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THE AUSTRALIAN — Friday February 11 2005
Top cop
admits
rape case
failures
Gosia Kaszubska
VICTORIAN police
badly mishandled a rape
investigation involving an
AFL player almost five
years ago, revealing an
‘‘almost total failure’’ of
the force’s methods for
dealing with sexual
crimes, the state’s top de-
tective has admitted.
Assistant Commissioner
for Crime Simon Overland
said yesterday the 1999 inves-
tigation of the case, said to
involve a former Carlton foot-
baller, was deficient.
But while acknowledging
the failings of the force, Mr
Overland defended Victoria
Police’s ability to handle rape
allegations against high-
profile sportsmen.
The complainant, identi-
fied only as Kate, told radio
station 3AW yesterday she
felt vindicated by the om-
budsman’s report.
‘‘I was pretty shocked more
than anything, but I wasn’t
surprised,’’ she said.
‘‘I knew that something
wasn’t right anyway but . . . it
still hurts.’’
Kate alleged she had con-
sensual sex with one Carlton
player but later woke up to
find another was raping her.
She said police did not take
her complaint seriously be-
cause it involved a high-
profile footballer and because
she was working as a stripper
at the time.
Police reopened the case
last year, and the faults in the
investigation sparked a
broader internal review of
complaints made against pro-
fessional footballers.
Mr Overland said yesterday
the police had re-examined
the investigations into 16 or 17
other cases.
‘‘We haven’t found similar
failings, so I think there’s
some reassurance there, and I
think we acknowledge and
have acknowledged this is a
difficult area for us,’’ he said.
The comments followed a
report by the Victorian Om-
budsman on the investigation
Delta sings
the blues
this year
Sophie Tedmanson
Entertainment reporter
IT’S not been a good start to
the year for Delta Goodrem.
Her much-anticipated sec-
ond album is fast dropping
out of the charts, ticket sales
for her debut concert tour
have not been selling as well
as expected, and she was
booed this month while per-
forming a duet with her new
beau, Brian McFadden.
Then last weekend an ex-
boyfriend who dated Good-
rem when she was a teen-
ager revealed details of their
sex life to the British tabloid
News of the World.
The former Neighbours
star has been in Britain pro-
moting Almost Here, a duet
by her and McFadden that
debuted at No 3 in the Brit-
ish charts this week.
Goodrem’s sparkling repu-
tation has been tarnished by
her relationship with former
boyband singer McFadden,
24, who was married to for-
mer Atomic Kitten singer
Kerry Katona until late last
year. The couple have two
young daughters.
Goodrem, 20, whose love
life hit the headlines when
she split from tennis player
Mark Philippoussis, became
caught between the est-
ranged couple after photos
of Goodrem and the Irish
singer on holiday in Cape
Town were published
around the world.
Goodrem was booed and
subjected to the crowd chant-
ing ‘‘Kerry, Kerry’’ while per-
forming her duet with
McFadden at an Irish charity
concert in Dublin this month.
Goodrem met McFadden,
who is on the same record
label, when they recorded
Almost Here in the middle of
last year.
Additional reporting: AAP
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CORRECTION
OK PROOF
98 75 50 25
of the rape claims, which were
first reported to police soon
after the incident in Septem-
ber 1999.
The report, which was
leaked to selected media yes-
terday, found the police had
failed to properly investigate
the allegations.
Mr Overland said two of the
three officers involved in the
investigation could face inter-
nal charges, while a third,
who had already left the
force, could have the incident
noted on his public record.
He said the matter had now
been handed to the Ethical
Standards Department.
‘‘There’s an investigation
that’s not complete, but suf-
fice to say I think it’s really a
failure of our system, an al-
most total failure it would
seem, and the matter just
simply didn’t progress for a
number of years.’’
Carlton Football Club’s me-
dia manager Ian Coutts de-
clined to comment.
A spokeswoman for the om-
budsman said that the report,
which was completed last
month, would not be made
public, in line with the office’s
obligation to protect the con-
fidentiality of the complai-
nant, but she confirmed that
disciplinary action had been
recommended against the of-
ficers involved.
Opposition police spokes-
man Kim Wells said footbal-
lers should be treated like any
other member of the com-
munity in such cases.
