A WHITE BALLOON TRIUMPH

I broadcast my 3AW Drive program today from radio station 3NE in Wangaratta. And to understand why, I have to flash back a month to when I was talking about Melbourne being the Suppression Capital of Australia. Sixty Minutes was banned from showing a program on teenage suicide. Channel Seven was banned from showing a story about convicted multiple murderer Peter Dupas and a man was acquitted of murder recently and I cannot tell you his name.

As I said we are bombarded daily with streams of suppression orders from Magistrate’s Courts, County Courts and the Supreme Court. Some even threaten us if we even mention that the order even exists. And that’s why trials go merrily along in secret, like in some Police state, and you are not even allowed to know the name of an accused murderer or drug dealer or child rapist. I thought justice not only had to be done but had to be ‘seen to be done’?

And then along came a judge in Wangaratta with the craziest ban of all. Bizarre. County Court Judge Michael McInerney banned people from carrying white balloons as part of White Balloon Day. Banned any newspaper, radio station or TV station from covering White Balloon Day on September 8.

White Balloon Day is a national day to focus attention on the victims of child sexual assault. It was started some years ago by Hetty Johnston, the founder of Bravehearts. They are a fantastic group of committed people and I have been proud to be guest speaker at their annual luncheon in Brisbane.

Judge McInerney ruled that allowing people to hand out flyers or hold balloons, or report on the day, could affect an ongoing sexual assault case that was being heard in the area.

As I said at the time, I guess if a soldier happened to be up on a charge on April 25 we should ban Anzac Day. Or if a footballer was on a charge (which is pretty likely these days) we should ban the Grand Final. And isn’t there a danger that TAC ads will affect a jury in a culpable driving case?

One woman, Jennifer Pietsch, did carry a white balloon that day in September and had copies of my Hinch editorial –which the judge described as ‘bile’. She was arrested, bundled into a paddy wagon, charged and fined $2000.

The judge also questioned my intelligence and said ‘a small minority put the 4th estate into disrepute’. I guess that’s me.

Anyway, we decided to hold a White Balloon Day here in Wangaratta today – a month late. Jennifer Pietsch came. The founder of Bravehearts, Hetty Johnston, came from Brisbane. And the good people of Wangaratta with white balloons. More than 4000 of them through out the town.

We may be a month late but the cause remains strong. And the message is the same one I have been posing for 25 years –both inside and outside of jail: Who’s looking after the children?

Friday, October 9, 2009

© Copyright Derryn Hinch 2009