James
Ricketson
316 Whale
Beach Road
Palm Beach
2108
0400959229
Ms Alison Larkins
Acting Commonwealth Ombudsman
GPO Box
442, Canberra 7th
May 2012
Dear Ms Larkins
re
2010-118398
Following
on from my earlier correspondence. It is now more than three weeks since I made
an application to Screen Australia for development monies for my contentious
project CHANTI’S WORLD. My cover letter
of 13th April (enclosed) makes clear the dilemma confronting
both myself and Screen Australia vis a vis ‘conflict of interest’. There has
been no acknowledgement of receipt of my application and no response to my
letter. This is par for the course with Screen Australia. I have experienced
variations of this many times since the organization’s inception. Fiona
Cameron’s placing on file demonstrably false assertions about me was merely the
tip of the iceberg of the problems any filmmaker experiences if/she has the
temerity to make a complaint about Screen Australia.
On 2nd
May I sent a follow up letter (also enclosed) asking what, precisely, had
happened with my application. Again, silence. I have experienced 17 months of
this sort of treatment in relation to CHANTI’S WORLD and it is, to put it
mildly, more than a little annoying. To date, for reasons you will be familiar
with, the office of the Ombudsman has played no role whatsoever in trying to
bring this dispute to a logical and fair conclusion – despite clear evidence
that Screen Australia is in breach of its own guidelines, the APS Code of
Conduct and that lying to cover mistakes is countenanced at the very highest
levels of the organization.
The
assessment of any project of mine submitted to the Documentary Section of
Screen Australia can only be made when my dispute with Screen Australia is
settled one way or another. In essence what it boils down to is this: either
James Ricketson has been spinning a yarn, playing fast and loose with the
truth, or Screen Australia cocked up badly and, rather than admit to its errors
and rectify its mistakes, has bent over backwards to first of all ignore and then
cover them up by placing lies on file. If it is me who has been playing fast
and loose with the truth I owe various people apologies and Screen Australia
would be quite within its rights to sue me for defamation. If Screen Australia
is at fault the organization owes me an apology that makes it possible for me
to make applications to the organization without there being a conflict of
interest.
If no
resolution is achieved by the end of this week I will have no choice but to
withdraw my application and wait until there is a resolution one way or
another. Given that Screen Australia has shown no interest at all in resolving
the matter (other than by threatening to sue me) and given that the office of
Minister for the Arts likewise shows no interest at all in its resolution, I am
left with the Office of the Ombudsman as my last port of call. Alas, your
office likewise seems to have no interest in the matter – leaving me with little
choice but to try and force a resolution by publishing my correspondence online
and hoping that Screen Australia will commence legal proceedings against me so
that the facts can come to light and a fair resolution be reached. That anyone
should have to go to such lengths to achieve a fair resolution to a complaint
is absurd!
best
wishes
James
Ricketson
James, you are wasting your time. I have been down the Ombudsman path and nothing will come of it other than that you will become even more persona non grata with Screen Australia than you already are. The Ombudsman's office has bigger fish to fry and the only part of your complaint that might be on interest to her is your belief that Fiona Cameron investigates complaints made about herself. If this is true, this is a real problem. As for the rest of it, who cares! You've been screwed by Screen Australia. Join the club! Get over it.
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