by Jay Darby
Porter took a piece of paper from his briefcase. He offered it to Tate, then pulled it back and held it against his chest. “The list of KA associates...Convince me, why trust you?”
Tate smirked. “Who else do you have? And what have you said that links me to KA?”
“Had you heard of ‘em before today?”
“One hears many things in my position...Years ago, when I first heard whispers of a secret organization that’d supposedly stemmed from the defunct NSP, I dismissed them, as most in politics did. Seemed the stuff of Masons, conspiracy theories…”
“KA hasn’t recruited you…Why do you reckon that is?”
“Are you certain they haven’t?” Tate laughed. “It’s simple… I’m pro-immigration and pro-refugee. I disgust white supremacists…”
Tate hadn’t been mentioned in the Cumal files. But did that mean he couldn’t still be somehow linked to KA? Porter had to gamble, and trust him, as the only man capable of delivering what he wanted. And if he lost the bet, he’d most likely pay with his life.
“Spot on,” Porter said. “You represent everything the Knights of Alba hate.” He handed him the list. “You’re a threat, and they’re paying your Liberal party mates to remove you from office.”
“What? To replace me with who?”
“They’re backing Jenkins for leadership…He’s a KA puppet, who’ll promote their anti-immigration policy and legislate it. And he’ll have the numbers in a slip when Alexander decides to move you on…”
“Surely he won’t?”
“Why not? KA don’t know I’ve got the Cumal files. I wouldn’t have made it here today if they did…They probably reckon the files got destroyed in the Thompson’s house fire, or are still out there somewhere...”
“You’re saying that Jenkins and Alexander have no idea they’ve been compromised?”
“They don’t, and if allowed to, they’ll oust you. Then they’ll be in the clear, able to steer Liberal party policies toward KA objectives…”
Tate read, his eyebrows jumped. “Moorecroft’s on their payroll? Jesus, I considered Ken to be a good friend. Unbelievable…And what makes you think Jenkins will have the numbers?”
“I’ve only included high ranking officials and public figures in that list of associates. You’ve got another twenty-three, corrupt, Liberal party members. Sleepers in parliament sympathetic to KA’s cause. You’ll lose.”
“Unless?”
Porter considered spelling it out for him. “You lock ‘em all up.”
He gasped. “Have my own members arrested? Impossible…It would end the Liberal party.”
“That’s only the start…”
“Meaning?’
“We’ll get to that…Take out Alexander, Jenkins and these KA associates. That’s your first move. Today.”
Tate blew air through pursed lips. “Jesus, you’re right...” He scanned the page, his hand shook. “It’s quite a list... High ranking Interpol officials, police bosses, judges, and lawyers. And the sex slave clients named…They’re rich and influential men and women…Wouldn’t it be very embarrassing if we move against these people, and you’re wrong?”
“I’m not...And your failure to act, if the files get to the media and become public knowledge, would be worse. Embarrassment’s the least of your worries.”
“That a threat?”
“Nah, sound advice...”
Tate broke eye contact when Porter stared back. “Let’s say I take your ‘advice.’ Watkins was crooked, and there are still corrupt Police Commissioners and Ministers in office. We can’t trust the cops, so who’ll round up these hundreds of KA associates?”
“I spoke to Steve Williams this morning. He suggest-”
“Wait...He knows what’s in your report? Knows about the files?”
“Nah, only the names in front of you, of associates to be arrested…”
“Thank Christ…” Tate leaned closer. “If I’m to trust you on this, I need your complete confidentiality. No-one else can know of the report. We clear?”
Porter almost laughed. Tate wanted to know if he could trust him? “Yeah…And works both ways, right?”
Tate nodded.
“Beaut…Now, Williams suggested that ASIO investigators arrest the members of parliament and police commissioners. Their blokes are clean, not mentioned anywhere in the files. Sell it to them as being a breach of national security…Tell ‘em the truth, that KA’s a bunch of homegrown terrorists, who can be incarcerated under provisions in your new legislation. NSW Crime Commission blokes will grab Judge Alexander and Jenkins first, followed by a co-ordinated swoop for the others. When all suspects are in custody, I’ll forward evidence to relevant investigators, for applicable charges to be laid…”
“Good, that should avoid conflicts of interest. Who’ll arrest Ken Moorecroft?”
