This website is a work in progress; it was last edited in May 2024.

It's time to shine a light on the dark world of political corruption. This insidious practice is just as dangerous as any other crime, and it's happening right under our noses. While we often hear about corruption in regions like Africa, Asia, and Colombia, we must not ignore the appalling crimes that take place in developed countries like Britain and Australia. One such example is the cruel exploitation of subcontractors by the British Post Office, as exposed in this eye-opening report → Click here, which aired in Australia in February 2024.

For the latest update on this shocking story, check out the following YouTube link: https://youtu.be/MyhjuR5g1Mc. It shows this terrible saga is not going away.

The Australian Casualties Telstra (COT) story is equally appalling, documented on absentjustice.com. Even worse, Telstra and its Board of Directors managed to conceal their crimes for years, with both houses of the Australian parliament turning a blind eye to their actions.

The Liberal-National Party government's actions have demonstrated their dishonesty towards the remaining sixteen COT cases. These sixteen cases were discriminated against in the most deplorable manner. Our tireless efforts to expose the government's actions have revealed that they broke their commitment to the sixteen COT Cases at different levels. In 2005, after our arbitrations from 1994 to 1996 were concluded, Senator Barnaby Joyce was promised by Senator Helen Coonan, on behalf of the Liberal-National Party government, that if he cast his one crucial vote needed in the Senate to sell off the remaining part of the government-owned Telstra Corporation, an independent loss assessor would be appointed to value each of the remaining unresolved COT cases arbitration issues.

However, in 2006, the government did not keep its promise and went back on its commitment. Instead, it informed Senator Joyce that the government would assess the merit of each COT case's unresolved claims. This left us, the COT cases, with no choice but to trust the Australian Liberal-National Party government. But once again, we were hoodwinked, as our story shows.

We hoped the government would resolve any unresolved issues the arbitrator had failed to investigate as part of the government-endorsed arbitrations. This 2006 investigation was also supposed to assess any unlawful actions perpetrated by Telstra during their arbitrations, such as fraud and perverting the course of justice.

In my case, I received confirmation from the government on March 17, 2006, that they would refer any proof of such actions against me to the appropriate authority if I chose to have my matters assessed by the 2006 assessment process. However, my evidence of any unlawful acts was discarded during this government review. It is clear from the evidence provided to the government in 2006 that my claims against the arbitrator and Telstra were validated during that 2006 assessment. Hence, the question arises as to why the three 2006 prepared reports, namely Telstra's Falsified BCI Report, Telstra's Falsified SVT Report, and Tampering With Evidence, were not investigated as promised in the March 17, 2006 letter that notes this issue.

"Dear Mr Smith -- etc-- "Thank you for your letter of 10 March 2006 to Ms Forman concerning the independent assessment process. If the material you have provided to the Department as part of the independent assessment process indicates that Telstra or its employees have committed criminal offences in connection with your arbitration, we will refer the matter to the relevant authority". File 657 → AS-CAV Exhibits 648-a to 700 

The following statement by Simon Bryant, one of the government assessors, demonstrates how far the government bureaucrats went to undermine the validity of the complaints filed by the COT Cases. Additionally, Jodi, an ACMA government official, was coerced into turning a blind eye to the illegal activities of Australia's public service.

“I think Jodi maybe getting confused about what the assessment is meant to do (or at least what we are recommending), i.e. an assessment of process and what further resolution channels may be available to people. We are arguing strongly that the assessment should not be about the merits of each case.” (File GS 424 → [document|1248] does not exist).

In July 2023, I drafted an Open Letter to the current Australian Prime Minister, The Hon. Anthony Albanese, to express my grave concerns regarding the government officials who serve as public servants in ACMA. I published this letter on my website, absentjustice.com, where I elaborated in detail why I have lost complete trust in these officials. It is appalling that many public servants in Australia prioritize their interests over the interests of the Australian citizens they are supposed to serve, which is a blatant breach of trust.

From my website and Open Letter to the prime minister, it is crystal clear that many ACMA and other government officials who were involved in the Casualties of Telstra issues have yet to comply with the law. It is unacceptable that their unethical practices have caused irreparable harm to countless innocent Australian citizens. The government must take immediate action to ensure that these officials are held accountable and that justice is served to those wronged. The people deserve better, and it is imperative that the government takes necessary steps to restore the citizens' trust in the public service Open letter to Prime Minister.

