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Discrimination

History

Until the late 1990s, the Australian government fully owned Australia’s telephone network and the communications carrier, Telecom (today privatised and called Telstra). Telecom held the monopoly on communications and let the network deteriorate into disrepair. Instead of our very deficient telephone services being fixed, as part of our government-endorsed arbitration process that was set up by the government to fix the problems, it turned into an uneven battle the COT Cases could never win, our ongoing telephone and faxing problems were NOT fixed as part of the process, regardless of the hundreds of thousands of dollars, it cost us, four claimants, to mount our claims against Telstra. Crimes were committed against us and our integrity was attacked and undermined. Our livelihoods were ruined, we lost millions of dollars and our mental health declined, yet those who perpetrated the crimes are still in positions of power, today. Our story is still actively being covered up.

Today

Over the last seven years I have compiled a website and manuscript where all of the main events as quoted on the website as well as the book are supported by copies of the original documents (confirmation data), which are linked in the text: for example, (   ) . Clicking on these links with your cursor will automatically open a PDF of the exhibit by using this method and following the various file nos discussed in our various pages, validate the claims being made. Without those documents, most people would really struggle to believe that the Casualties of Telstra (COT) claimants have actually lived through these appalling events. 

The website and book are true accounts of what really happened during my arbitration and (not what is recorded in government archives concerning the COT story one which you may be aware of.  We were a group of small Australian business owners who blindly put their faith and trust in a minority group of Australian bureaucrats who, we later discovered, had secretly worked with the then government-owned telecommunications carrier (the Telstra Corporation) to conceal deliberately, from its customers and the arbitrator, just how bad the telephone system really was in Australia, back in the 1990s. Two separate Canadian telecommunication consultants flown from Canada to Australia to investigate our four claims one in October 1993 the other April 1995, also became involved in concealing how bad Australia’s telephone network was  as the following link on my website

The website and book are true accounts (not those recorded in government archives concerning the COT story one, which you may be aware of. A group of small Australian business owners who blindly put their faith and trust in a minority group of Australian bureaucrats who, we later discovered, had secretly worked with the then government-owned telecommunications carrier (the Telstra Corporation) to conceal deliberately, from its customers and the arbitrator, just how bad the telephone system really was in Australia, back in the1990s. Two separate Canadian telecommunication consultants flew from Canada to Australia to investigate our four claims one in October 1993          

It was during those arbitrations that three young computer hackers later confirmed as Julian Assange contacted the COT spokesperson  to advise him they had hacked into Telstra’s telecommunications network and uncovered how we arbitration claimants were being crucified by those conducting the arbitrations, and did we want copies of this evidence (see https://www.absentjustice.com/hacking-julian-assange/chapter-8-hacking-unresolved-privacy-issues/..

We declined the offer on the grounds we thought it might be a set up by Telstra or the government, unaware that the hackers were telling us the truth.

Please view this website, to verify what I am saying.

Julian Assange - Hacking shows Julian warned the COT Cases about corruption and legal abuse in Australian-conducted arbitrations. He exposed these heinous and scandalous crimes committed against the COT during their arbitrations three years before the Senate uncovered the same.   &nbs

As has been shown on Julian Assange Hacking and elsewhere on this website absentjustice.com three young computer hackers contacted Graham Schorer, COT Cases spokesperson, informing him Telstra and others associated with our arbitrations were acting unlawfully towards us and did we want copies of the Telstra documentation to support this. We declined that offer, thinking it might be a trap of some type to catch us COT Cases accepting documents outside their agreed arbitration process.   

During the COT arbitrations of 1994 to 1999 and beyond, certainly up to 2006, COT Case Graham Schorer, Ann Garms, and I discussed and, on several occasions, what Julian Assange and his hacker maters advised the COT Cases spokesperson Graham Schorer concerning what he had read via the documents he wanted to proved us including his clear statement,  that Telstra and their lawyers and others associated with our arbitrations were acting unlawfully towards us when Graham Schorer asked Warwick Smith (who was the then Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) as well as the administrator of our arbitrations) what the outcome of his investigations concerning what the hackers had conveyed about Telstra's and others Warwick Smith stated they had been apprehended.

I later made an appointment to see Warwick Smith with a witness. I asked him what the result of his investigations into what these hackers had told Graham about Telstra's unlawful conduct, citing what I had recently provided Sue Harlow, Deputy Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman office in a statutory declaration dated 16 May 1994, at the suggestion of Superintendent Detective Jeff Pensore of the Australian Federal Police. That statutory declaration detailed that Telstra had acted unlawfully towards me, altering and deleting evidence on requested discovery documents.

Warwick Smith said to continue my arbitrations and that his office would handle this matter. Nothing else was shared with me. I did not know at this time that Warwick Smith had been assisting Telstra before the arbitrations began to turn the first four commercial assessment processes into a highly hush-hush legalistic arbitration process where once it was signed, all issues, such as Telstra's unlawful conduct during our arbitrations could not be discussed publically because of the confidentiality clause.

