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 -    PAGE ONE  

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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