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This website, absentjustice.com, is a work in progress, last edited May 2025. If you see the value in the research and evidence behind this important work, consider supporting  Transparency International Australia! Your donation will help raise awareness about the injustices impacting Australia and the world. 

Until the late 1990s, the Australian government owned and operated the nation’s telephone network through the communications carrier Telecom, which has since transitioned to private ownership and is now recognised as Telstra. Telecom maintained a stranglehold over the communications sector during this era, allowing the network to deteriorate significantly, leading to a cascade of service failures. Instead of confronting the pressing issues of our severely deficient telephone services as part of the government-endorsed arbitration process—an uneven and ultimately futile battle for justice—these critical problems were left unaddressed. As a result, countless claimants found themselves compelled to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars pursuing their cases against this government-owned entity, only to be met with resistance and neglect.

 

Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Learn about government corruption and the dirty deeds used by the government to cover up these horrendous injustices committed against 16 Australian citizens
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Betrayal deceit disinformation duplicity falsehood fraud hypocrisy lying mendacity treachery and trickery. This sums up the COT government endorsed arbitrations.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Ending bribery corruption means holding the powerful to account and closing down the systems that allows bribery, illicit financial flows, money laundering, and the enablers of corruption to thrive.
Chapter 4
Chapter 4

Learn about government corruption and the dirty deeds used by the government to cover up these horrendous injustices committed against 16 Australian citizens. Government corruption within the public service affected most if not all of the COT arbitrations. 

Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Corruption is contagious and does not respect sectoral boundaries. Corruption involves duplicity and reduces levels of morality and trust.
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Anti-corruption policies need to be used in anti-corruption reforms and strategy. Corruption metrics and corruption risk assessment is good governance
Chapter 7
Chapter 7

Bribery and Corruption happens in the shadows, often with the help of professional enablers such as bankers, lawyers, accountants and real estate agents, opaque financial systems and anonymous shell companies that allow corruption schemes to flourish and the corrupt to launder their wealth.

Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Corrupt practices in government and the results of those corrupt practices become problematic enough – but when that corruption becomes systemic in more than one operation, it becomes cancer that endangers the welfare of the world's democracy.
Chapter 9
Chapter 9

Corruption in government, including non-government self-regulators, undermines the credibility of that government. It erodes the trust of its citizens who are left without guidance are the feel of purpose. Bribery and Corruption is cancer that destroys economic growth and prosperity. 

Chapter 10
Chapter 10

The horrendous, unaddressed crimes perpetrated against the COT Cases during government-endorsed arbitrations administered by the Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman have never been investigated. 

Chapter 11
Chapter 11

This type of skulduggery is treachery, a Judas kiss with dirty dealing and betrayal. This is dirty pool and crookedness and dishonest. This conduct fester’s corruption. It is as bad, if not worse than double-dealing and cheating those who trust you.&a

Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Absentjustice.com - the website that triggered the deeper exploration into the world of political corruption, it stands shoulder to shoulder with any true crime story.
 
 

Our Corrupt Legal System 

Absent Justice - Renowned Australian Author

Why Everyone Is a Victim (Except Rich Criminals)

It may be difficult for people to believe that lawyers and arbitrators can (and do) pervert the course of justice for their own gain to the detriment of others. But remember, when accusations first emerged of child molestation linked to clergy, many people had difficulty believing that, too, and that has now been proven to have occurred for decades. Many books have been written over the years detailing the misbehaviour of trusted legal people worldwide (including Australia). Some publications that might help you to understand our story here at absentjustice.com are Evan Whitton’s books, which cover similar topics:

Our Corrupt Legal System; Why Everyone Is a Victim (Except Rich Criminals),

The Cartel: Lawyers and Their Nine Magic Tricks, and

Trial by Voodoo; how the law defeats justice and democracy.

