Ivan Milat today, without any legal representation, which includes Legal Aid, lost an application in the High Court to appeal against his 1996 convictions.The 59-year-old had sought special leave to appeal the murder convictions of seven backpackers and one count of detaining a person for advantage.
He is serving a life sentence in Goulburn Jail for the seven backpackers whose bodies were found in the Belanglo State Forrest, in the NSW Southern Highlands, between September 1992 and November 1993.
This is a case that deserves Legal Aid, so that a person who is convicted of the worst crime can take his case to the Highest Court in the land.
The High Court in Sydney today refused Mr Milat special leave to appeal, saying a NSW Court of Criminal Appeal decision to disallow his appeal was correct.
"There is no reason to doubt the correctness of the decision by the NSW Criminal Court of Appeal," Justice William Gummow said.
Justice Gummow said no argument put forward by Mr Milat proved any miscarriage of justice had occurred.
But there was definitely no argument put forward today by a lawyer or barrister who has the legal knowledge and a full understanding of the law.
Mr Milat had argued the trial judge had erred by giving the jury an alternative account of the case which was not put forward by the prosecution. According to Mr Milat, this allowed the jury to find him guilty of detaining for advantage, which was in turn used to convict him of the murder charges.
As I have said perhaps not the best argument or a professional argument and who knows what the outcome could have been, if in fact he was provided with legal assistance, considering he has been convicted of the worst crime in Australia.
Questions arise, do we want the truth? Is it worth finding out what really happened in the case? Is the real killer still out there? Should people convicted of the worst crimes have the opportunity to take the matter to the highest court considering they will suffer the worst consequences and one of the longest sentences?
Not just that but if you read the transcripts of the case the discrepancies that appear are outstanding as well as the venom of the media who made sure he was convicted by the hype not just in Australia but Britain and the world.
SIX YEARS IN HELL! The Sorry Saga of Ivan Robert Milat
This month, May 2003, Ivan Milat will have spent six years in segregation/isolation without any charge, inquiry, or breach of prison rules leveled against him.
He was placed in this situation and now at the High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn Correctional Centre by Bob Carr and his merry men and by George Savvas, serving 34 years.
Savvas an ex-kingpin drug dealer with Labor party close connections who had been employed by state and federal authorities to discredit groups and individuals who were supporting Ivan Milat, in his quest to establish his innocence of the horrendous murders of which he had been convicted.
Savvas, with the collusion of state and federal authorities was allowed to "walk" from Goulburn Gaol to gather intelligence and to act as an agent provocateur against Mr Milat supporters. Savvas had not been fed enough information by his minders against his targets. He was sent to the home of a Milat supporter, (big mistake). The "target" quickly smelt a deceased rodent.
NSW Prisoner Hunger Strike: Ivan Milat
Bob Carr's Anti Ivan Milat Campaign
It looks like Premier Carr's anti Milat Campaign is working well again, his application to the Judge in chambers to seek an order to be allowed to orally argue his appeal to the High Court was refused.
NSW Prisoner Hunger Strike: Ivan Milat day 28
Hello, I hope all is fine with you. Thank you for the letter dated 8th March, received today 12th, very inspiring.
Forgive me for that incoherent eight pager I wrote out, what had occurred. I was three-four days into this protest, no eating any food.
The messages my body sends to my mind is basically saying there is some serious concern on what I'm doing, one gets a clear impression that death is imminent, particularly being in my sealed up box *my cell* (in ordinary circumstances it's a fine line between normality and abnormality.
MILAT WAS FRAMED FOR TOURISM $$$$$ AND THE WINNER IS? NOT IVAN MILAT!
The bodies of seven backpackers were discovered at the Belanglo Forest in 1992. The victims were German, British and Australian origin.
Australia at the time of the discoveries was well advanced in its bid for the Olympic Games to be held here in year 2000.
The murders were headlines overseas. The State government's public relations machine swung into action. An unprecedented $500,000 reward was offered for the heads of the perpetrators. (Commonsense says there was more than one assailant). Head of the International Olympic Committee, Juan Samaranch, was questioning whether Australia was a safe place to visit.
By Just Us 28 May 28, 04
THE JUDGE: This man should never have addressed the court with out a lawyer especially being kept in the conditions at the High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn in solitary confinement described as a "box within a box" with "no fresh air or sunlight".
