Hideout in the Apocalypse. The Place Where There Is No Darkness. 2016. Pages 186-195.

Hideout in the Apocalypse. The Place Where There Is No Darkness. 2016. Pages 176-185.

Hideout in the Apocalypse. Kill the Artists. Kill the Writers. 2016. Pages 163-175.

Hideout in the Apocalypse. Kill the Artists. Kill the Writers. 2016. Pages 152-162.

GOVERNMENT THUGS. OPINION.

GOVERNMENT THUGS

OPINION

JOHN STAPLETON

The bullying culture with which the Abbott/Turnbull government has become synonymous is alive and well.

While Turnbull has been strutting the political stage this week, essentially claiming to have solved the issue of bullying on the nation's building and construction sites with the passing of the ABCC legislation, intimidation and head kicking within his own government remains rife.

The story of how a talented young publicity relations officer who until recently worked for the Australian Federal Police Association, the union for AFP officers, lost her job reveals a great deal about how the Prime Minister, and the nation's national security agencies, conduct their business.

The incident of the officer’s sacking began with an expose by The New Daily on the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's refusal to live in the official dwellings, either at Kirribilli or at The Lodge in Canberra.

He is the first Prime Minister in Australian history to eschew the comfort and security of the official dwellings for his own home.

Perhaps it is understandable.

His luxurious $50 million Point Piper mansion overlooking Sydney Harbour is worth more than the combined homes of all Australia's Prime Minister's since World War Two. As well, within the walls of his own home he is far freer to go about his own business than he might be in the official dwellings, staffed as they are by government employees and government security specialists.

But security experts contacted The New Daily precisely because the safety of the Prime Minister himself and his beloved family, including his wife Lucy and his adored grandson Jack, could not be guaranteed while ever he insists on living at Point Piper.

Equally, the safety of the Australian Federal Police officers assigned to protect him, his family and his staff cannot be guaranteed.

Unlike the official dwellings, Malcolm Turnbull's Point Piper home is vulnerable from land, air and sea.

Terrorists choose the location for their attacks very strategically, specifically aiming to achieve maximum propaganda impact; think Martin Place, Brussels Airport, the offices of Charlie Hebdo, the London Underground.

An attack on the Australian Prime Minister's home would achieve maximum news coverage not just in his own country but around the world.

This fact alone makes the Prime Minister's home the number one terror target in the country.

And security experts warn that located as it is in a residential area it simply cannot be secured in the same way as the official dwellings. An explosive-laden truck could be easily pulled up at the front entrance and detonated, drones could easily be flown into the property from surrounding apartment blocks, and equally, terrorists could easily approach the property from the water and fire artillery into the property.

Not one person has disputed the accuracy of The New Daily's story.

The AFP officers themselves were understood to be pleased with the story, and that changes to security at the Prime Minister's home were made immediately as a result.

But essential to the success of the story was the AFP Association (AFPA), which is the union represents the officers themselves.

President of the AFPA Angela Smith, the first woman to hold the position, is quoted in the story as saying that maintaining two official residences in both Canberra and Sydney, was not financially responsible. The residences are symbolic of the stability of Australian governance and have to be maintained whether or not anyone is living in them.

“Funding security on two prime ministerial residences is an indulgence that taxpayers cannot afford,” she said. “Security at these locations is a significant financial burden on the taxpayer. The AFPA urges the Prime Minister to rethink his decision to stay at his personal residence in Point Piper over the official residence of Kirribilli.”  

Following normal journalistic practice, these comments were transmitted to TND via the Association's publicity officer.

She drafted up the comments and they were signed off on by her boss Angela Smith, who was overseas at the time.

While the officers themselves were reportedly delighted by TND's story, from the moment the story was published Ms Angelin was "sent to Coventry", hauled over the coals by her boss for dealing with a journalist, and sacked within weeks. Pointing out that the President signed off on the comments and that as a union they do not work for the government but for their members got her nowhere.

As she had only worked for the AFP Association for five months, the officer could not sue for unfair dismissal and was not entitled to a payout. To dismiss her, the AFP Association relied a section of her contract which meant they do not have to provide any reason.

While none of the players in the chain of command, including the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the Attorney General George Brandis, the Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin or Angela Smith, a former AFP constable, are ever likely to comment, the standard line being that they do not comment on security matters, it would appear that the head kicking went straight down the line.  

That is from the Prime Minister via the Attorney General to the Australian Federal Police Commissioner to the AFP Association President; straight down to the only one vulnerable in the chain, the press secretary who was just doing her job, and doing it well.

