Another triumph of multiculturalism

Colombian boy, 17, admits choking three women unconscious before sexually assaulting them in terrifying attacks on Melbourne's streets

A Colombian teenager who choked three women unconscious before sexually assaulting them in the street has pleaded guilty.  

The 17-year-old targeted three strangers on separate occasions in Melbourne's CBD between November 2013 and January 2014.

On Wednesday the skateboarder pleaded guilty to a number of charges including rape, attempted rape, robbery, assault with intent to rape and indecent assault, The Age reported.

In each case the teen choked each victim unconscious before sexually assaulting them, sometimes multiple times, according to the prosecution.

The teenager, just 17 at the time of the attacks, was arrested on January 25 more than 200 kilometres from where the assaults took place - at camping grounds in Johanna, near Apollo Bay.

The prosecutor said the teen's family had bought him a one-way flight back to Bogota, Colombia, and had tried to assist him in altering his appearance. He had been due to leave the country the day after his arrest.

In the Victorian County Court on Wednesday Prosecutor Dr Nanette Rogers, SC, described the terrifying nature of each of the attacks, all on young women in their early twenties.

On November 9 around 12.30am the first one took place, when a 22-year-old was grabbed on Bourke Street in Melbourne's CBD and shoved in to a laneway where she was assaulted.

The second victim, a Chinese international student, 24, was speaking on the phone outside a car dealership on Kings Way near Albert street when she was attacked from behind.

She was sexually assaulted some time between 2.30 and 3am. In her victim impact statement the woman expressed her distress over the fact that such an horrific crime could happen in Australia.

'Sexual abuse is an unforgivable offence ... It should not have happened here [in Australia],' she said according to The Age.

The Colombian teenager's third victim was another 22-year-old who according to Ms Rogers had a shard of glass held to her throat on Flinders Street around 6am on January 18.

Her attacker then marched her more than a kilometre through the city before dragging her into a stairway near Southern Cross Station and raping her twice, the court heard.

This victim told the court she could not escape the traumatising memories of the violent rape, and was terrified while waiting for the results to see if she had contracted HIV from her attacker.

The 22-year-old also revealed the devastating impact the incident had on her emotional connection with others, and said she no longer wanted to go to the gym as she believed the less attractive she was the less likely it was she would be assaulted again.

The case was moved from the Children's Court to the County Court because of its severity, and the fact the attacker could have faced a maximum of three years behind bars if he had been tried as a child.

The court heard the teen had moved to Australia to be with his mother late last year. He apologised for the horrific attacks but said the second two were due to alcohol abuse.

He will be sentenced at a later date, and will most likely be deported when he is released on parole.

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Senator Bernardi speaks out again  -- on free speech and Muslims

Cory Bernardi is a Liberal Party Senator for South Australia

It’s fascinating to watch the reaction of people when their world view comes crashing down around them. Suddenly they feel very vulnerable because their protective cloak of self-righteous belief no longer masks their failures of logic.

We have seen many examples of it this past week surrounding two key issues that I have been involved in.

The first is my support for removing the words ‘insult’ and ‘offend’ from section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA). Frankly I find it preposterous that anyone can be taken to court on the basis of having offended or insulted someone else.

This is a direct restriction on our freedom of speech and making these minor modifications to section 18C of the RDA has met with a broad cross section of support. People like Julian Burnside QC and David Marr have joined with conservatives like Andrew Bolt and John Roskam in supporting change.

Indeed, it was a long-standing election commitment from the Coalition to introduce such change. Unfortunately that commitment was abandoned, apparently due to 'community concerns'.

However, I am now one of four senators who have co-sponsored a Bill to amend the RDA to ensure freedom of speech is strengthened in this country.

In doing so, many media commentators have been critical of this ‘rogue liberal’ for daring to advance a logical and principled argument at such a sensitive time. Of course, the sensitive time they refer to is the heightened tension surrounding acts of terror at home and abroad.

On one hand, these commentators say we should never give in to the terrorists but then maintain we shouldn’t pursue important legislative changes designed to strengthen our freedoms because of the acts of a barbaric few.

It’s a similar issue with my security concerns about identity concealing garments being worn within Parliament House. It’s entirely logical that in a time of hightened security alerts we should be able to identify those people who enter one of our most important public buildings.

Once again, I am attacked for the lack of sensitivity in raising this matter ‘at this time’. Incredibly, when I raised it over three years ago I was told it wasn’t the right time then either as there was no security risk attached to people hiding their faces in public.

It makes one wonder why we bother to have all the CCTV cameras if we can’t identify the people they capture!

Which brings me back to these critics' ‘world view’.

These individuals have subscribed to the world of political correctness for such a long time that when the obvious cracks in their theories become public they do whatever they can to protect their position.