 
Telstra-Corruption-Freehill-Hollingdale & Page
Telstra-Corruption-Freehill-Hollingdale & Page

Corrupt practices persisted throughout the COT arbitrations, flourishing in secrecy and obscurity. These insidious actions have managed to evade necessary scrutiny. Notably, the phone issues persisted for years following the conclusion of my arbitration, established to rectify these faults.

Confronting Despair
Confronting Despair

The independent arbitration consultants demonstrated a concerning lack of impartiality. Instead of providing clear and objective insights, their guidance to the arbitrator was often marked by evasive language, misleading statements, and, at times, outright falsehoods.

Flash Backs – China-Vietnam
Flash Backs – China-Vietnam

In 1967, Australia participated in the Vietnam War. I was on a ship transporting wheat to China, where I learned China was redeploying some of it to North Vietnam. Chapter 7, "Vietnam—Vietcong," discusses the link between China and my phone issues.

A Twenty-Year Marriage Lost
A Twenty-Year Marriage Lost

As bookings declined, my marriage came to an end. My ex-wife, seeking her fair share of our venture, left me with no choice but to take responsibility for leaving the Navy without adequately assessing the reliability of the phone service in my pursuit of starting a business.

Salvaging What I Could
Salvaging What I Could

Mobile coverage was nonexistent, and business transactions were not conducted online. Cape Bridgewater had only eight lines to service 66 families—132 adults. If four lines were used simultaneously, the remaining 128 adults would have only four lines to serve their needs.

Lies Deceit And Treachery
Lies Deceit And Treachery

I was unaware of Telstra's unethical and corrupt business practices. It has now become clear that various unethical organisational activities were conducted secretly. Middle management was embezzling millions of dollars from Telstra.

An Unlocked Briefcase
An Unlocked Briefcase
On June 3, 1993, Telstra representatives visited my business and, in an oversight, left behind an unlocked briefcase. Upon opening it, I discovered evidence of corrupt practices concealed from the government, playing a significant role in the decline of Telstra's telecommunications network.
A Government-backed Arbitration
A Government-backed Arbitration

An arbitration process was established to hide the underlying issues rather than to resolve them. The arbitrator, the administrator, and the arbitration consultants conducted the process using a modified confidentiality agreement. In the end, the process resembled a kangaroo court.

Not Fit For Purpose
Not Fit For Purpose

AUSTEL investigated the contents of the Telstra briefcases. Initially, there was disbelief regarding the findings, but this eventually led to a broader discussion that changed the telecommunications landscape. I received no acknowledgement from AUSTEL for not making my findings public.
&am

A Non-Graded Arbitrator
A Non-Graded Arbitrator

Who granted the financial and technical advisors linked to the arbitrator immunity from all liability regarding their roles in the arbitration process? This decision effectively shields the arbitration advisors from any potential lawsuits by the COT claimants concerning misconduct or negligence.<

The AFP Failed Their Objective
The AFP Failed Their Objective

In September 1994, two officers from the AFP met with me to address Telstra's unauthorized interception of my telecommunications services. They revealed that government documents confirmed I had been subjected to these violations. Despite this evidence, the AFP did not make a finding.&am

The Promised Documents Never Arrived
The Promised Documents Never Arrived

In a February 1994 transcript of a pre-arbitration meeting, the arbitrator involved in my arbitration stated that he "would not determination on incomplete information.". The arbitrator did make a finding on incomplete information.

 

Who We Are

Absent Justice was founded with a crucial mission: to provide a comprehensive and transparent account of the intricate and often troubling events surrounding various Australian government-endorsed arbitrations involving Telstra, one of the country's largest telecommunications corporations. We are a passionate and dedicated collective known as the Casualties of Telstra (COT), consisting of individuals who have directly endured the profound injustices inflicted during this long and arduous journey. This website is a powerful testament to the troubling practices we witnessed, illuminating a struggle many have faced but remain shrouded in silence. If you see the value in the research and evidence behind this important work, consider supporting  Transparency International Australia! Your donation will help raise awareness about the injustices that impact our democracy. 