Porter grinned. “I’m back in Sydney tonight. Me and Steve Williams will handle Moorecroft.”
“I see that pleases you. Because he’s the police minister?”
“Nah, because his KA mates abducted and murdered girls on my patch, and he shut down our efforts to find ‘em. He’s as guilty as any bastard in all of this, not to mention being a condescending arsehole. I can’t wait to take him down…”
“Don’t hold back…Now tell me this, who makes the international arrests of corrupt officials and KA clients? Surely not Interpol?”
“Nah, not with their High Commissioner Davidson being first on the list…Every nation with interests in this have Crime Commission’s similar to ours, without links to KA, and will jump all over it. Anti-human trafficking agencies, independent of Interpol, will assist as well...We’ll forward the info asap.”
“I must brief Rothwell, and others I still trust, initiate some damage control... The fallout will be immense.” He passed Porter a business card. “Email me names of those Liberal party members loyal to KA, the twenty-three others you mentioned.”
“Will do…”
Tate slid the list of associates onto the desk.
Porter snatched it up. “I’ll keep a hold of this, put those we’ve discussed to work on it…” He placed the list inside his briefcase. “With your authorization?”
Tate squinted at the briefcase. “Yes of course…Is that all for now?”
“Nah, we still need to cover the second part of my report…”
“The neglect of Aboriginal children in far western New South Wales? Look, we haven’t got time for that now.”
“Make time.”
Tate mumbled incoherently, then opened the report and read for a minute. “I’m confused…How did Carinya’s investigation in the Outback lead to this evidence of international human trafficking? Where’s the link?”
“Good question…” Porter sucked a long breath and readied himself for the final blow. “Lionel Roberts, the bloke behind Carinya, uncovered sexual abuse at Crooked River Aboriginal mission, going back to the early 1960s. Young Koori girls were raped by police and others, and sold as sex slaves.” He paused and watched the look of bewilderment spread across Tate’s face, he wanted his words to whack it hard. “And the men who profited from sex slavery back then, profit from it today. The Knights of Alba’s members, and corrupt politicians…”
Tate chortled. “You’re serious?”
“Deadly…”
“Profited? How?”
“Through manipulation of the Aboriginal Protection Act, for a start...”
Tate groaned. “This, again? I heard good things of Lionel Roberts and imagine he’d want more from Carinya than simply re-visiting the stolen generations? Those Aboriginal children were taken legally, under the Protection Act, for their own good.”
“Not all…And the Liberal government of the day profited.”
The sarcastic smile on Tate’s face disappeared. “That’s potentially, an extremely damaging accusation. Thankfully,” his smile returned, “it’s a false one…”
Porter leaned his head to the side. “Lionel discovered that
Aboriginal Welfare Board records for girls taken from Crooked River mission between 1963 and 1969, were never filed in State Archives...”
“An honest mistake?”
“Nah, because the missing records are contained in the Cumal files. I left that out of my report on purpose…”
“Welfare Board records that list what?”
"I've already told you…Names of four-hundred and fifty-six girls, between nine and seventeen years of age, who were sold into sex slavery by government officials.”
Tate’s face scrunched, as though a foul smell had wafted to his nose. “Sold? Be very careful, Porter.” His face flushed, he clawed the desk. “It’s a fucking lie, and names on a list prove nothing.”
“Nah, but original bills of sale, and receipts of payments made by Welfare Board officials to the girls’ families…They do. And I’ve got ‘em.”
“The most ridiculous claim I’ve ever heard... To suggest the government made money from the Protection Act. I should have, you, arrested. For slander...”
Porter smirked, then pointed at the report. “But, you won’t...”
Tate sank into the chair. “What do you want?”
“I don’t trust your government to honor the promises you’re gunna make.”