I mean, it must be soul destroying to have clung to failed ideals for 30 plus years only to be proved so wrong. How can one then explain away such a lack of foresight?

The answer is that you don’t. Instead, you dismiss your opponents by calling them names and never responding to their reasoned arguments.

In the past week, I have been attacked by commentators like Niki Savva for my ‘unhelpful insensitivity’ and listened to panellists on the Project dismiss legitimate security concerns. Even the diminished figure of Bill Shorten failed to reach his own low standards by resorting to name calling rather than standing up for Australia.

And yet, not a single one of them acknowledged that the reason we are in this mess today is because of their (and others) long-standing denial that there has been a growing problem in our midst.

For too long, too many people like those mentioned above have ignored practices and actions that have undermined our social cohesion and cultural mores in the name of diversity and tolerance. They have steadfastly refused to heed the experience of other Western nations who failed to arrest the changes occurring in their society.

Instead, they have chosen to personally attack the few who dared to break the silence and tell it how it is.

That all came crashing down last week when a plot to behead strangers in the middle of Sydney was exposed by our security agencies. This was shortly followed by an attempt to kill two police officers which left the failed murderer shot dead.

While the barbaric plots were a huge concern to mainstream Australia, a section of our community chose to blame the rest of us for creating this situation. Whilst I don’t agree with their reasoning, I do agree we have made this rod for our own back.

For too long our tolerance and our freedoms have been used to challenge our social mores. Moral relativism has been forced down our throats since the 1970s and has left us vulnerable to subversive elements within.

The product of that thinking was seen last week and no matter how much the proponents try to dismiss their failure by attacking others, the Australian people know better.

They know there is something amiss within our community that too few in the public square dare to discuss. And yet, the danger of not discussing it almost inevitably leads to even greater anger and resentment.

In other lands, such sentiments have resulted in an aggressive and sometimes violent counter reaction all of its own. This is the scenario I hope our country can avoid.

However, it will only occur if we can all commit to having the courage to speak about the facts at hand and the freedom to do so without the pejorative slurs of those whose ideas have helped get us into these problems in the first place.

Our future depends on it.

Via email






New Christmas Island chief's hardline approach over conditions for asylum seekers

The newly-appointed administrator of Christmas Island has taken a hardline approach to asylum seekers, denying that incidents of self-harm in the detention centre are a result of lengthy off-shore processing.

Barry Haase, a former West Australian Liberal backbencher, will start the three-year position of administrator of the Christmas and Cocos islands on Monday.

Mr Haase will replace outgoing administrator Jon Stanhope, who was critical of custody conditions and now hopes to work as an advocate for refugees and asylum seekers.

'There would be no self harm in the centre if they hadn't gotten on a leaky boat and paid thousands of dollars to be there,' Mr Haase told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Despite widespread concern regarding the welfare of asylum seekers residing at the Christmas Island detention centre, Mr Haase said that the potential refugees cannot blame the system for self-abuse.  'You can't deny that that's the truth,' he said.  'It's no one else's fault.'

The statements come after more claims of child sexual abuse, with figures from the Department of Immigration released to The Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday revealing 33 cases of alleged sexual assault in Christmas Island and Australian detention centres between 2013 and 2014.

'Well, buyer beware is my motto. If one accepts the offer of a product you need to look at it from all angles and if you pay in excess of US$12,000 I would want to know what my destiny was going to be and how seaworthy the vessel was'.

The retired MP said that his hope was for the centre to wind down once the government achieved a higher level of success at preventing asylum seekers from entering Australian water. '[Then] we will not have the need for wasting taxpayers' money,' he said.

Mr Haase has been outspoken about issues relating to asylum seekers for several years, expressing strong support for the government's 'stop the boats' campaign.

In 2012 he accused the Labor government of not acting swiftly enough when boats carrying asylum seekers were found to have cases of typhoid on board, labeling it a 'failed border protection policy'.

Mr Haase criticised the 'decision to introduce mainstream release of asylum seekers into the community, with support payments, free housing and set up packages worth up to $10,000.'

However, the former Liberal MP insists that his political affiliations were unrelated to his selection as administrator, despite his appointment to the position following praise from Prime Minister Tony Abbott.  'Look, I'm neutral on government policy, regardless of what shade the government of the day happens to be,' he said.

Mr Haase's predecessor, Mr Stanhope, drew attention to the long offshore processing policies, stating that hundreds of families had been in custody for over 15 months.

Mr Stanhope, a former ACT minister, said that holding children in detention centre for over a year was in no way appropriate, and labelled the policy as 'extremely hardhearted'.  'I think there has to be a better way and we need to find it,' he said.

In July, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison released a statement responding to claims of self-harm by asylum seekers in the detention centre.