Mr Milat has self-harmed, due to indefinite prison solitary confinement during his stay at the Supermax and has been denied legal material for his case.
The questions arise, like did he have a choice? What happened to equality before the law? Do you think a person convicted of the most serious crime should be able to take his case to the Highest Court? If not why not?
Justice Kirby concerned at self-representation
High Court judge Michael Kirby says Australia's justice system is weakened by the increasing number of people representing themselves in court. Justice Kirby says he agrees with One Nation founder Pauline Hanson's concerns about the high cost of legal advice.
Litigants are drowning: in the High Court
There were so many self represented litigants appearing in the High Court that more than half of its registry staff's time was taken up in dealing with them. The "go it alone" litigants have to take on tasks well above their qualified league causing them stress. This growing problem cannot be left unchecked.
Related:
Milat Cuff-Linked to nurses missing since 1980
Why did it take them so long to get around to dealing with the 23-year-old case? Did they find a new way to solve crime? Or and easier way to set someone up for unsolved crime?
Civil libertarians condemn planned changes to prisoners' privacy rights The New South Wales Government is using a recent case involving [framed] serial killer Ivan Milat to justify its decision to remove the privacy rights of prisoners. [But really just another attack on Ivan Milat from Parliament House.
Just wipe your arse on Ivan again Minister?
Mr Amery Minister for Corrective services has a problem with finding a toilet roll to wipe his bottom. Justice Action is appalled at the attacks by Amery and others in parliament on Ivan Milat's right to privacy and their attacks on the Privacy Commissioner and his office.
NSW Department of Corrective Services attack right to privacy
Corrective Services Minister Richard Amery has a problem attacking prisoners right to privacy. Justice Action is appalled at the attacks by Amery and others in parliament on Ivan Milat's right to privacy and their attacks on the Privacy Commissioner and his office.
Tourist Industry Crime and Trial By Media Coincidences
Falconio magistrate closes court
THE hearing into the murder of British tourist Peter Falconio has been closed to the public. Magistrate Alasdair McGregor has closed the court for part of the testimony of Mr Falconio's girlfriend Joanne Lees.
Ch/9 News? Or Ch/9's Department of Public Prosecutions?
Bradley Murdoch committal, lawyer calls for fair hearing
The lawyer of the man accused of murdering British backpacker Peter Falconio has spoken to the media in Darwin.
Peter Beattie nominated as Australian of the year: Howard
Bradley Murdoch the man alleged to have murdered English tourist Peter Falconio who has been acquitted of rape and abduction charges in the South Australian District Court.
Tourist dollar drives set-up for crime
The man alleged to have murdered English tourist Peter Falconio has been acquitted of rape and abduction charges in the South Australian District Court. Bradley John Murdoch, 45, was charged with two counts of rape, two counts of false imprisonment and two counts of indecent assault after an alleged incident in South Australia's Riverland in August last year.
Supreme Court rejects Nine appeal
CHANNEL Nine lost a Supreme Court appeal today to have a suppression order on details of the case of missing backpacker Peter Falconio lifted. The Full Bench of the NT Supreme Court today ruled Magistrate Alasdair McGregor had the power to make the order banning from publication some details of the case.
Innocent until proven guilty? Not in Australia's outback!
There is no way that Bradley John Murdoch can get a fair trial in the Northern Territory. The entire jury pool is already contaminated, the general public have accepted the verdict of the Northern Territory News and the NT Police State has turned on the cone of silence. Maybe some of the reporters might want to ask Director of Public Prosecutions Rex Wilde QC just how he is going to secure a conviction when a body has not been found. Surely the NT bureaucracy learnt from the Lindy Chamberlain case that it is not a good idea to jail someone for murder when you haven't got a body. Maybe they have the same people working on the case. The NT Police forensic team certainly do.
Taken "A Dingo Took My Baby!"
They were the words that Lindy Chamberlain had screamed out into the blackness of the cold night in a camping ground close to Ayers Rock, Central Australia, on the night of August 17, when she discovered that her nearly ten-week-old baby, Azaria had been taken by a dingo.
Man Says He Shot Dingo That Snatched Baby SYDNEY, Australia (July 5) - A distraught mother's scream 24 years ago that a dingo snatched her baby from a camp site near Ayers Rock in the Australian Outback ignited one of Australia's most enduring mysteries. An elderly man's claim that he retrieved the infant's bloodied body from the jaws of the wild dog has revived the case and - if true - could finally lead to the discovery of Azaria Chamberlain's body.
