The Sydney Morning Herald
June 20, 2001
Letters
The real story behind Pat O'Shane's words
Pat O'Shane has upset some middle-class sensibilities. As a result she is being
pilloried for stating the obvious. However, the really
interesting part of her remarks is being ignored.
What Ms O'Shane said, if you connect the dots, is that Aboriginal politics are
so "vicious" that it is an arena where four false accusations
of rape would not be unlikely.
This perception is surely of greater significance and interest and surely this
is the story that should be pursued.
Malcolm Harrison, Bronte, June 18.
Calls are being made for magistrate Pat O'Shane to be excluded from hearing
cases, resign or be "forced out" because of her belief that a
woman may be prepared to make false accusations.
Ms O'Shane's view is the only tenable one, as any other position would
constitute unacceptable bias against the accused.
If Ms O'Shane's critics are correct, there is no need for any woman to attend
court and be cross-examined about her accusations. There
is no presumption of innocence. There is no principle of reasonable doubt.
I make no judgment as to who is telling the truth in this case. But justice
demands that all magistrates take the view that no gender, race,
socio-economic class or profession is free of people willing to damn another's
reputation, even under oath.
Dr Philip Shehan, Brunswick (Vic), June 18.
The Herald is to be complimented not castigated, as your correspondent Graham
Barry does (Letters, June 19), for bringing to public
attention the Geoff Clark rape allegations.
The press has had two main functions - to disseminate news and to act as a
public watchdog. To assert that the principle of the
presumption of innocence has been breached is absurd. If that were the case, no
newspaper, body or person could ever raise a matter of
public importance where a person's reputation might be adversely affected.
Mr Clark has a remedy, and if he takes it, and wins, the consequences for the
Herald could be catastrophic. The Herald knew that when
it went to print. The public should be grateful.
Geoffrey Reading, Castle Hill, June 19.
On the wrong track
How infuriating to read that the Howard Government is fast-tracking a $5 million
reconciliation walkway in Canberra so that it can be
opened before the next Federal election ("Elder's scorn for slivers of
reconciliation", Herald, June 19).
Surely we can erect a monument to reconciliation only after it has been
achieved.
In the meantime, wouldn't that $5 million be put to better use compensating the
members of the stolen generations and families of
Aboriginal people who have died in custody?
Dr Cath Ellis, Dr Catriona Elder, Austinmer, June 19.
--
*******************************
A threat to justice anywhere is
a threat to justice everywhere.
-- Martin Luther King
http://www.green.net.au/arp/
*******************************
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at
http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission
from the
copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under
the "fair
use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further
without
permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use."