“I’m making promises?” Tate scoffed. “To you?”
“Yeah, and like I said, I don’t trust the current mob. That’s why you’re gunna have the Governor-General dismiss them. Then bring in a new government, that’ll act on our demands…”
“Our demands?”
“Well, Lionel’s, mostly…”
“Jesus, what are you on? You have any idea, of the ramifications from dismissing a government? It'll be the chaos of ’75 all over again…”
“See it as a fresh start, a chance to weed your garden...”
“Federal elections are very close, can’t we do the clearout then? Can't you just tell me who you want in, and where?”
“Nah, there could be KA sleepers not named in the files. It’s too risky to leave ‘em in place.”
Tate’s eyes whirled. “This would be catastrophic for the Liberal party...”
“Compared to releasing evidence showing its’ involvement in sex slavery?”
Tate snarled. “Go ahead, release it. I’ll simply brand it the work of a few rogue officials who profited themselves. Nothing you’ve shown can directly implicate the government of the day.”
Porter removed a page from his briefcase and held it up. “This, top-level directive, does…”
“I’m losing patience with your games, Constable. What is this nonsense?”
Porter slammed the page onto the desk. “A stamped directive, signed by the Prime Minister in March of 1965…You said the dismissal of government is the worst scenario for your party and this nation. You still sure about that?”
Tate ripped at his jaw. “Yes.”
“How much does Australia’s history mean to you? Are you proud of it?”
“Of course, I am…What’s your point?”
Porter slid the page across the desk. “Read that, then tell me how proud.”
Tate read, his hands trembled. He forced a laugh, as though he tried to shake himself from a bad dream. “It’s a photocopy of a fake…It’s easy to forge old documents…”
“The original is safely tucked away. It’s no fake.”
“That Prime Minister was a magnificent, honest man, who’d never approve such a farce. It’s an absurd allegation…”
“He approved the acquisition, and sale, of young Aboriginal girls. That’s his signature. He had full knowledge of what those corrupt Welfare Board blokes were doing.”
“Nonsense.”
“Is it? Face reality, mate, your mob’s profited from sex slavery since the 1960s. Maybe longer...They've worked hand in hand with a bunch of racist pricks calling themselves the Knights of Alba. Nah, dismissal of your government aint the worst scenario. Far from it…”
Tate crossed arms and closed his eyes. Five seconds later he opened them. “The stolen generations were shameful enough…But sex slavery? Christ, if this got leaked, we’d never recover from it…And I’m not only speaking of the Liberal party. Our nation…Australia would become a cancerous mole on the face of humanity...”
Porter inclined his head, lips pursed. “Our greatest shame, no doubt. And a secret, that, for the sake of millions of decent people, I’m prepared to let stay a secret. But, my terms are non-negotiable...”
“Understood...Name them.”
The night before, Porter had recalled the various conversations he’d had with Lionel over recent weeks. He’d made a list of demands based on them. He took a crumpled piece of paper from his trouser pocket. “Now, in brief…The full details, I’ll email later.”
Tate nodded and readied a pen to paper.
Porter read from the list. “You agree to dismiss your government, and authorize the arrests we’ve discussed?”
Tate sighed. “I do...I mean, I’ll push the Governor-General for it.”
“Alright, good, and be sure to push hard…Now, I’ve spoken to one of the Crooked River rape victims...She’s of the opinion that, since the main offenders are all dead, an inquiry into those historical rapes would do nothing but revive terrible memories for the victims. But, she’s compiling a list, with my help, and they’ll be well compensated...”
“By who?”
“Your Liberal buddies riding the KA gravy train…The millions we’ll seize from their accounts will be the compensation...”
“But we ca--”
Porter held up a flat palm. “Nah, ah, ah. Non-negotiable…”
Tate moaned, face glum.
“Righto, next…” Porter eyed the page. “The seized assets of Kennard Atkins Mining Corporation, owned by the Knights of Alba. 1.2 billion dollars. Half of it will go to the families of girls named in the Cumal files, the ones whose daughters were taken and sold as sex slaves. The other half goes to families of those Australian girls recently abducted by KA...”
