Thirty Questions

The following questions are amongst those that have been repeatedly presented to Australian politicians over a number of years. They have been formally submitted to ministers, to government offices, and to most individual MPs and Senators, by a multitude of individuals. They have even been delivered as part of a collective petition, on behalf of thousands of citizens.

No response has ever been forthcoming, from any party.

    1. Why did Justice & Customs Minister Christopher Ellison withhold the information provided to him by the CEO of Sydney Airport Corporation Ltd, Max Moore-Wilton, specifically that Schapelle Corby's boogie-board bag was the only one not scanned at Sydney Airport? Given that this confirmed that it was diverted past the scanner by baggage staff, why didn’t he inform Schapelle Corby’s lawyer, when asked directly about scanning, just a couple of days after he had discovered this?
    [Ref: Transit Report]

    2. Why was this information also hidden from Parliament, when direct questions were asked, and critically, from the Bali court? Why did Prime Minister John Howard, who was also aware, remain silent throughout?
    [Ref: Transit Report]

    3. Why did AFP Commissioner Michael Keelty remain silent, particularly given that the AFP’s own Operation Mocha had already discovered that exactly the same baggage handlers were simultaneously engaging in other drug related activities at the airport?
    [Ref: Transit Report, Case Exhibit]

    4. Why was Schapelle Corby’s luggage 5kg overweight on the Qantas system (which would carry an excess charge of $175), when she checked them in underweight (with no excess charge)?
    [Ref: Transit Report]

    5. Why wasn’t Schapelle Corby, or the Bali court, ever told about the addition of this weight, after the bags left her hands, particularly given that it broadly equated to the weight of the marijuana?
    [Ref: Supplementary Report]

    6. Why did AFP Commissioner Keelty tell the media, just two weeks before the verdict, that there was no evidence of airport drug syndicates using innocent passengers, when this was clearly, demonstrably, and utterly, false? Why didn’t the AFP admit that it had held the Kessing Reports for months, and why did it withhold a host of other vital support evidence, which proved the long-term and systemic nature of such syndication at Sydney Airport? Why wasn’t Keelty disciplined or reprimanded for this intervention, even after the Law Council of Australia pointed out that it would have constituted contempt of court had the trial been held within Australian jurisdiction?
    [Ref: Transit Report, Law Council Statement]

    7. Why did the AFP and DFAT evade and frustrate the forensic and DNA tests which Schapelle Corby repeatedly begged for in court?
    [Ref: Mutual Evasion Report]

    8. Why did the AFP tell Parliament that it couldn't perform marijuana pollen tests, when it had the capacity to do so, and indeed, when it had originally offered to perform them for the INP? Why did it refuse the services of a qualified forensics expert, who had volunteered to perform them?
    [Ref: Mutual Evasion Report]

    9. Why did Ellison subsequently tell a completely false story about marijuana testing, in a written letter to a constituent?
    [Ref: Mutual Evasion Report, Formal Complaint]

    10. Why didn’t DFAT invoke the MACMA Treaty to obtain the chain-of-custody sample of marijuana (for DNA testing), which Schapelle Corby formally requested, when it could have done so within the provisions of the treaty itself?
    [Ref: Mutual Evasion Report]

    11. Why did the AFP and Qantas provided contradictory stories about the missing CCTV footage, which Schapelle Corby and her mother pleaded for? Why was no footage ever provided, from any airport, despite over 800 cameras being in situ?
    [Ref: Transit Report, CCTV Images]

    12. Why did Foreign Minister Downer, and Prime Minister Howard, publicly endorse the original Bali trial, when they were well aware that a multitude of legal and human rights abuses had been committed throughout?
    [Ref: Bali Trial Report, Case Exhibit]

    13. Why did Ellison publicly endorse the burning of the physical evidence, whilst Schapelle Corby pleaded desperately for it to be preserved and tested?
    [Ref: Mutual Evasion Report]

    14. Why did DFAT ignore and suppress the diagnosed medical condition of a mentally ill Australian citizen, and thus, de facto, endorse the consequential ongoing human rights abuses inherent to her situation?
    [Ref: Mental Health Report]

    15. Why was ACLEI, when forced to examine the AFP's role in the affair, directly and demonstrably complicit with a serving AFP officer, in producing a report which was an embarrassment to all parties? Why was a functionary, who was at the heart of the Howard regime when the AFP abuses occurred, allowed to rubber-stamp ACLEI's bogus report?
    [Ref: Whitewash Report]

    16. Why did the government coerce Schapelle Corby to accept the involvement of an Australian QC, Mark Trowell, for her appeal? Why did he then decimate the appeal by attacking her Indonesian defence team to the media? Why, when he subsequently admitted that he was actually working for the government, and not for Schapelle Corby, did the government refuse to comment? Why has the precise role of Justice & Customs Minister Ellison in this affair, Trowell’s long term friend, never been explained?
    [Ref: Insider Report]

