The Rule of Law, Due Diligence and The Lust For Vengeance
What initially may seem to be a series of unrelated events finds an uncomfortable outcome when their intersection is considered.
The Chronology
In June 2016 2 Greens Senators failed to do due diligence in relation to their foreign citizenship prior to nominating for the federal election.
In late January 2017 The NSW Greens formulated a sexual harassment policy
16 February 2017 The Greens NSW first received a formal complaint about the alleged incident involving journalist Lauren Ingram
20 February 2017 The member was formally and indefinitely suspended and all member rights were removed
18 June 2017 Journalist Lauren Ingram alleged via her Twitter account that she was sexually assaulted by a NSW Greens party member and former employee
5 August 2017 ABC published an article contending the NSW Greens knew about Lauren Ingram rape allegations months before taking action
“The man in question has now responded, saying he denies all the allegations.
‘He wrote in an email that he believes that in Australia, justice is served through our established justice system and that it cannot be served through the “social media lynch mob”’
5 October 2017 The New York Times published sexual assault claims from actors Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan against Harvey Weinstein
Mr Weinstein subsequently denied at least some of the allegations against him.
15 October 2017 Actress Alyssa Milano encouraged women to share their tales of sexual harassment and assault on social media using the #MeToo hashtag.
18 Oct 2017 Journalist Tracey Spicer said on Twitter “Currently, I am investigating two long-term offenders in our media industry. Please, contact me privately to tell your stories.”
27 October 2017 The High Court found 2 Greens Senators were disqualified from being chosen or sitting in the Senate because they were foreign citizens at the time they nominated for election. Their failure to do due diligence in relation to that foreign citizenship in June 2016 was fatal to their respective cases.
27 November 2017 Allegations against Channel 9 television personality Don Burke were published
Mr Burke subsequently denied at least some of the allegations against him.
30 November 2017 The Daily Telegraph ran a front page story on allegations against Geoffrey Rush
Mr Rush denied the allegations against him.
2 December 2017 Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said on Twitter “First Don Burke then Geoffrey Rush. As more & more stories of men in the media and entertainment industry comes out it is up to the rest of us to listen and believe the women who dare to speak out. They are brave and deserve space to be heard”
8 December 2017 Geoffrey Rush commenced defamation proceedings against The Daily Telegraph
Discussion
In a civilised and just society the Rule of Law applies equally to everyone. Within that society the following apply in respect of that Rule of Law:
1 The presumption of innocence
2 The right to a fair trial
3 An unproven and untested allegation is not determinative of guilt
4 Not all complainants and witnesses are truthful
Brave is supporting the Rule of Law when the lust is to deny the right to a fair trial.
The space to be heard is at a fair trial, properly constituted under the law.
Dangerous is to condemn someone on the basis of an unproven and untested allegation.
Hypocrisy is to demand human rights for one sector of the community whilst denying them to another.