Our investigation delves deeply into the unsettling intersection of government corruption and systemic gaslighting, with notable reference to figures like Julian Assange and other courageous whistleblowers. This narrative unveils a chilling saga marked by manipulation and systemic abuse of power, revealing how bribery and corruption, especially within Australia’s public sector, have systematically undermined the fundamental principles of fair and democratic arbitration. Compelling evidence emerges, exposing how tainted testimonies and misleading information have been leveraged in government arbitrations, consistently prioritising governmental interests over the rights and well-being of vulnerable citizens.
 

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Who We Are

 

Absent Justice Ebook

Read Alan’s new book
‘Absent Justice’

Until the late 1990s, the Australian government maintained ownership of the entire national telephone network and the communications carrier known as Telecom, which has since been privatised and rebranded as Telstra. For many years, Telecom operated as a monopoly in the communications sector, resulting in a significant decline in the quality and reliability of the network. Amid this decline, three other small business owners and I grappled with severe communication issues threatening our livelihoods. Frustrated by the situation, we united and formed a group called the Casualties of Telstra, or COT for short. Our plight caught the federal government's attention, which offered us a commercial assessment process, seemingly a beacon of hope for resolution.

The narratives above and below echo the recent British Government Post Office scandal. For more details, refer to the following link. Upon delving deeper into the Casualties of Telstra, one realises the striking resemblance to the UK Alan Bates vs. Post Office story. To watch the Australian television Channel 7 trailer for "Mr Bates vs. the Post Office," which went to air in Australia, →  Click here. The latest update on that terrible story is on YouTube at https://youtu.be/MyhjuR5g1Mc.   

This UK Post Office story sheds light on how sub-post office contractors were misled; some were even jailed and, tragically, led to suicides after encountering the might of the British Post Office, a government-owned organisation similar to Telstra. The COTs (Casualties of Telstra) were compelled into arbitration in 1994 with the assurance of receiving essential documents to substantiate their claims. Even thirty years later, in 2025, COT has yet to receive these critical documents.

Read About Our Dealings With

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“…the very large number of persons that had been forced into an arbitration process and have been obliged to settle as a result of the sheer weight that Telstra has brought to bear on them as a consequence where they have faced financial ruin if they did not settle…”

Senator Carr

Absent Justice - Unresolved Privacy Issues

A young man (a boy) with a Conscience.

Julian Assange provided a vital link for the COT cases, but we did not know this during our arbitrations.

A statutory declaration prepared by Graham Schorer (COT spokesperson) on 7 July 2011 was provided to the Victorian Attorney-General, Hon. Robert Clark. This statutory declaration discusses three young computer hackers who phoned Graham to warn him during the 1994 COT arbitrations. The hackers discovered that Telstra and others associated with our arbitrations acted unlawfully towards the COT group. Graham’s statutory declaration includes the following statements:

“After I signed the arbitration agreement on 21st April 1994 I received a phone call after business hours when I was working back late in the office. This call was to my unpublished direct number.

“The young man on the other end asked for me by name. When I had confirmed I was the named person, he stated that he and his two friends had gained internal access to Telstra’s records, internal emails, memos, faxes, etc. He stated that he did not like what they had uncovered. He suggested that I should talk to Frank Blount directly. He offered to give me his direct lines in the his [sic] Melbourne and Sydney offices …

“The caller tried to stress that it was Telstra’s conduct towards me and the other COT members that they were trying to bring to our attention.

“I queried whether he knew that Telstra had a Protective Services department, whose task was to maintain the security of the network. They laughed, and said that yes they did, as they were watching them (Telstra) looking for them (the hackers). …

“After this call, I spoke to Alan Smith about the matter. We agreed that while the offer was tempting we decided we should only obtain our arbitration documents through the designated process agreed to before we signed the agreement.” (See Hacking – Julian Assange File No/3)

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