‘‘This is a disgraceful situa-
tion that needs to be further
investigated to ensure the
procedures are right so it
doesn’t happen again,’’ Mr
Wells said.
But Victorian Premier
Steve Bracks said the report
showed the system of inde-
pendent scrutiny of police
investigations was effective.
‘‘It just shows you the sys-
tem is working effectively and
well when we have indepen-
dent scrutiny of individual
events,’’ he said.
Additional reporting: AAP
Justice taxing for late lodgers
Rebecca Vonhoff
Jane Lyons
PETER Raue wonders
whether there is one law for
Joe Average and another for
‘‘people of influence’’.
Like one Australian judge
has done, Mr Raue failed to
submit a tax return for five
years.
But unlike the judge or
magistrate, whose identity re-
mains undisclosed, Mr Raue
this week faced a Sydney
court, charged with failing to
submit three tax returns.
Downing Centre Local
Court deputy chief magis-
trate Helen Syme on Wed-
nesday ordered Mr Raue to
pay $1050 for his failure to
lodge, and gave him a dead-
line of April 11 to settle his
outstanding returns.
Another of the dozen indi-
viduals before Chief Magis-
trate Derek Price in a neigh-
bouring court the same day
was Geoffrey Aaron from
Balmain in Sydney’s inner
MP faces restraining order
Amanda Banks
A FORMER media adviser to
federal Liberal MP Barry
Haase is seeking restraining
orders against the member
for Kalgoorlie and his wife.
Mr Haase and his wife,
Dallas, have been sum-
monsed to appear in the
Perth Magistrates Court on
Monday to respond to appli-
cations for misconduct re-
straining orders lodged by
Natasha Mutch.
Ms Mutch worked as Mr
Haase’s media adviser for
about 18 months, until leav-
ing his office in November.
Mr Haase, 59, did not return
calls from The Australian yes-
terday, but current media ad-
viser Fran Pratt said the MP
would not comment as the
matter was sub judice.
Mr Haase’s lawyer, West
Australian Liberal senator
15 8 7 6 5
Glamour designer shows us the moneyed, honey
Dressed for chill: A model wears a Carmen Marc Valvo design in New York
New citrus canker alert
A SUSPECTED new case of
citrus canker disease in the
the fruit-growing district of
Emerald in central Queens-
land is being investigated by
the quarantine authorities.
If the case is confirmed, it
would thwart any short-term
hopes that the district —
quarantined since a canker
outbreak last year — can
have its fruit readmitted to
the national markets as the
crop nears harvest this year.
It would also renew pres-
sure for the remaining
230,000 citrus trees in the
district to be destroyed.
Major Emerald grower
west. He was fined $5000 and
received a two-year bond for
being at least two years late
with his tax returns.
The Australian Taxation
Office usually only takes le-
gal action when the PAYE
taxpayer owes the public
purse, and the 31 judges who
this week remain up to seven
years late were probably
owed a refund, a spokes-
woman for the ATO said.
Indeed, the judge or magis-
trate who is five years late
filed all outstanding returns
last Friday and is to get a
‘‘substantial refund’’ for at
least one.
None of the judges is facing
legal action.
Mr Raue’s troubles began
in 1998 when the tax office
ruled the investment scheme
he was involved in no longer
qualified as a tax deduction.
The ATO did not respond to
his letters arguing the valid-
ity of the expenses.
‘‘I think it’s unfair. I had a
reason for holding out, but I
David Johnston, told The
Australian yesterday that
the MP would defend the
restraining order application.
Mr Johnston said he did
not represent Mrs Haase and
had no idea whether the
couple remained together. He
would not comment on the
nature of Mr Haase’s rela-
tionship with Ms Mutch.
Ms Mutch, who could not
be contacted yesterday, is
now employed by a state
government department.
Mr Haase was elected to the
West Australian seat of Kal-
goorlie in 1998 and returned
for his third term in the
marginal electorate last year.
The MP came under the
spotlight three months be-
fore the October election
when his driver’s licence was
suspended for three months
after speeding offences.
Although it was the second
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The Nation 7
Emily Davies
New York
IT was perfect that Donald Trump
and his new model wife, Melania,
chose the Michael Kors show at New
York Fashion Week for their first
post-wedding appearance.
