Brett Quine

Brett Quine is an independent contributor. In the past he has freelanced for The Age, TheSydney Morning Herald, The Truth and Business Review Weekly. He also worked at the Border Morning Mail, Albury, and the Herald Sun in Melbourne for 12 years, before his dismissal for misconduct.

While a self declared “media outlaw”, as stated on the cover of the book he co-authored, Kill the Morans, released last October and still banned in Victoria, he points out that descriptor only relates to the manner in which he left the Murdoch press empire in 1998.

That spectacular episode is detailed in the book; and in fact would be widely endorsed by anyone who opposes saturation rabid rightwing ownership of the nation’s newspapers.

Brett was also at one stage an integral if very unwilling cog in the machinations of the evil Kennett Government, under standing orders as a night chief of staff to pass on any calls from then Premier Jeff Kennett directly to the chief sub-editor.

As a result of this and many other perceived injustices under the Murdoch regime, Brett suffered much self-loathing until taking a lead role in community activism. As an elected press officer and secretary of the historic Flemington Association, his achievements included an instrumental role in the return of more than a million dollars to a local park misappropriated to other funds by municipal authorities; combining the executives of Flemington, Kensington and North and West Melbourne resident groups to scuttle a proposed highly destructive rail link to Melbourne Airport (based on a bogus State Government survey) and often being an advocate on behalf of residents less well equipped to vocalise their concerns to authorities.

He has also voluntarily addressed many community groups across Melbourne, on invitation, from the struggling but proud suburb of St Albans to the relatively affluent bay side suburb of Brighton on effective activism.

After some years of ill-health, including a severe heart condition, Brett stepped back from the activist frontline and stopped his much loved pastime of partaking in the amber brew. However, he still maintains a fierce belief in speaking out to further natural justice.

He is now the owner-operator of the Jawa Bar, West Melbourne, placed under regular and intense police scrutiny owing to some of the unsettling truths told in Kill the Morans.