Police Corruption Links
Redfern drug dealers: Who is Mr Big?
A senior Redfern police officer says a flourishing illegal drug trade is the main cause of problems in Redfern's Aboriginal community, known as The Block. But just like Kings Cross it doesn't get cleaned up and the Mr Big's are living like pigs. Ha ha. That's right someone supplies and someone accumulates large sums of money and someone has targeted Redfern and allows it to flourish there.
NSW Police seizing assets to bolster budgets?
Seized assets to bolster police budgets is going to place crime solving into the corporate arena. Why should they go after a common criminal who is poor? Instead they'll be searching for assets and then solving crime. After all, police budgets will depend on it.
Court accuses police of planting evidence
A magistrate in the south-western New South Wales city of Wagga Wagga says police there nearly beat a man to death, fabricated evidence about him, and later lied in court about the incident.
NSW ex-Inspector Gadget claims credibility again
Just how credible is this former cop? Small's claim on Four Corners [Walls, a government propaganda machine], tonight, [that], the Government warned about Redfern problems before the riot. Like he's Mr squeaky-clean? Bad news more like it, Small was the say anything, do anything, ex-cop from hell for Bob Carr and his cronies.
Capsicum spray killed Brisbane man
Remember one "Flick" and they're gone. A 26-year-old man has died in Brisbane after a scuffle with police in the inner-city suburb of Highgate Hill. Police say they went to a unit complex just after midnight to speak to the man. Inspector Ian Robinson says police used capsicum spray and the man collapsed and died.
Clive Small, NSW Inspector Gadget
NSW Police has revived controversial plans for a specialist discriminative squad to tackle the wave of violent crime that has plagued Sydney's south-west for more than a decade.
Man wrongly imprisoned awarded $1m
A Sydney man who was acquitted of murder has won more than $1 million in damages for wrongful arrest and imprisonment. The New South Wales Supreme Court has agreed with Garry Raymond Nye's said that the charge was maliciously laid. Acting on a tip-off, [?], police arrested and charged the 51-year-old with the shooting murder of Roy Thurgar at Randwick in Sydney's east in 1991. He spent 16 months in custody before he was acquitted by a jury.
NSW Police Force: Bent cop Cribb should be treated no different
34-year-old police inspector Shane Cribb, who shot a man shouldn't be treated differently than any other person charged with the same offence. The Daily Telegraph this morning is calling for special consideration for the cop.
One arrested in random raids: Police
NSW Police said more than 200 officers raided homes in the largest operation ever conducted by Task Force Gain, set up to investigate gun crime in Sydney's south-west.
Random police raid terrorised residents
A police task Force randomly targeting gang warfare [and criminals green lighted by police themselves], is investigating nine murders and one disappearance, including a shooting death that sparked a dramatic random dawn raid in south-western Sydney yesterday.
Drive-by shootings: test your political IQ?
What if since the Wood Royal Commission into police corruption the drugs moved from Kings Cross to Cabramatta. Then since the the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Cabramatta the drugs moved to Bankstown/Greenacre. Giving police more power might just be more fuel on the fire.
NSW drug wars: family feud not responsible for shootings
New South Wales Shadow Police Minister Peter Debnam says he does not believe recent shootings in Sydney's south-west are the result of a family feud. And he's not on his own.
Police WarLords set to take over Sydney again
Police warlords are set to take over Sydney's suburbs because police are not being supervised properly.
Jailed man's conviction to be reviewed
The New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal will today review the conviction of a man, after claims in the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) last year that police planted weapons and faked suspects' confessions.
Who is bad?
Super Rat? M5? M11? K8? N2? So I trust that some people who, with the photos and guns guessed that a jury would quickly establish a case against a profiled person whom, you just had a picture and a history of. Common knowledge? The government knew their victims would take the blame. Not just chess in court, 'moving around the pieces', but 'putting false evidence, or not enough evidence before the jury."
2,500, crooked detectives? Or a corrupt Government?
The Wood Royal Commission into police corruption. Where did the police learn their trade skills? Led by example perhaps?
How to become corruption resistant in NSW
Don't trust those who cannot prove themselves with the little amounts of trust you give them. Just because they have a letter of perceived trust doesn't mean they can be trusted.