All over a story which was factually correct and clearly in the public interest.

The Australian Federal Police were embarrassed this year by reports of widespread sexual discrimination and an endemic culture of bullying.

Andrew Colvin has been with the association since 1990, progressively rising to the top. It behoves him to demonstrate that bullying is no longer a part of AFP culture.

As the Prime Minister tucks into roast turkey inside his mansion this Christmas, a former public relations officer faces the festive season without so much as a job, simply for doing her job.

Enjoy. Thugs.

Malcolm Turnbull Must Abandon his Mansion, The New Daily, 11 October, 2016

http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2016/10/11/malcolm-turnbull-house/

‘Malcolm Turnbull must abandon his mansion’

Malcolm Turnbull has been told to move into the prime ministerial residences in the interest of national security and cost savings.

John Stapleton

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EXCLUSIVE

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is potentially endangering the lives of his family, staff, neighbours and the Australian Federal Police officers who protect him by choosing to defy tradition and live in his own mansion rather than lodgings provided by the taxpayer.

That’s the opinion of top security experts, who told The New Daily that the official Prime Minister’s residences, Kirribilli House in Sydney and The Lodge in Canberra – which remain empty – were designed to deal with the security issues surrounding a head of state, but his harbourside mansion was not.

Those criticising the Prime Minister’s decision include security personnel who have worked on the official residences.

Security experts believe his mansion, in Sydney’s most expensive suburb of Point Piper, is vulnerable to attack from the busy harbour, from the unsecured streets and houses surrounding it, and from the air.

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Roger Henning, director of security firm Homeland Asia/Pacific and security adviser to several Australian prime ministers, told The New Daily: “It is dangerous, selfish, arrogant and is putting AFP officers at risk. His Point Piper mansion is wide open.

“The unoccupied official PMs residences of Kirribilli House and The Lodge have specifically designed, state-of-the art, fully integrated security systems.

“These multiple protective security features must remain operational, with official residences fully protected by the AFP, while Mr and Mrs Turnbull remain unconcerned at doubling up on government security expenditure. It is dangerous. He has brought the terrorism threat into his harbourside neighbourhood.”

Malcolm Turnbull’s decision not to vacate his Point Piper mansion has cost taxpayers millions. Photo: ABC

Mr Turnbull’s luxury four-storey mansion on Sydney Harbour is worth more than $50 million, exceeding the combined value of the homes of every Australian prime minister since World War II.

The doubling up of security at both official and private prime ministerial residences is estimated to have cost the taxpayer $3 million to date.

Dr Tony Zalewski, a forensic security specialist at Global Public Safety who has degrees in law and criminology and is a security risk adviser to governments locally and abroad, told The New Daily the location of Mr Turnbull’s home in a residential area made it impossible to secure.

“The office demands a certain level of security and it cannot be achieved in a private residence,” he said. “A comprehensive risk assessment is the basis for any security strategy and needs to consider the local area.”

The Prime Minister’s insistence on living at Point Piper creates an unnecessary risk to AFP officers, neighbours of the property, the local community and staff who may attend on a routine or daily basis.
Dr Tony Zalewski

Director of Strategic Alliances at Homeland Security Asia/Pacific, Michael Roach, who has worked as a security risk adviser for government buildings for two decades, told The New Daily: “It is totally unnecessary … We are in a heightened threat in Australia in regard to officials and dignitaries.”

Estimates based on the assessments of security experts.

The New Daily contacted the Prime Minister’s office, but his staff declined the opportunity to respond to the concerns raised.

“We do not comment on security arrangements,” a spokesperson for the Prime Minister said in a statement.

A high price

President of the Australian Federal Police Association (AFPA), Angela Smith, told The New Dailymaintaining two official residences in both Canberra and Sydney was not financially responsible.

“Funding security on two prime ministerial residences is an indulgence that taxpayers cannot afford,” she said.

“Security at these locations is a significant financial burden on the taxpayer. The AFPA urges the Prime Minister to rethink his decision to stay at his personal residence in Point Piper over the official residence of Kirribilli.”

Australian National University’s leading terror expert Professor Clive Williams told The New Daily: “It is a costly indulgence. Large amounts of money have to be spent on trying to bring the private residences up to an adequate level of protective security – when that level of security is already available elsewhere.”

Mr Roach said Mr Turnbull was putting other people at risk: “Prime Ministers have a role and the expectation from the public is that they live in tax-funded premises.”