James Ricketson
Europe Guest House
# 51, Street 136 Phnom Penh
013 901 455
Graeme
Mason
Chief
Executive Officer
Screen
Australia
Level 7, 45 Jones St
Ultimo 2007
16th March 2017
Dear Graeme
The 5th anniversary of
Screen Australia’s ban on me is but a couple of months away; five years during
which I have been unable to work as an Australian filmmaker.
Whilst it was Ruth Harley and Fiona
Cameron’s placing demonstrably false statements on file that kick-started the
ban, you and the current Screen Australia board are now the owners of it. You
have either encouraged or allowed Head of Legal Jane Supit to place on file yet
another untruth –namely that between May
2014 and may 2016 I have been guilty of “highly offensive conduct.”
You refuse to provide me with
evidence of this “highly offensive conduct”; refuse to allow me access to it
through FOI – manipulating both the letter and the spirit of FOI legislation in
order to hide from all and sundry that Jane Supit’s assertion is as nonsensical
as were previous assertions that I had intimidated and placed at risk Screen
Australia staff in my correspondence.
As you are aware, the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is currently considering my IC
review application; conducting inquiries with the Screen Australia as to why my
FOI requests for documented evidence of my ‘highly offensive conduct’ have been
knocked back by yourself.
The OAIC has provided you with
three weeks to respond to its inquiries. The three week time limit expires on
20th March. Needless to say I am curious (to say the least!) what
argument you employ to explain to the Information Commissioner why it is not in the pubic interest that I be in possession of
evidence of my “highly offensive conduct”.
In order to provide relevant context I
have informed the Information Commissioner that Screen Australia's refusal to
abide by either the spirit or letter of the Freedom of Information Act has been
going on since 2010. The reason for this is that there is no evidence from
prior to May 2012 that I intimidated or placed anyone at risk. You and the
current SA board members know this. And there is no evidence that between May
2014 and May 2016 I am guilty of the "highly offensive conduct" Jane
Supit refers to. Jane Supit can play fast and loose with the truth (as can Ruth
Harley, Fiona Cameron and yourself), can deny me access to documents under FOI,
because there is no-one, no body, no Minister that will hold them (or you) accountable.
Your problem vis a vis
‘evidence’ is a significant one. You
cannot produce documents that do not exist. Aware as you are that there is no
documentary evidence of my ‘highly offensive conduct’ you could, if you choose,
fall back on the Fiona Cameron "I felt intimidated" defense. This was
articulated by Fiona in 2012 in the only conversation (5 minutes, maximum) I
have had with anyone within Screen Australia this past five years.
As you know, I challenged the logic
of Fiona’s "I felt
intimidated" argument, presented to me in the foyer of Screen Australia in
the middle of the afternoon on a work day: “Your feeling intimidated is not the
same as me intimidating you,” I said. Fiona’s response was to instruct the
manager of the building to call the police. The police duly arrived to find me
sitting calmly on a couch reading a book. They were mystified as to what was
going on but explained to me that Screen Australia believed I was trespassing.
They duly arrested me.
In order to justify this mid-afternoon
arrest, and another shortly after that resulted in my spending a weekend in
jail, senior members of Screen Australia have had to perpetuate the myth
(through word of mouth and by implication in various documents on file) that I
pose a risk to SA staff. To this day I am not allowed to meet with staff
because of the supposed risk I pose - despite Screen Australia never having
provided any evidence at all that I pose a risk. Amongst other things my not being able to meet
with staff renders it impossible for me to access the Producer Offset.
That I pose no risk to SA staff would
come to light if you actually produced the documents you believe are evidence
of what you consider to be my highly offensive conduct; my intimidating of SA staff.
Anyone with a modicum of intelligence would look at such documents, if they
were produced, and exclaim, “And this is the evidence upon which you have banned
a filmmaker? Rendered it impossible for him to access the Producer Offset and
hence effectively destroyed his career?”
It is my contention (and has been
since Dec 2010) that no such documents exist. However, if the Fiona Cameron “I
felt intimidated” test is applied to some of my correspondence it could be
argued, I guess, by a clever lawyer that there was an implied threat. Fair
enough. Produce the evidence, make it public, and run with that argument,
Graeme.
You will not, of course – not even to
the Information Commissioner. You know that in making what you consider to be
evidence public would render yourself, Fiona Cameron and the Screen Australia board
members (including fellow filmmakers Claudia Karvan and Al Clarke) laughing
stocks in the eyes of the film and TV community. This you must avoid at all
costs. And I am sure you will; in hopes of being able to bamboozle the
Information Commissioner as you have the Commonwealth Ombudsman with the argument
that it is not in the public interest that I be appraised of evidence in
support of the ban on me.
I trust, when Jane’s Supit’s “highly
offensive conduct” is exposed as a lie, when it becomes clear that I have
neither intimidated SA staff or placed them at risk, that you will do the right
thing and resign as Chief Executive; as should Jane Supit. The current board
that has given its imprimatur of approval to this baseless ban should also resign
or be asked to do so by the Minister.
best wishes
James Ricketson
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