Kors is the patron saint of the rich
— and those who want to dress rich.
Mrs Trump skittered along behind
The Donald, as they call him here.
She was ‘‘verrrrrrrrry happy’’, she
said, at the prospect of seeing all
those clothes.
Kors knows his clients don’t want
to mess around with looking quirky,
and he knows that looking poor does
not play well either. They want to
look as rich as they are — or more so.
They rely on him for that bonus
sheen that comes from knowing you
are wearing a camisole of the sleekest
silk under your clothes, or that the
peacoat you wear to ward off the cold
is made of ‘‘cashgora’’ (a luxurious
Kors blend of cashmere and angora).
You suspect his professional life is
not the angst-racked lot of other
designers. The Kors strain of glam-
our is simple — but that’s not to say
it can’t be diverse or cool.
It was both yesterday, and versa-
tile, too — after all, don’t many people
Scene stealer: Naomi Campbell exotic in yellow for Anna Sui want to look rich? Kors, perpetually
thrilled to be American, has pro-
duced a look that is always moneyed,
always honeyed, and begins with the
theme of a golden lucky life.
This time, he said his inspiration
was ‘‘American thoroughbreds . . .
from Cooper to Clooney, Hepburn to
Paltrow’’. There were those peacoats,
which gave the collection a military
slant that is fast becoming a trend
this week, and which would look
especially great in red with Ms
Trump’s jeans. There were slouchy
wide-legged trousers, huge cocooning
knits and, as ever, lots of fur —
raccoon collars, shredded fox bath-
robes and huge hats with plumes
hanging down, which were possibly
also fox, though it was hard to tell.
Wonderfully, there was also a black
stretch-crepe/silk ski dress. Mock not:
the Kors woman always knows ex-
actly what to take on holiday.
Like Kors, Narciso Rodriguez has
something inherently Manhattanite
about him. His clothes give the body a
skyscraper effect, with strict stream-
lined shapes corseted to the body and
only the briefest flash of flesh.
There were exquisite plays with
tailoring yesterday — zips became
spines supporting fragmented dresses
of three parts, and delicate corsets and
waistcoats made of wool were worn
over shirts and satin dresses.
Pictures: AFP Combination: Sui teams elegance and colour The Times
John Pressler, whose 2PH
farm was found to have a
canker infestation last Oct-
ober, informed the quaran-
tine authorities yesterday
that he had found a new
cluster of trees with a suspi-
cious leaf infection.
The trees were 2km from
the site of the first outbreak,
and government inspectors
took samples away for lab-
oratory analysis.
‘‘If our suspicions of an-
other canker outbreak are
confirmed, it will be just dev-
astating,’’ Mr Pressler said.
‘‘I pray and hope I’m
wrong, but I fear the worst.’’
doubt they (judges) have a
valid excuse,’’ said Mr Raue, a
computer consultant and for-
mer army lieutenant-colonel.
In July last year, 66 judges,
magistrates and coroners
were up to seven years late
filing tax returns, and 31 of
them still owe 44 returns.
The judge or magistrate
who is seven years late has
been issued with a letter of
warning to file and is talking
with the ATO about negotiat-
ing a settlement.
Victorian County Court
judge, the late Robert Kent,
was less fortunate than his
colleagues on the bench.
Kent pleaded guilty in 2001
to five charges of failing to
file tax returns and resigned
two weeks after he was con-
victed and fined $10,000. He
died months later.
In recording a conviction,
Queensland judge Brian
Hoath said his failure to set-
tle his tax responsibilities
showed a disdain for the law.
time Mr Haase had lost his
licence for speeding, he was
given an extraordinary licence
after a magistrate ruled he
needed to drive to properly
contest the election in Kal-
goorlie, the world’s biggest seat.
Mr Haase, born in the West
Australian mining town of
Southern Cross, had worked
in catering management and
was the director of an aircon-
ditioning and building main-
tenance company.
The Liberal Party was wor-
ried the backbencher was in
jeopardy of losing his seat
last year and organised a
string of visits to Kalgoorlie
by federal ministers.
But Mr Haase was re-
turned with a swing of nearly
3 per cent, defeating Labor’s
Tom Stephens after the sud-
den death of local candidate
Kevin Richards just four
weeks before the election.