“Anything else?”
“Lots…Like I said, will send a complete set of demands later. There’s one priority...”
“What?”
“Your new government will pass new legislation, to be known as the Carinya Act. You’ll allocate a higher percentage of the Federal budget to Aboriginal health, education, and housing, with tough penalties for government departments found to be negligent…”
“Such penalties already exist…”
“Yeah, but they’re never enforced…A full-time squad of Koori investigators, trained and funded by the Attorney-Generals’ department, will have powers to investigate any breaches. They’ll continue Carinya’s work…” Porter skimmed over his list. “This one’s a biggy too…”
Tate scoffed. “What, bigger than a new act of parliament?”
“Yeah, I reckon it is…You’ll begin the process of constitutional recognition for Australian Aborigines, and support it.” Porter smirked. “Lionel was passionate about that one, and would’ve bloody haunted me till death if I forgot it…”
“I can’t make any promises…”
Porter frowned. “Then I can’t promise to keep all this from the media…” He waited for Tate to concede with a dull nod. “And, you’ll set up the Lionel Roberts Foundation.”
“For?”
“Tertiary scholarships. Koori kids to study law. Twenty million dollars a year.”
“But we already spe--.”
He raised a palm, gave him the ‘stop’ sign. “No buts, just do it…”
Tate watched him. “You’re enjoying yourself, but tell me this…Considering how wicked and corrupt you deem all politicians to be, are you entirely convinced I’m not KA? Do you know which high council members escaped the explosion you mention? Said yourself, there could be KA sleepers and associates who aren’t named in the Cumal files…” He leaned forward. “Am I one of them?”
A corkscrew of doubt ploughed Porter’s gut, he swallowed sticky bile. The sudden
devilish glint in Tate’s eyes, and the hint of deception in his voice, suggested he’d been a fool to trust him.
He hoped to call his bluff. “Nah, don’t reckon you are…”
Tate sniggered. “The look on your face…Priceless. For a second you weren’t sure, were you?” He paused. “What if I’ve changed my mind?”
“Regarding…?”
“Your demands…They’re excessive. And damaging...”
“Again, compared to what? The files going public?”
“Even so, I very much doubt the Governor-General will agree to dismiss the government…”
“You’re the Prime Minister, make him…Let him know what’ll happen if he doesn’t. I don't reckon the Commonwealth will be too keen such a scandal?”
“You make a valid point, but it’s not so simple…And I’m to just take your word that you have hard evidence against my parliamentary colleagues? As I said earlier, it’ll be embarrassing if you’re wrong, and would destroy the careers and families of some fine politicians.”
“Don’t you mean, dodgy politicians? The ones named in that list are more corrupt than FIFA bosses…They must, be arrested.”
“The 1.2 billion dollars we’ll seize from Kennard Atkins could be put to great use in our fight against terrorism…It’s one we’re currently losing, but that sum of money would turn the tide. And haven’t the stolen generation’s victims’ been well compensated already?”
“Nah, they haven’t, and you’re speaking as though you have a choice...” Porter plonked a clenched fist on the desk. “You don’t.”
Tate leaned forward. “Ah, see that’s where you’re wrong, because I’ve just realized I do…What’s to stop me from having you arrested, then locked up? It would give my agents time to find and destroy these files you’re talking about.”
The corkscrew in Porter’s gut tightened. He analyzed him, noticed his sweaty forehead and the nervous twitch at the corner of his mouth. “Don’t take up poker, mate…You’ll agree to the demands.”
Tate rocked back in the chair. “I’ve worked fucking hard to get where I am. Why risk my career, my legacy, to pay for the sins of imbeciles who’ve gone before me? Why?”
“A good mate used to say, ‘history repeats, but we never learn from it’. He was spot on…Be the one who heeds past mistakes. Wanna discuss your legacy? Do what’s right, implement what we’ve discussed, and you’ll have a decent one…If you don’t? Well, you can figure that out yourself…”