinced she's not politically motivated.

She says she was raped by Bill Shorten.

Kathy says Shorten plied her with beer mixed with lime cordial and "handed out the spliffs".

They'd known each other for some months and Shorten knew Kathy was 16 - he was 19 or 20.

Kathy says Shorten violently attacked her.

Kathy is not going away.

Kathy is committed to getting justice.

The Pell case is the impetus for her current course. She's strong, fearsome and a formidable force of nature. This will not go away.

After the OPP and Victoria Police declined to bring Kathy's allegations before a court in 2014, Kathy was asked by police to gather further and better evidence that she'd been in company with Shorten around the time of the offences.

Kathy tells me her father recently found this photo.  Police did not have it - until this week.

I will post the contents of my discussion with Kathy during the day today. 

Kathy isn't motivated by the election, nor am I.  Regardless of the outcome, I'll continue to bring you news about Kathy and the ongoing damage from what happened to her.

Hear Kathy out.  She has an important story to tell about sexual offences involving children and how those offences affect people throughout their whole lives.

This is it, in her own words.

My first memories of Bob Hawke came from "The Bob Hawke Drinking Song" which was always on the radio when I was a kid!

Hawkie made this ad for the Australian Army in the 1980s and as a digger at the time I know how proud it made us to have Hawkie speak the way he did.

It's hard to imagine Gillard, Rudd, Turnbull or Shorten bringing the natural gravitas that Hawkie brought.

The last frame of that ad says a lot about Australia - and by extension its leaders just 30 odd years ago, "Army Reserve, They're Doing Something for Australia".

When was the last time you heard a PM promote the idea that people here should be "doing something for Australia"?

No one could ever doubt Bob Hawke's love for Australia - nor his genuine desire to do things for Australia.

That love - and the unionist larrikin - was on show when Alan Bond unbolted the America's Cup! 

"You'll have to work a bit harder the next day to make up!"

Good one Hawkie!

Vale Bob Hawke - Australian.

UPDATE

Hawkie might be having a chuckle at this effort from Tony - it'll be doing the current batch of Labor logo wearers' heads in!

(Ray Hadley & 2GB colleague Ben Fordham who's setting a pace Ray can't keep up with)

Ben Fordham deserves our thanks and congratulations for his sensitive and victim-focused coverage of Kathy Sherriff's allegation she was raped as a 16 year old child - "Top QC urges police to reopen Bill Shorten investigation"

Ben took the time to listen to Kathy and to take her seriously.  That's precisely what we're told to do in #MeToo and other campaigns.

Ben revisited the history of Kathy's complaint and brought all the relevant details to his audience.  He was smart enough to realise that Kathy continues to suffer from the consequences of the attack - and that inaction by authorities exacerbates her suffering.  Ben's concern for her seemed to me to be his primary motivation in choosing to report on the matter.

But Fordham also balanced the political reality and the rights of the accused man. He reiterated that the man is innocent until proven guilty, and he spoke in a way that wasn't politically inflammatory.  The balancing of accuser and accused's rights in Fordham's quite lengthy and comprehensive report reflected real maturity and intelligence on his part. 

And Fordham had more - he had new and highly newsworthy developments and he secured an interview with a central figure in the unfolding story, the former head of Australia's National Crime Authority Peter Faris QC.

Queen's Counsel or "Silk"'s opinions are costly and usually worth listening to, particularly if the QC specialises in the area of the law that's in issue.  Faris QC practiced in crime and led the nation's highest criminal investigation and prosecution agency - his opinion when he chooses to render it on contentious criminal matters is news.  Fordham had the news sense to appreciate that - and the contacts/network to secure the only interview Faris has given on this topic.

Fordham brought us the who, what, why and where about new developments and materially changed circumstances since the last time we heard publicly about these allegations back in 2014.  He told us why it's newsworthy and why it matters today.

