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May 18th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda <!–
The Federal Court in Sydney has begun hearing sexual harassment allegations against the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Peter Slipper. Lawyers for his former staffer James Ashby want the case heard before a jury, Mr Slippers lawyers say there has been a character assassination that has been deeply disturbing to their client.
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EDMOND ROY: The sexual harassment allegations against the sidelined speaker of the House of Representatives have had their first airing in the Federal Court.
James Ashby, a former staffer of the Speaker, alleges he was sexual harassed by Peter Slipper on a number of occasions between January and March this year.
Peter Slipper denies the allegations.
From Canberra Samantha Hawley reports.
SAMANTHA HAWLEY: Australians have heard and read all about it. And this morning a Federal Court judge began hearing the sexual harassment allegations lodged against the Speaker, Peter Slipper by his former staffer, James Ashby.
And political comment wasn’t coming from the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, today.
JULIA GILLARD: Ah the matter is actually before the Federal Court today so I’m not making any comments on it. Thank you.
SAMANTHA HAWLEY: This morning at the first directions hearing in the Federal Court, lawyer for Mr Ashby, Michael Lee SC argued the case should be heard before a jury rather than judge as soon as possible.
Mr Slipper’s lawyer, Josh Bornstein, appearing via video link said the highly salacious allegations were subjected to a “publicity blitz”.
He told the court documents were released to the media before they were served on Mr Slipper or his legal team and there’d been a character assassination, deeply disturbing to Mr Slipper.
Julian Burnside QC appeared for the Commonwealth. His client argues it was never given an opportunity to address the allegations or to change Mr Ashby’s work arrangements, and argues the case is an inefficient use of the Federal Court’s time.
Terry O’Gorman is the head of the Council for Civil Liberties and a criminal defence lawyer.
TERRY O’GORMAN: Well whether Mr Ashby has initiated the media comment or responded to it, either personally or through his lawyers, whenever a person having started court action starts then either to participate or react to public comment in the media they run the very real risk that a court will be very sceptical of their evidence or that a court will find that what that person either himself or through his lawyers has said is either inconsistent with the written pleadings in the document filed in court, or inconsistent with the actual oral evidence eventually given in court.
SAMANTHA HAWLEY: What sort of action could the judge take in those sorts of circumstances? I mean could he basically throw the issue out of court altogether?
TERRY O’GORMON: Well a court’s not going to throw an action out of court because a litigant or a litigant’s lawyer has made some public comment but the more the public comment there is by a litigant, the greater the opportunity for the other side to point to in the actual court hearing itself to the judge, to a number of inconsistent comments made by the litigant both outside court and inside court.
SAMANTHA HAWLEY: A statement issued on behalf of Mr Ashby last night said he feared reprisal. And taking the matter into the public domain gave him the best form of protection.
Today’s court hearing stopped the Prime Minister passing comment.
SIMON CREAN: There are safeguards in the system. I don’t know what reprisals are.
SAMANTHA HAWLEY: It didn’t stop the Cabinet Minister, Simon Crean.
SIMON CREAN: Let the court case run its course but I always think that in terms of a process raise the complaint directly. If you don’t get satisfaction, you’ve got other recourse.
SAMANTHA HAWLEY: Mr Ashby has also lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission accusing the Foreign Minister Bob Carr and the Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce of victimisation because of comments they’ve made about him.
On Channel 9 the Opposition leader, Tony Abbott has brought Mr Joyce into line.
TONY ABBOTT: Well I’m saying that neither Bob Carr nor Barnaby Joyce should have been running a commentary on this matter.
SAMANTHA HAWLEY: There’s been no such dressing down from the Prime Minister. Mr Carr is standing by his Tweet where he said “this Ashby is more rehearsed than a kabuki actor.”
EDMOND ROY: Samantha Hawley.
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