Ericsson AXE faulty telephone exchange equipment (1)

I think it's essential to digress here and go back to 3 June 1993. after two Telstra technical consultants inadvertently left in my office a briefcase. I found that Aladdin had left behind his treasures: the Ericsson Briefcase Saga was about to unfold, i.e. Telstra had knowingly misled and deceived me during my first settlement on 11 December 1992 Front Page Part Two 2-B).

The briefcase was not locked, and I opened it to find out it belonged to Mr Macintosh. There was no phone number, so I had to wait for business hours the next day to track him down. But what there was in the briefcase was a file titled 'SMITH, CAPE BRIDGEWATER' - AXE - problems ongoing - this has been a significant AXE problem. After five gruelling years fighting the evasive monolith of Telstra, being told various lies along the way, here was possibly the truth from an inside perspective.

The first thing that rang bells was a document which revealed Telstra knew that the Ericsson AXE RVA fault they recorded in March 1992 had lasted for at least eight months — not the three weeks that was the basis of their settlement pay-out. Dated 24/7/92, with my phone number in the top right corner, the document referred to my complaint that people ringing my number over 8 months received a 'service disconnected' message telling the caller my line was 'not connected'. The final sentence reads: 'Network investigation should have been brought in as fault has gone on for 8 months'.

I copied about one-third of this briefcase before my copying machine died. That information was sent to AUSTEL, the government communications regulator, the day after Telstra returned and picked up the briefcase. 

My arbitration claim showed thousands upon thousands of Telstra customers Australia-wide had been wrongly billed since the installation of this Ericsson AXE equipment, which, in my case, had been installed in August 1991, with the problems still apparent in 2002. Other countries worldwide were removing or had removed it from their exchanges (File 10-B Evidence File No/10-A to 10-f), and Australia was still denying to the arbitrator there was ever a problem with that equipment. Lies were told by Telstra to minimise their liability for the COT Cases. (Files 6 to 9 AXE Evidence File 1 to 9)

Was the leaving of this Telstra open briefcase on my premises a mistake or done intentionally? Were some Telstra technicians hoping for me to uncover the true extent of the appalling Telstra telecommunications network? The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), known as AUSTEL, saw the briefcase's contents and confirmed that my claims were valid. Ten months after this briefcase affair, AUSTEL praised my persistence in achieving a reliable telephone service for the whole region of my holiday camp in Portland, South West Victoria.

On 9 December 1993, the Hon. David Hawker MP wrote to congratulate me for my “persistence to bring about improvements to Telecom’s country services. I regret that it was at such a high personal cost.” (Arbitrator File No/82)

This was very affirming, as was another letter dated 9 December 1993 and copied to me from the Hon David Beddall MP, Minister for Communications, in the Labor government, who wrote:

“Let me say that the Government is most concerned at allegations that Telecom has not been maintaining telecommunications service quality at appropriate levels. I accept that in a number of cases, including Mr Smith’s there has been great personal and financial distress. This is of great concern to me and a full investigation of the facts is clearly warranted.” (Arbitrator File No/82)

I have irrefutable evidence that points 2 to 212 in AUSTEL’s Adverse Findings were deliberately withheld from the arbitration process, confirming that the government validated my claims. It baffles me why the government allowed me to spend over $300,000 in arbitration fees for thirteen months to prove something they had already validated in March 1994, just six weeks before my arbitration commenced.  

The government and media lauded me and the other three COT Cases (two of whom have since passed away, and one of whom has dementia) for our dedication and hard work. We agreed to cease our campaign for the Senate to investigate the matter in exchange for the government's promise to ensure that Telstra would address ongoing telephone problems as part of a government-endorsed arbitration process. The government must uphold its end of the bargain and address the issues the remaining sixteen COT cases face.

The Australian government's endorsement of an arbitration process should have solved the ongoing telephone problems experienced by the COT Cases. Sadly, the government's written assurance that the specialized service verification testing during the arbitration would solve the problem was not fulfilled. Despite their best efforts, the COT cases were left with no resolution, and it is a tragedy that the government-endorsed process failed to address their ongoing telephone issues.

The COT Cases' struggle is not just a story; it's a reality that resulted in the bankruptcy of many businesses, including mine. It's an injustice that the new owners, Jenny and Daren Lewis, had to face after investing all their life savings in the company I sold them for land value. The federal court ordered them off the property, and their bankruptcy was the final blow Chapter 4 The New Owners Tell Their Story.

My story is not unique. It's one of twenty-one stories on absentjustice.com that show how government officials failed to help the COT Cases. The Senate reviewed five cases to determine if the government's actions were justified, with the remaining sixteen COT Cases left without a resolution. It's not too late for the government to make things right for all twenty-one COT Cases and show that they care about justice for all Australians.