Compare and contrast Fordham's scholarship, research and methodical presentation with the dismissive, slipshod, misleading, lazy and contemptuous report delivered by his colleague Ray Hadley just before the 10AM news today.

Hadley told us that a large number of his listeners had sent in emails asking that Hadley report on developments in this case.

In radio, it pays to listen to the audience.  That's what talkback is all about. When your audience asks you to investigate an issue and to bring them a report on it - well that's like radio gold!  When they do it in large numbers you know you're on a winner, that the story means something, that your listeners care about it and want you to get to the bottom of it.

Hadley is no Ben Fordham in the smarts department.  He told his listeners that he was aware of Fordham's report on the matter - but then he went on to completely dismiss it.  To add insult to injury, Hadley read brief extracts from 5 year old media reports about Victoria Police declining to charge Shorten - as if that was the end of the matter.  Move along, nothing to see here.

The whole point of Ben's story was the fact of new developments in the case.  Developments that happened as Ben was speaking.  New evidence has been delivered to the police by the complainant this week.  It's evidence the police can't ignore.  And perhaps most importantly, Ben extracted the fact that one of our most senior criminal QC's says Kathy is an "excellent witness" and that in his opinion the case should now be brought to trial.

Hadley missed all that.  He missed the fact that with two days until the Federal Election, Shorten's accuser has made it very clear that she's not giving up on getting justice.  How is that not news?

This is Hadley's contribution to his listeners understanding of Kathy's case.

A few basics for Ray.

1. Ben Fordham didn't interview "someone".  "Who" is one of the first questions you should answer for your listeners.  The fact "somone" is the former NCA chief Faris QC is relevant - it's also featured on your station's website.
2. "Any number of emailers" writing to you is a pretty good clue about the importance of the matter to your listeners.  Dismiss them at your peril.
3. Fordham told us what happened this week.  You told us what happened 5 years ago.  You just forgot to add that your stuff was 5 years out of date.
4. It's an insult to your concerned listeners and to your informed and diligent colleague Ben Fordham to add "I think most people would agree" with Shorten that "a line should be drawn on this".  Most people would agree that we should ignore the victim and ignore Peter Faris QC?  Ray, you're dreaming if you think "most people will agree with Bill Shorten that there's nothing to see here".
5. Journalism, particularly intelligent investigative journalism isn't just reporting "if the case is brought before a court".  It's a terrible waste of your valuable real-estate on the radio to just report on what's brought before the courts.  Your listeners want to know when the authorities fail to act - they want you to be smart enough to bring pressure for action, to uncover corruption, to see offenders brought to justice.  Anyone can read out court reports.  You should be way ahead of the kids in the news room Ray.
6. After Fordham's report, you close with a flippant "There's a line in the sand, hence that's why this isn't going to be discussed".  Why don't you get Kathy in and explain your line in the sand to her.  Maybe it's the same "line in the sand" that Gillard used with Craig Thomson - but that's another case where it took you quite a while to get your head around what the offender Thomson had been up to.

Some complainants are bullshit artists.  But some, like Kathy, are credible people who have been hurt.

When new and credible information about our political leaders comes to light, your listeners have a right to know that you're at least trying to bring them the truth.

Otherwise you might as well just read stories out of the newspaper.  

Oh, I forgot, that's most of your show.

On 29 June 2015 Victoria's Jury Directions Act became law.

It made a number of changes to criminal trials:

• any previous requirement that evidence be corroborated was abolished
• any rules of law or practice that previously required directions (from Judge to Jury) concerning the absence of corroboration, including directions about the dangers of acting on uncorroborated evidence were abolished

The Act also requires that a judge must not

• Warn the jury that it is dangerous to act on uncorroborated evidence or give a warning to the same or similar effect; or
• Direct the jury regarding the absence of corroboration

http://www.judicialcollege.vic.edu.au/eManuals/CCB/4099.htm

These changes meant that it was up to a jury to decide if the evidence of one complainant should be accepted over the evidence of the offender.

