Although I don’t expect every visitor to absentjustice.com and absenjustice.com.au to watch the video in its entirety, doing so will provide crucial insights into a significant issue: the pervasive corruption of the COT Saga.
🌹With extraordinary courage, Ann recorded this YouTube video, documenting the unbearable burden she had carried, a burden engineered by Telstra, the arbitrator, and all those who helped construct the cover-up that discriminated against more than a dozen Casualties of Telstra (COT). Her video is not just a testimony; it is an autopsy of a system that preyed on ordinary Australians.
Australian Federal Police Investigation File No/1.
Many within the Establishment acknowledged—quietly, but unmistakably—that forcing the COT Cases into arbitration with Telstra while the Australian Federal Police (AFP) were actively investigating Telstra for alleged phone and fax interception was not only improper, but arguably unconstitutional. It was also recognised as unworkable and fundamentally conflicted.
Yet the arbitrations proceeded anyway. And that decision raises a series of disturbing questions:
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How could two separate investigations into Telstra’s alleged unlawful conduct be allowed to run in parallel—one by an arbitrator, the other by the AFP? In any functioning Western democracy, such a dual-track process—civil arbitration running alongside a criminal investigation into the same conduct—is virtually unheard of. It defies procedural fairness and undermines the integrity of both processes.
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How were small-business owners expected to keep their businesses alive, prepare complex submissions for arbitration, and simultaneously assist the AFP with a criminal investigation? The burden was impossible by design. It placed ordinary Australians in a position no corporate defendant would ever tolerate.
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Who authorised this arrangement—and why was it allowed to continue once its impossibility and unfairness were obvious? Someone decided that the process would proceed regardless of legality, practicality, or justice.
What happened to the COT Cases was grossly undemocratic. These small-business operators entered arbitration believing that, because the government had endorsed the process, they would be protected by the shield of the Crown.
They were not. As documented on absentjustice.com, they were left exposed—caught between a government-backed arbitration process and a criminal investigation, with neither offering the protection or fairness that citizens in a democracy should be able to rely on.
INTRODUCTION: A RECKONING LONG OVERDUE
Welcome to absentjustice.com — the archive they never wanted you to see.
If you’ve found your way here, you’re not just browsing a website. You’re stepping into a crime scene. Not a crime of blood or bullets, but a crime against truth, carried out in boardrooms, arbitration chambers, government offices, and the silent corridors where decisions are made without witnesses.
For decades, the official story has been that the COT arbitrations were a fair process, a mechanism for justice, a way for ordinary Australians to resolve disputes with Telstra. That story is a lie. What happened to us wasn’t a failure of procedure. It was a coordinated operation, a containment strategy designed to bury evidence, silence claimants, and protect powerful interests.
This site exists because the truth didn’t simply disappear. It was murdered. And I refused to let the body stay buried.
What you will read here is not speculation. It’s not theory. It’s not rumour. It’s the documented record, corrupted faxes, intercepted calls, missing files, doctored logs, government silence, legal manipulation, and the psychological warfare used to break people who dared to speak.
I lived this. I documented it. And now I’m giving it to you.
Below is your guide, a walk‑through of the twenty‑two chapters that form the spine of this book. Think of it as the map to the machinery. Each chapter exposes a different layer of corruption, surveillance, cover‑ups, and the human wreckage left behind.
This isn’t just my story. It’s Australia’s story. And it begins here.
THE STORY YOU ARE ABOUT TO ENTER
1. Murder of Truth
The arbitration didn’t lose the truth — it killed it. Evidence vanished. Deadlines shifted. The arbitrator lied with “chilling detachment.” “The truth didn’t die in a courtroom… It was murdered.”
2. Surveillance State
Arbitration wasn’t confidential. It was surveillance. Telstra’s industrial‑grade systems tracked us like suspects. “We weren’t participants. We were suspects.”
3. Cover‑Up Culture
Concealment wasn’t a glitch — it was Telstra’s operating principle. “This wasn’t incompetence. It was culture.”
4. Corruption by Design
The arbitration was engineered to fail. “Corruption isn’t always loud… Sometimes it’s quiet. Engineered.”
5. Whistleblower’s Burden
I didn’t choose this role. The truth forced it on me. “Silence wasn’t neutrality. Silence was complicity.”
6. Conspiracy of Silence
Officials, executives, and administrators chose silence. “The silence wasn’t passive. It was strategic.”
7. Fraudulent Arbitration
The arbitration was a performance — the outcome predetermined. “This wasn’t arbitration. It was a performance.”
8. Justice Denied
Justice wasn’t delayed. It was suffocated. “Justice wasn’t delayed. It was denied.”
9. Retaliation Protocols
Retaliation was systematic, not spontaneous. “Retaliation wasn’t random. It was systematic.”
