Outrage as One Nation revives massacre theory
Lashed out ... DPP Damien Bugg;
(Below) Port Arthur conspiracy theorist Bob Doring ... no guns, so
he now has a spear for self-defence. Photo: Angela Wylie
By Andrew Darby and Greg Roberts
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
lashed out yesterday over the re-emergence of the Port Arthur
massacre conspiracy theory - claims which have not been rejected by
One Nation's leader, Ms Pauline Hanson.
Mr Damien Bugg condemned those reviving the theory, which says
that the gunman, Martin Bryant, did not act alone and that the
Federal Government had staged the shooting to justify tough new gun
laws.
Mr Bugg, who as Tasmanian DPP prosecuted Bryant, said that each
time the claims emerged, the victims' relatives and friends were
hurt.
Ms Hanson, who has repeatedly refused to rule out the conspiracy
theory, claims that the Government imposed a moratorium on a full
inquiry into the massacre, in which 35 people died on April 28,
1996.
She reignited the controversy during a weekend television
interview when, asked to comment on the theory, she said: "And I'll
ask you, was a full investigation put into Port Arthur or was it
tied up for 30 years?"
One Nation in Tasmania, despite acknowledging the pain, stood by
its demand for an inquiry into the massacre.
Further highlighting One Nation's stance, Mr Bob Doring, convenor
of the Australian Right to Bear Arms Association, announced
yesterday that he was advising the party on defence and firearms
policies.
Mr Doring, who was stripped of his gun dealer's licence in 1997
when convicted of firearms offences, said he believed the Government
had wanted "something severe" to happen as a pretext for reforming
gun laws.
"The theory is that Martin Bryant was the 'patsy' and that one or
two others actually did the shooting," he said.
Ms Hanson declined to comment on Mr Doring yesterday, but she
said "a lot of people are asking questions" about Port Arthur.
The pressure on One Nation was increased when the National
Party's Senate leader, Senator Ron Boswell, appealing at a Tuesday
press conference for Nationals to reject the Hanson party, produced
a copy of its magazine Update, which suggested that Bryant
had fulfilled the same function as Lee Harvey Oswald in the Kennedy
assassination.
Another advocate of the conspiracy theory, Mr Ron Owen, president
of the Firearm Owners' Association, said support from gun-owners had
been a key factor in One Nation's successes in the Queensland
election.
"Pauline Hanson is the driver and firearm owners and shooters are
the engine of One Nation," he said.
After the prosecution of Bryant in 1996, Mr Bugg had determined
that there was no need for any further inquiry, saying the matter
had been fully investigated by a police and forensic team.
Yesterday, he said: "And I think it is rather sad that people who
are ill-informed about the circumstances of this matter seem
prepared to make comments about such a significant social tragedy
that have no basis in fact."
An overwhelming body of evidence had pointed to Bryant's guilt,
and not one piece of evidence had since emerged that would in any
way counter that.
The Rev Keith Moulton, whose daughter Nanette Mikac and his two
granddaughters were murdered by Bryant, said yesterday: "It hurts
that someone is trying to make political milage about it. It wasn't
political at all."
He said belief in a conspiracy theory was stupid. "Bryant was
known in the area. He'd been through the Broad Arrow cafe and thrown
out a couple of weeks before. That takes all of the argument away
that it was organised."
The policeman responsible for the Port Arthur investigation, and
now State Police Commissioner, Mr Richard McCreadie, said the case
against Bryant was never contested and the conspiracy claims lacked
any material support.
The Tasmanian Attorney-General, Mr Peter Patmore, dismissed any
claim of a government moratorium as "absolute drivel".
The mainstream gun lobby appears divided over the row.
The Sporting Shooters Association's projects director, Mr Gary
Fleetwood, dismissed the conspiracy theory as "ludicrous" while its
Queensland vice-president, Mr Geoff Jones, said he was pleased Ms
Hanson was taking advice from Mr Doring, and that several questions
arising from Port Arthur were left unanswered.
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