Prior to 29 June 2015 judges would routinely warn jurors that it was dangerous to convict on the uncorroborated evidence of a single complainant.  

The Jury Directions Act 2015 contained these provisions about sexual offences:

The Act contains other important provisions for trials of accused sex offenders, reflecting changed community perceptions of the seriousness of those offences and better understanding of the various ways that individual victims react to being assaulted.

Here are a few elements:

Kathy Sherriff's complaint against Bill Shorten

In October 2013 Kathy Sherriff went to Victoria Police to lodge a report alleging Shorten had raped her.

On 13 November 2013 The Australian reported on her complaint:

"In 1985 I joined the ALP. In 86 at the age of 16 I . . . became a delegate for state and national conferences. In 86 I went to a Young Labor camp down near Geelong . . . I was alone. At about 4am there was a knock at my door. It was him at the door. He pushed me into a bathroom, up against a towel rail, pulled down my pants and raped me."

Detectives from the Victoria Police Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Unit are drawing up an investigation plan, which will include whether to pursue these records through the union itself, as well as other potential witnesses.

The alleged victim claims the first person she told about the alleged assault, several months after it happened, was a close friend who she was living with at the time but had since lost contact with.

The Australian has spoken to this friend, who asked not to be named but confirmed the conversation took place between the two women, who were about 16 or 17 at the time.

While she did not remember the name of the alleged assailant mentioned at the time, this second woman said her friend had described a sexual assault taking place during a Young Labor overnight camp in 1986.

The alleged assault had devastated her friend, she said, and resulted in her losing her faith in politics. The two women have not spoken to each other in several years.

Victoria Police last night confirmed they were "investigating a report of an alleged historical sexual assault".

"As the matter is subject to an ongoing investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further," they said.

On 21 August 2014 Victoria Police announced that no charges would be laid against Shorten.

Note that Shorten was not cleared, rather the OPP advised that there was no reasonable prospect of conviction - based on the evidence and the law that then applied.

Victoria Police then decided not to charge Shorten.

The Jury Directions Act 2015 became law eight months after the OPP's advice.

Compare and contrast Kathy's complaint against Shorten with the complaint against Cardinal Pell.

The Pell Case

In 2016 Victoria Police sent a brief of evidence against Cardinal Pell to the Office of Public Prosecutions.  The OPP returned the brief to Victoria Police without recommending charges.

Later, in October 2016 detectives travelled to The Vatican to conduct a recorded interview under caution in which allegations were put to the Cardinal.  Cardinal Pell vehemently denied the allegations against him.

Police then submitted a revised brief to the OPP for a second assessment.  That second brief also resulted in no firm recommendation that charges be laid.

On 17 May 2017 Victoria Police made this announcement:

Victoria Police can confirm that it has received advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions relating to a current investigation into historical sexual assault allegations," she said.

"As with any investigation it will be a decision for Victoria Police as to whether charges are laid. As this remains an ongoing investigation, we will not be commenting further at this time."

There was no announcement that the OPP had recommended charges be laid against Pell - for the simple reason that the OPP made no such recommendation.  

It was up to Victoria Police as to whether Pell would face charges or not.  It didn't take them long to decide.

On 29 June 2017 Victoria Police held a press conference to announce it had charged George Pell with historical sexual offences.

Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said, "Advice was received and sought from the Office of Public Prosecutions, however ultimately the choice to charge Cardinal Pell was one that was made by Victoria Police".

In August 2018 Cardinal Pell was tried in Victoria's County Court before a jury. That trial resulted in a deadlocked or hung jury with no conviction.

In November 2018 Cardinal Pell was retried in the County Court.  

The evidence advanced by the prosecution relied entirely on the account of a single accuser, one of the alleged victims.

On 11 December 2018 that second jury found Pell guilty of 5 historical sexual offences against children.

Summary

In similar circumstances, Victoria Police decided to proceed against Pell - but not Shorten. That's now history, but the progress of the Pell case now provides the basis for revisiting the Shorten matter.