10. Bribery and Influence
Influence replaced truth as the currency of arbitration. “Bribery doesn’t always involve cash. Sometimes it’s access.”
11. Deception as Strategy
Deception wasn’t accidental — it was the architecture. “Deception wasn’t a side effect — it was the strategy.”
12. Evidence
Evidence didn’t vanish — it was erased. “Evidence didn’t vanish by accident. It vanished because someone wanted it gone.”
13. Interrogation by Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy became a weapon of psychological erosion. “Interrogation without the theatrics… punishment without the bruises.”
14. Underworld of Arbitration
This wasn’t a local dispute — it was part of a global machinery. “I was confronting an international machine.”
15. Forensics of a Cover‑Up
The digital footprints exposed intent. “The cover‑up had a digital footprint — and I followed it.”
16. Abduction of Accountability
Accountability wasn’t lost — it was kidnapped. “Accountability wasn’t denied — it was abducted.”
17. Truth in Exile
Leaving Cape Bridgewater was exile, not escape. “Cape Bridgewater was the battlefield. Ballarat became the watchtower.”
18. Homicide by Policy
Policy decisions can kill — and silence can be lethal. “Policy can kill. And silence can be lethal.”
19. Investigation Interrupted
Every inquiry stalled when truth threatened to surface. “Every time an inquiry began, it was stalled.”
20. Legacy of Lies
Lies seeped into public memory and official records. “The legacy of lies may be powerful, but the documented truth is stronger.”
21. The Reckoning Begins
Exposure. Pressure. Accountability. “The reckoning begins when silence is no longer an option.”
22. The Whistleblower’s Legacy
My legacy isn’t victory — it’s persistence. “A whistleblower’s legacy is measured in persistence.”
Telstra-Corruption-Freehill-Hollingdale & Page
Corrupt practices persisted throughout the COT arbitrations, flourishing in secrecy and obscurity. These insidious actions have managed to evade necessary scrutiny. Notably, the phone issues persisted for years following the conclusion of my arbitration, established to rectify these faults
Confronting Despair
The independent arbitration consultants demonstrated a concerning lack of impartiality. Instead of providing clear and objective insights, their guidance to the arbitrator was often marked by evasive language, misleading statements, and, at times, outright falsehoods.
Flash Backs – China-Vietnam
In 1967, Australia participated in the Vietnam War. I was on a ship transporting wheat to China, where I learned China was redeploying some of it to North Vietnam. Chapter 7, "Vietnam—Vietcong," discusses the link between China and my phone issues.
A Twenty-Year Marriage Lost
As bookings declined, my marriage came to an end. My ex-wife, seeking her fair share of our venture, left me with no choice but to take responsibility for leaving the Navy without adequately assessing the reliability of the phone service in my pursuit of starting a business.
Salvaging What I Could
Mobile coverage was nonexistent, and business transactions were not conducted online. Cape Bridgewater had only eight lines to service 66 families—132 adults. If four lines were used simultaneously, the remaining 128 adults would have only four lines to serve their needs.
Lies Deceit And Treachery
I was unaware of Telstra's unethical and corrupt business practices. It has now become clear that various unethical organisational activities were conducted secretly. Middle management was embezzling millions of dollars from Telstra.
An Unlocked Briefcase
On June 3, 1993, Telstra representatives visited my business and, in an oversight, left behind an unlocked briefcase. Upon opening it, I discovered evidence of corrupt practices concealed from the government, playing a significant role in the decline of Telstra's telecommunications network.
Not Fit For Purpose (Duplicate 1)
AUSTEL investigated the contents of the Telstra briefcases. Initially, there was disbelief regarding the findings, but this eventually led to a broader discussion that changed the telecommunications landscape. I received no acknowledgement from AUSTEL for not making my findings public.
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A Government-backed Arbitration
An arbitration process was established to hide the underlying issues rather than to resolve them. The arbitrator, the administrator, and the arbitration consultants conducted the process using a modified confidentiality agreement. In the end, the process resembled a kangaroo court.
A Non-Graded Arbitrator
Who granted the financial and technical advisors linked to the arbitrator immunity from all liability regarding their roles in the arbitration process? This decision effectively shields the arbitration advisors from any potential lawsuits by the COT claimants concerning misconduct or negligence.<
The AFP Failed Their Objective
In September 1994, two officers from the AFP met with me to address Telstra's unauthorised interception of my telecommunications services. They revealed that government documents confirmed I had been subjected to these violations. Despite this evidence, the AFP did not make a finding.&am
The Promised Documents Never Arrived
In a February 1994 transcript of a pre-arbitration meeting, the arbitrator involved in my arbitration stated that he "would not determination on incomplete information.". The arbitrator did make a finding on incomplete information.
