Now Kevin’s back, he needs to finish the Heiner Affair | Daily Telegraph Piers Akerman Blog
AFTER years of obfuscation and denial by a spectacular array of senior Labor figures and associates, I believe that Kevvie from Brizzie can no longer avoid questioning about his role in the long-running Heiner Affair.
When Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry head Tim Carmody SC handed down his finding into the origins of the notorious matter on July 1, he stated in his 144-page report that all members of the March 5, 1990, Goss cabinet were open to a criminal charge under section 129 of the Criminal Code for destroying evidence known to be required for a “realistically possible” future judicial proceeding.
Kevin Rudd was cabinet secretary at the time.
The Heiner Affair began with an inquiry into the management practices of the John Oxley Youth Centre in late 1989 and early 1990 conducted by retired magistrate Noel Heiner in the last days of the Cooper National Party government under public service law by the Families Department. Trade union interests were involved.
The inquiry generated the controversially shredded evidence.
Whistleblower Kevin Lindeberg, a former union organiser sacked while trying to preserve the records to uphold his members’ legal rights, maintained to the Criminal Justice Commission in 1990 that section 129 had prima facie been breached.
He was ridiculed by the ALP, the CJC and most in the media. But two unions and lawyers for the then-centre manager and his deputy had placed the Queensland government on notice via the department and warned them not to shred and warned them of court action to access the documents if necessary.
As Lindeberg persisted, he became aware of child abuse being in the documents (which the Carmody Inquiry has now proven conclusively), and potential evidence of child sexual abuse, in particular the rape of a young Aboriginal girl.
The girl was raped by other inmates during a supervised bush outing in May, 1988. One of the excursion supervisors told Carmody that it was unfortunate but “shit happens.” The way it was handled caused great angst amongst certain staff with records showing that at least one person said that a cover-up was taking place.
As Carmody ominously pointed out in his report: “The case against the cabinet ministers is arguably stronger than that faced by Mr Ensbey.”
When Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry head Tim Carmody SC handed down his finding into the origins of the notorious matter on July 1, he stated in his 144-page report that all members of the March 5, 1990, Goss cabinet were open to a criminal charge under section 129 of the Criminal Code for destroying evidence known to be required for a “realistically possible” future judicial proceeding.
Kevin Rudd was cabinet secretary at the time.
The Heiner Affair began with an inquiry into the management practices of the John Oxley Youth Centre in late 1989 and early 1990 conducted by retired magistrate Noel Heiner in the last days of the Cooper National Party government under public service law by the Families Department. Trade union interests were involved.
The inquiry generated the controversially shredded evidence.
Whistleblower Kevin Lindeberg, a former union organiser sacked while trying to preserve the records to uphold his members’ legal rights, maintained to the Criminal Justice Commission in 1990 that section 129 had prima facie been breached.
He was ridiculed by the ALP, the CJC and most in the media. But two unions and lawyers for the then-centre manager and his deputy had placed the Queensland government on notice via the department and warned them not to shred and warned them of court action to access the documents if necessary.
As Lindeberg persisted, he became aware of child abuse being in the documents (which the Carmody Inquiry has now proven conclusively), and potential evidence of child sexual abuse, in particular the rape of a young Aboriginal girl.
The girl was raped by other inmates during a supervised bush outing in May, 1988. One of the excursion supervisors told Carmody that it was unfortunate but “shit happens.” The way it was handled caused great angst amongst certain staff with records showing that at least one person said that a cover-up was taking place.
As Carmody ominously pointed out in his report: “The case against the cabinet ministers is arguably stronger than that faced by Mr Ensbey.”