When Senator Ron Boswell discovered Telstra, Warwick Smith and Dr Gordon Hughes had allowed Telstra to threaten me because of what I  had exposed to the Jeff Penrose of AFP concerning Telstra's destroying and altering information on my requested discovery documents, he disclosed this conduct at Senate Committee hearing on 29 November 1994, when it became evident Telstra had carried out those threats in full view of Warwick Smith and Dr Gordon Hughes. Warwick Smith and Dr Hughes have received the 'The Order of Australia' medal for their service to Australia.

Documents provided to both my first AAT 2008 hearing and my 2009 Institute of Arbitrators Mediators Australian investigation into my arbitration claims which included the none release of FOI documents by the goverement and Telstra raised the issues concerning the statements made by the hackers wehen they contacted Graham Schorer COT spokesperson. The issues raised on absentjustice.com Julian Assange - Hacking pages are not new invented issues they are issue that were raised in 1994, 1995, 1996 through to the present day. 

The Julian Assange - Hacking WebPages show Julian Assange warned the COT Cases about corruption and legal abuse in Australian-conducted arbitrations. He exposed these heinous and scandalous crimes committed against the COT during their arbitrations three years before the Senate uncovered the same.  

Has anyone in government understood what Julian Assange was trying to do when he revealed to the COT Cases we were about to have our lives ruined during an arbitration that the Australian government had promised us in writing would be conducted under the ambit of the Arbitration Act? It has been shown on this website that John Pinnock (the second administrator to the COT arbitrations) warned several senators on 26 September 1997 that the COT arbitrations were not conducted under the arbitration procedures. 

Had we COT Cases accepted Julian Assange's documents, we could have amended our arbitrations before they concluded without making a finding against Telstra's unlawful acts that the Australian Senate confirmed had been the case. Once again, I ask the Australian government how did  Julian Assange get it so right concerning Telstra's unethical conduct during our arbitrations and yet, the arbitrator and first administrator to the COT arbitration never found against Telstra for that same wrongdoing during the COT arbitrations.

Considering publicly available Hansards dated 11 March 1999 and In-Camera Hansards dated 6 and 9 July 1998 confirm what Julian Assange uncovered in April 1994, something is radically wrong with Australia's arbitration process. 

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Absent Justice Ebook

Read Alan’s book

My name is Alan Smith. This is the story of my battle with a telecommunications giant and the Australian Government, a battle that has twisted and turned, since 1992, through elected governments, government departments, regulatory bodies, the judiciary, and the Australian telecommunications giant, Telstra, or Telecom, as it was known when this story started. The quest for justice continues to this day.

Other independent business people similarly affected by poor telecommunications have joined me on my journey. We are known as the Casualties of Telstra, or the COT cases. All we wanted was for the government owned telecommunications carrier Telstra to admit there was problems, and fix them.

Worse, we had been tricked into signing a confidentiality clause that has hampered all of our efforts since to have our claims transparently investigated.

What do you think? Are we imagining it or has there really been massive corruption and collusion on the part of public servants, politicians, regulatory bodies and Telstra themselves, to protect Telstra to the detriment of it's customers?

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“A number of people seem to be experiencing some or all of the problems which you have outlined to me. …

“I trust that your meeting tomorrow with Senators Alston and Boswell is a profitable one.”

Hon David Hawker MP

“I am writing in reference to your article in last Friday’s Herald-Sun (2nd April 1993) about phone difficulties experienced by businesses.

I wish to confirm that I have had problems trying to contact Cape Bridgewater Holiday Camp over the past 2 years.

I also experienced problems while trying to organise our family camp for September this year. On numerous occasions I have rung from both this business number 053 424 675 and also my home number and received no response – a dead line.

I rang around the end of February (1993) and twice was subjected to a piercing noise similar to a fax. I reported this incident to Telstra who got the same noise when testing.”

Cathy Lindsey

“Only I know from personal experience that your story is true, otherwise I would find it difficult to believe. I was amazed and impressed with the thorough, detailed work you have done in your efforts to find justice”

Sister Burke

“…your persistence to bring about improvements to Telecom’s country services. I regret that it was at such a high personal cost.”

The Hon David Hawker MP

“Only I know from personal experience that your story is true, otherwise I would find it difficult to believe. I was amazed and impressed with the thorough, detailed work you have done in your efforts to find justice”

Sister Burke

“I am writing in reference to your article in last Friday’s Herald-Sun (2nd April 1993) about phone difficulties experienced by businesses.

I wish to confirm that I have had problems trying to contact Cape Bridgewater Holiday Camp over the past 2 years.

I also experienced problems while trying to organise our family camp for September this year. On numerous occasions I have rung from both this business number 053 424 675 and also my home number and received no response – a dead line.

I rang around the end of February (1993) and twice was subjected to a piercing noise similar to a fax. I reported this incident to Telstra who got the same noise when testing.”

Cathy Lindsey

“All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing”

– Edmund Burke