The fact of the recent Pell conviction in Victoria on the evidence of a single accuser, along with changes to the law since 2015 means the OPP's 2014 "no reasonable prospect of conviction" advice about Shorten is no longer valid.

If Kathy Sherriff wanted to let the Shorten matter rest, then we would not be having this conversation.

But Kathy continues to suffer because of what happened to her.

There is no shortage of contemporary wisdom about the importance of believing complainants.

That doesn't mean Shorten is guilty.  But it must mean that Kathy's complaint be taken seriously.

The question of Shorten's guilt can only be decided by a trial in a court.

And that's exactly what should happen next.

The claim

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has made wage growth promises a key plank of Labor's election strategy.

"Everything is going up. Childcare is up 28 per cent. Out of pockets to see the doctor up 20 per cent. Specialists … nearly 40 per cent.

"You name it, everything is going up except your wages," he said during the first leaders' debate.

So, is everything going up except your wages?

RMIT ABC Fact Check investigates.

The verdict

Mr Shorten's claim doesn't stack up.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics' measure of wages, the wage price index, has not fallen under the Coalition, though it is sluggish.

Experts contacted by Fact Check took issue with Mr Shorten's claim, as the WPI has recently outstripped the bureau's measure of prices, the consumer price index.

Whilst childcare and medical expenses are up in the CPI, other contributors to the index actually fell.

This means that real wages — that is, wages taking into account inflation — are currently on the rise.

The last time they recorded negative growth was the year to March 2017.

Experts noted that low wage growth is common in many countries at the moment.

Authorised by the candidate "Hot Albo"

Thanks for the tip to TazSpinZone who writes:

YEP, it's 'HOT ALBO'. Not joking. ALBO has authorized this dribble regarding 'How I used to look back in the day' to somehow tie it into some political point. Goes to show, "You can take the rub and tug out of the boy, but you can't.....

The Anthony Albanese official post tells us:

The election is 48 hours away! Show your Grayndler pride this Saturday with a limited edition 'Hot Albo' yard sign. This run is strictly limited so get in fast. Collect from 334A Marrickville Road, Marrickville.

Authorised by Anthony Albanese, 334A Marrickville Road, Marrickville.

Mid-life crisis anyone?

Earlier this morning Kathy Sherriff made this statement:

I have received further contact from Victoria Police this morning and I am satisfied they are taking this matter seriously and appropriate action will be taken in relation to the new information I have presented to them.

Due to the nature of this case I will not be making any further posts in relation to police investigation.

ENDS

I posted this response to Kathy on her Facebook page.

Kathy is in an awful position right now.

She's had to deal with 6,000 comments on her Facebook page - some understanding and supportive but many of them just hideous, awful, inhuman, vile invective.

I've tried to reason with a few of them - with little success.

I posted some of the changed laws in answer to Bonny - and got a mouthful in return from Bonny who can apparently read my mind:

I don't need you to educate me on sexual assault. The problem people like you are making, is that you assume if women don't publicly post about their ordeals, it never happened to them.

ENDS

I'll separately post some of the changed law in Victoria since the OPP decided there was no reasonable prospect of convicting Shorten back in August 2014.

I think the Pell case proves that now there is more than a reasonable prospect.  Kathy deserves her day in court and so does Shorten.

Good onya Bill for finding 'em and asking 'em.

It's amazing to watch Stan Grant's reaction.

He hadn't heard of the allegations against the man who would be PM - OK, fair enough, maybe he'd missed the stories.

But what does matter is that Stan just does not care.

There was no, "What?  Tell me more.  This is the age of unfolding revelations about men who rape or abuse women.  Are you telling me the next PM of Australia.....etc etc etc".

None of that.  Just complete indifference.

Might be different if he had his concerned face on and was filming an ad for White Ribbon or pretending to be real during a nicely paid speech.

Good on you Pauline!!!!

You go girl!