    17. Why did Downer and Howard publicly describe a routine flour hoax at the Indonesian embassy as a “murderous attack”, using a “biological agent”, when there was no evidence whatsoever to suggest that it wasn’t benign? Why did neither of them reveal that the note included with the flour didn't refer to Schapelle Corby at all, and was written in Bahasa, when they promptly blamed it on her supporters? Why didn’t they reveal the actual contents of the note when subsequently asked?
    [Ref: PowderGate Report]

    18. Given that he was informed of the benign nature of the flour at 6:35pm on the same day, by email, why didn’t Ellison alert any of the parties necessary to prevent the false but support-wrecking story from circulating around the world?
    [Ref: PowderGate Report]

    19. Why did the government seize Schapelle Corby's book royalties under Proceeds of Crime legislation, whilst she was still in legal process in Indonesia, sending a clear signal to Jakarta and denying her the funds for a special appeal and for vital medicine? Why did it bring the judiciary into disrepute, by illegally extending its jurisdiction outside Australian borders, and holding secret trials, at which Schapelle Corby was not even represented? Why is she the only person in the history of Australia to have royalties seized under this legislation?
    [Ref: Political Seizure Report]

    20. Why was the Freedom of Information Act repeatedly breached with respect to requests made on behalf of Schapelle Corby? Why has the AFP alone spent in excess of $1 million in frustrating efforts to obtain further evidential information?
    [Ref: FOI Abuse Report], Case Exhibit]

    21. When asked about a mutual assistance request on this case, made by DFAT to the United States, why did Australia's most senior intelligence officer state that disclosure of the requested information to Schapelle Corby would risk the future "flow of intelligence and threat warnings" to Australia, which could adversely "impact on the ability of the Australian agencies to warn the Australian government of potential threats to Australian national security"?
    [Ref: Case Exhibit]

    22. Why did the AFP suppressed a secret recording of two known criminals discussing the collection of marijuana from Sydney Airport on the same day that Schapelle Corby flew to Bali?
    [Ref: Candidate Sources Report, NSWCC Gymea Minutes]

    23. Why has the Commonwealth Ombudsman supported the government with respect to every complaint ever lodged relating to Schapelle Corby by members of the public? Why has exactly the same outcome applied to the ACMA, the OAIC, and every other quango officially presented to the public as a ‘watchdog’?
    [Ref: Quango Report]

    24. Why was a prominent Private Investigator rebuffed by the Finkelstein Media Inquiry in 2011, when he approached it with direct first-hand evidence of media abuses with respect to Schapelle Corby and her family, including criminal matters such as phone hacking and illegal recording?
    [Ref: Media Insider Interviews]

    25. Why did the Attorney-General refuse to accept a formal Crime Report in 2012, including a 450 page evidential addendum, which documented serious breaches of the law by named politicians and the AFP?
    [Ref: Response Of State Report]

    26. When Schapelle Corby’s release presented the threat that she may expose the above information on national television, why did the AFP launch a series of intimidatory and illegal raids, by dozens of armed officers, on the offices of Seven Network? Why did the AFP similarly raid the offices of Mercedes Corby's lawyers, seizing everything in sight, including confidential material on potential legal action against the AFP itself? Why did the AFP lie to a magistrate to secure the necessary signature to authorize the raids?
    [Ref: MNA Report]

    27. Subsequent to the AFP raids, when Schapelle Corby was illegally gagged in Indonesia and told that she would be re-imprisoned if she spoke to the media, why did her own government endorse this flagrant breach of human rights through its absolute silence? Why did ministers refuse to complain or protest, even when her sister, Mercedes Corby, was similarly gagged?
    [Ref: MNA Report]

    28. Why has the government steadfastly refused to intervene, despite receiving conclusive documentation evidencing an unprecedented media campaign of cultural prejudice, unremitting abuse, sustained vilification and blatant censorship? Why were multiple journalists able to act in contempt of court, whilst legal proceedings for defamation were underway against one of their colleagues? Why has material, which demonstrates clear malversation within the media funded Australian Press Council, not been acted upon?
    [Ref: Media Section]

    29. Why did the Government of Queensland provide over $500,000 of taxpayer revenue for the production of a telemovie which was based upon a discredited and defamatory source, and which pointed fingers away from politicians and the AFP, and at a dead man instead (Schapelle Corby’s father)? When this contribution was found to have been misappropriated, in direct breach of the official terms of trade, why did the state government ignore demands for both an open and criminal investigation? Why did the Queensland Government refer public complaints about this to Michael Keelty’s CCC, when the CCC itself was a subject of the very same complaint? Why has the Federal Government refused to intervene in this affair?
    [Ref: Misappropriation Report]

    30. Why has the huge FOI catalogue of ministerial correspondence, official transcripts, and departmental cables, which incontrovertibly proves every word stated the above, been ignored by the establishment, including all elected politicians?
    [Ref: The Expendable Project Dossier]

The answers to all these questions are provided throughout this website, via the Dossier, Reports, and Case Exhibits. Background and context for the malversation and corruption identified is provided via the Business As Usual Report.



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