This is not how you eat 'antisocial behaviour'
Process corruption, perjury, planting of evidence, verbals, fabricated confessions, denial of suspects rights, a solicitor to induce confessions, tampering with electronic recording equipment, framing. Generally green lighting crime, and I say Murder, including the kids who overdosed on heroin. No doubt.
Black Knight - Long way to go home
In line with the current climate of police corruption and the demise of the reform unit set up by Wood, these facts ought to have been a good reason to leave Moroney out of the package as Commissioner.
Bob down and sniff my arse
These are serious invasions of privacy and draconian laws? Where are our democratic soldiers, the lawyers and the barristers who need to take on the government in the courts? Are they plastic? Or to busy feathering their nests? Or have they been cleverly purchased by this black government. Drug test police and politicians, and have the tests independently accessed.
Come in spinner? Or Come in sinner?
"You don't have, in my view very vigilant processes. I suppose it's akin to the problem of corruption within the police," he told the ABC radio. " People say there's corruption with the police (but) do you get the police to investigate problems within their own ranks?
Deeds
I am disturbed by Governments 'actions' in relation to shuffling the police service. Clive Small seconded into Parliament like a cocky in a perch. A breach of the fundamental Separation of Powers Doctrine does not in my view allow the thought of intervening, planning, or shuffling to stack the deck of our police service. The one that suppose to be autonomous according to Lord Denning. Where the Parliamentary Secretary can ask the commissioner of police to 'report' then sack him if he is not satisfied with such report.
Truth
Who is telling the truth? Well I guess Dr. Ed. Chadbourne or Mr. Peter Ryan may have the answer to that. Dr. Chadbourne sacked by Peter Ryan and more specifically in my view because he elected deputy commissioners Dave Madden and Andrew Scipione as the best men in the service in relation to his qualifications to make a recommendation in his capacity as human resources.That is if you believe that a Dr. can be corrupted.
Honesty
What is happening between the Police Service and politics is quite extraordinary at the moment. If stand over tactics don't work tell half the truth honestly and follow the example of sheep. Another word for it is sleaze, yeah. Another word for it is workplace harassment. Another word for it is bribing a Police Officer. Another word for it is misleading Parliament.
Tele Tales
Most people I know don't buy the Daily Telegraph. Why? Because of the lies and propaganda purported by them.
Lord Denning
Interesting how a member of the Police Board Mr. Tim Priest would hold grave fears for his safety from dangerous senior police but fails to name them or have them sacked. Rather Priest resigns as if he had no powers. Could that mean what he was saying is that the Governments are also corrupt?
Corrosive
Clive Small is Bob Carr's choice for the new Police Commissioner. It could only be the case considering his, Small's special appointment into Parliament House. Small who suffers from the little person syndrome is the ideal bend over boy who gets shuffled through his corrupt actions. Rolling the legal system for him after the fact, just like his predecessor Roger the dodger Rogerson.
Black Nexus
The Separation of Powers Doctrine is nowcontaminated witharangeofcolours, now leaving us with a black shirt on a once blue bridge that crossed that thin blue line. The 'Amery and Woodham show'.
Same boat
The Premier, Bob Carr, relies on a militia. A gang of bikies and our Police Service, to show all of us he is no murderer. He should be taken to the task along with his partners in crime like Clive Small to account for those people who like my self have been maliciously assaulted and who have complained, without any service and those who cannot speak for themselves who were murdered, like Terry Falconer. Terry murdered in custody.
Good Cop
Why have our democratic institutions broken down? It's not just the criminal justice system. The Anti-Corruption Network webmaster@anti-corruption-network.org exposes the same issues. A group of white-collar workers who say they have suffered as follows:
Dangerous
I refer to the Daily Telegraph article 22 March 2002 under the heading Priest quits advisory job.
Partners in crime - history!
Roger Rogerson, the old hero, who never faced a result in the Lanfranchi, or Huckstepp murders, was let off in my opinion when the New South Wales Government rolled the legal system (deciding what evidence to give the police prosecutor) to have the jury believe the illusion they (the Government wanted to create).Similarly, Peter Ryan facing the Police Integrity Commission for questions about his involvement in the demise of the dysfunctional reform unit. Chess in the court (rolling the legal system).
Police Chronology 1994-2001
View events in the NSW Police Force since the Wood Royal Commission began in 1994. 1994 May Justice James Wood is appointed Commissioner of the Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service ('WRC').
