So, when Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion heard about child abuse happening in Northern Territory gaols, he says his interest wasn't "piqued" enough to investigate. Contributing editor-at-large Tess Lawrence says that reminds her of something.
NIGEL SCULLION'S “INTEREST” IS NOT PIQUED. Does that ring a Pell?
Torture and bullying of young boys does not pique him, nor tear-gassing them, nor pack-attacking them, nor adult males stripping boys naked, indulging in what is clearly sado-masochistic conduct and paedophilic behaviour towards our children.
Nor does beating up our kids and forcing fellow inmates to turn agressor and become accomplices in the thuggery, throwing hot water upon their restrained mates.
Nope. Not interested.
Not a pique. Not a peep.
Not interested in the shocking brutality exposed by Monday night's Four Corners on the ABC ?
No. In his own outrageous words:
"I had never seen the vision, it hadn't come to my attention ... hadn't piqued my interest sufficiently.”
#ntpol #auspol "Hadn't piqued my interest sufficiently": Nigel Scullion on Don Dale abuses: https://t.co/E45v7ISlCa via @YouTube
— David Marler (@Qldaah) July 26, 2016
Never mind that he is their legal and moral guardian. Never mind that he should be their champion.
Never mind that he's paid a substantial amount of money from the national public purse to do so.
Never mind that he sits atop the political dung heap that is laughingly called the juvenile justice system; more aptly referred to as the juvenile injustice system.
Since 2013, Senator Scullion has been clearly the ill-informed and lazy Federal minister for Indigenous affairs and, what's more, he's the sole Senator from the Northern Territory who is embedded in the Coalition.
He apparently chose to have dinner with a staffer instead.
With respect, I question the paleo cred of the Scullion staffer.
Even if Annabel Crabb was again coming to dinner, I'd have the tele on to watch Four Corners. So would Annabel, I wager.
Minister Scullion says he didn't watch #4Corners until @TurnbullMalcolm alerted him? I spoke with his office at around 1pm yesterday. 🤔🤔🤔
— Caro Meldrum-Hanna (@caromeldrum) July 26, 2016
Scullion's office asked me for an advanced copy of the #4Corners program yesterday. He went out to dinner last night instead of watching?
— Caro Meldrum-Hanna (@caromeldrum) July 26, 2016
NIGEL SCULLION AND GEORGE PELL: BOTH DISINTERESTED IN CHILD ABUSE
Remember the shocking moment earlier this year when Cardinal George Pell, giving evidence by video link from Rome to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, said in response to a question about Father Gerald Ridsdale, incarcerated notorious serial paedophile priest and Pell's former flatmate, that knowledge or otherwise of his offending
“...a sad story that wasn't of much interest to me.”
Cardinal George Pell's preposterous assertions drew gasps of disbelief from the audience, as did Senator Nigel Scullion's comments.
On Tuesday, in revelations that warrant his immediate political castration, Scullion confessed to journalists that not only had he not seen Monday night's heavily publicised Four Corners expose on the brutality and torture favoured in the Deep North's youth detention centres, akin to the notorious techniques of Abu Ghraib, but the disinterested Minister didn't bother watching it at all until a furious Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ordered him to get off his privileged white posterior (my words) and watch the program.
From the ABC website are these amazing admissions:
Senator Scullion said he had not even seen the vision on Four Corners until the Prime Minister called him and prompted him to take a look.
"I was on the way home from a family of staff member, and I was having dinner, so we didn't watch it," Senator Scullion said.
"And the PM rang me, fairly agitated and said, 'Have you seen it?' And I said, 'No, mate.' He said, 'You better go home and see it. Give me a ring'.
"So when I did see it, it shocked me to the core."
Nigel Scullion’s disinterest in Four Corners’ report is ‘damning’https://t.co/tSe1WqsA1n
— lynlinking (@lynlinking) July 27, 2016
Yeah, right!
Well might the Prime Minister be agitated. So is the Australian public.
Turnbull had been busy during the night and early morning, liaising with various groups and individuals in almost a solitary effort to manage the crisis and present the next morning's current affairs shows with a coherent strategy and judicial remedy, including a Royal Commission.
So often, politicians proclaim that they refuse to announce policy in the media before first informing all colleagues [guffaw].
Three musketeers @JohnElferink123, @adamgiles and @nigelscullion. One for all and all for one. Pants on fire #auspol pic.twitter.com/e2SsfHW8LX
— THE Russell (@THE_Russell) July 27, 2016
However, on the ABC's AM radio current affairs program, a must-do listen for politicians and news junkies, Turnbull exclusively announced his Royal Commission.
On Tuesday night, whilst the blame game on the disgusting state of Indigenous/youth affairs, not only in the Northern Territory but nationwide, has more participants than the latest Pokemon game, Peter O'Brien, lawyer for the brutalised Dylan Voller, whose torturing was so graphically – and rightly so – presented on Four Corners, released a poignant handwritten note from the teenager, who, at the time of writing this article, was still incarcerated.
In the letter, Dylan, whose life has been a daily struggle since he was a little tacker, thanks the Australian community and the ABC's Four Corners, his lawyers and his family and others for the support for 'us...boys'.
Dylan Voller has instructed us to release this letter: pic.twitter.com/yJoZHoAgJn
— Peter O'Brien (@OBrienSolicitor) July 26, 2016
Dylan also apologises for his wrongs and says he can't wait to
'.... get out and make up for them.'
Little Brother, it is we who owe you and your fellow inmates an apology.
We have done you wrong. Big time.
You at least have been courageous enough to own up to your mistakes. Those responsible for the atrocities, both mental and physical that have been imposed upon you and your mates from an early age, by a warped, damaging and damaged system, remain in denial and display no such courage.
#DonDale is the facility where guards allegedly forced teenagers to eat animal shit in exchange for junk food, 2015.https://t.co/tJ3NbZWaQq
— Peter O'Brien (@OBrienSolicitor) July 26, 2016
I congratulate you on your letter to Australians.
For a young man who has endured so much cruelty from the system, you display remarkable grace, generosity of heart and leadership.
I feel your life will take a turn for the better, Dear Dylan and that far from once being unfairly deemed as part of the problem, you will help to be part of the solution.
Last night, ABC 7.30 revealed more child abuse allegations involving Cardinal George Pell.
Now on #abc730 Cardinal George Pell denies multiple child abuse allegations being investigated by Vic Police https://t.co/lcx7Rp0uLK
— abc730 (@abc730) July 27, 2016
Tess Lawrence will be doing a follow-up on this story soon. In the meantime, please read Lawrence's February 2016 article: 'Southwell Report: The truth about the so-called "exoneration" of George Pell'.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
#dondale #4corners SMH 27/7/16. © Glen Le Lievre.@smh pic.twitter.com/WHz02ZOHyP
— Glen Le Lievre (@GlenLeLievre) July 26, 2016
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Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion is a failure and must be sacked. #DonDaleKids #auspol #thedrum pic.twitter.com/ZtREoA5Ggt
— Lynetta G (@artbylynettag) July 27, 2016
Pique your interest. Subscribe to IA for just $5 (or less).
Nigel Scullion Claims Doing His Job Didn’t Pique His Interest https://t.co/ZMolFXQ3wj pic.twitter.com/um7pbSY1XQ
— SBS Comedy (@SBSComedy) July 26, 2016