'While the government understands the concern that ­exists on such sensitive matters of self-harm, it is important to recognise government commentary on such issues takes into account privacy and the impact public commentary may have in encouraging such behaviour,' he said. 

SOURCE





Greenie restrictions take a life

Greenie-inspired restrictions on what a farmer can do with his land can be extremely frustrating for the farmers affected.  One day a farmer had to lash out at his tormenters.  That has now happened

Moree farmer Ian Turnbull made verbal threats against Glen Turner two years before 'he deliberately executed him by shooting him in the back' a judge has said in court while refusing the wealthy grazier bail.

'I'm an old man. I don't care. I can do anything I want' police say Turnbull told Mr Turner on June 28, 2012.

Turnbull is charged with the murder of the 51-year-old father of two, accused of shooting the environment officer during an alleged land clearing dispute, on a public road at Croppa Creek, near Moree in northern NSW.

Justice Anthony Blackmore said the threat to Mr Turner was said in the context of 'if you have any respect for your life you will not interfere'.

Turnbull sat defiantly with his arms folded as Justice Blackmore went further to say that he believed the farmer had 'considerable means' to leave the country and to live well.

He also said that he was still a threat to the community and to all officers working, as Mr Turner had been, for the Office of Environment and Heritage.

'He does have very significant financial means, much more than the ordinary person ... he is able to escape the jurisdiction and live out the rest of his life comfortably.'

'He is charged with the murder of a public official.'

'The facts of the case are virtually overwhelming,' said the judge.

Justice Blackmore said Turnbull had shown no remorse, telling a prison psychologist ' it was the deceased that was at fault'.

He said that 'moreover the dispute between [Turnbull and the environment department] is not over.

'He is a danger to all environment officers if released on bail. He is also a danger to the community.'

Ian Turnbull has been refused bail at the NSW supreme court on Thursday

'What bail conditions could deter a mam who is prepared to execute a public official.'

On the evening the elderly farmer allegedly murdered the NSW environment officer, he went home and told his wife he 'simply cracked'.

He sat looking 'wretched ... just blank' after shooting Glen Turner on July 29, his wife Robeena told the Sydney court early on Thursday.

'I simply cracked,' he told her as he sat on the verandah of their property and waited five hours for the police to come and arrest him.

'I didn't mean to kill him',' Mrs Turnbull told the court her husband told her, adding 'he appeared as though he was somewhere else'.

Turnbull has been in custody since July 29, the day of the killing in the state's north.

Robeena Turnbull, who has been married for more than 50 years to the 79-year-old, told a NSW Supreme Court bail hearing her husband arrived back at the family's homestead about 6.30pm.

He didn't shower or change his clothes, instead, he sat down in a chair and told her he was going to wait for the police, the court heard.

Glen Turner's family have been devastated by their loss

Mrs Turnbull told the hearing that she had visited her husband in jail every weekend since his arrest, a 12-hour round trip that involves driving to Brisbane, where her son lives, flying to Newcastle and renting a car for the final leg to Cessnock Correctional Centre.

She said her husband had difficulty walking and that she could see he was in pain, adding he suffered from peripheral neuropathy, which meant he needed a wheelchair in prison.

'He said he could only walk about 10 feet and then he would crumple to the floor,' Mrs Turnbull said.

'But (he only expresses discomfort) when I ask him. He doesn't come out complaining.'

The court heard that Turnbull would stay with relatives on Sydney's north shore if released on bail.

At a previous court hearing, police had alleged the farmer was armed with a loaded rifle and had told Mr Turner he would be leaving Croppa Creek that day in a body bag.

Mr Turner was shot on a dirt road in the early evening as he and another environmental officer were carrying out unrelated duties on Talga Lane, near Moree.

Turnbull, who appeared via audio visual link from Cessnock prison on Thursday dressed in prison greens, looked haggard and had his arms crossed.

He pressed his lips together and looked grim, occasionally glancing away from the camera as his wife gave evidence.

Prominent Sydney barrister, Tony Bellanto, QC, appeared for Mr Turnbull.

Mr Bellanto cited Mr Turnbull's medical conditions, including a pacemaker in his heart, chest pain, angina and difficulty in walking, as well as offering a $300,000 surety.

Mr Turner and Ian Turnbull had been involved in a long-running dispute over land clearing in the area, where Turnbull and his family own several properties with large tracts of cropping land.

Following the shooting, Mr Turner's family said they were devastated by his early passing and would remember him as a loving husband and father to his two young children, aged nine and 10.

The incident generated widespread debate on native vegetation legislation, and came after years of mounting tension between farmers, environmentalists and governments about landowners' rights to clear vegetation for cropping.

A year before the fatal shooting, Turner had pleaded guilty to illegally bulldozing nearly 500ha of trees and was facing a hefty fine and a ­potential legal bill of more than $300,000.

SOURCE