The Other Side of the Fence: Setting the record straight

When the headlines hit the news and I realised they had used the sexual content of the emails between the Senator and Trinidad runner Ato Boldon, I felt sick. That wasn't meant to happen and although at the time it seemed like the worst thing in the world that we could be facing... it was nothing compared to what was up ahead when the Senator decided to mislead parliament claiming that she was victim of a blackmail attempt and Dr Batman and I were the perpetrators of the act.

From the beginning of this case I was resolute that the majority of the information remain private but by linking this case during a statement in Parliament to a completely different matter that had never been broached with Senator Peris, she opened the door to present the material in aid of setting the record straight. Drawing public attention to the Senator was the last thing that anyone wanted to do, unless it was in a positive light. We were all volunteers in the community and not inclined to get embroiled in national scandals as a result of an Australian Senator’s indiscretions. Although cognisant of this from the beginning and believing every precaution was implemented to avoid the risk… here we all were, more than one year later, right in the middle of bogus blackmail claims - allegations of trying to extort money - AFP meetings - legal threats – uninformed twitter trolls attacking Miracles volunteers and the families involved in the matter and it just kept getting worse. The only solution in sight was to get this Chronicle condensed, updated and published as soon as possible.

What started out as a simple case of taking emotions out of the equation to negotiate amicable access agreements for three families managed to spiral out of control to the extent where the whole nation was involved. To this day I have not met Senator Nova Peris or even spoken to her directly and after what I have witnessed and experienced over the past 18 months, nor from this time forward do I have any desire to. The body of evidence associated with this case presented a pervasive pattern of deceit, abuse of the legal system, manipulation of government services, illegal hacking and the tabling of false and misleading statements - all under the auspices of integrity. It was now time to set the record straight by presenting the Other Side of the Fence.