Mar 06 2009
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Mar 05 2009
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The APEC wall that couldn’t keep The Chaser out cost $2m
THE steel and concrete fence that became a symbol of the 2007 Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit, cost an amazing $2 million to hire for seven days, documents released under Freedom of Information laws reveal. Read more at news.com.au here.
This is my first story for news.com.au. I have reported previously on the farce of the APEC excludable person’s list and a botched police attempt to blackmail an activist into spying. Read more here.
Read more about Freedom of Information laws at Peter Timmon’s excellent Open and Shut blog here. He has written a short piece about my article here.
Nov 15 2008
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Book Review: What The Mother Knew
A review of my book in the Sydney Morning Herald:
PICK OF THE WEEK
WHAT THE MOTHER KNEW
By Edmund Tadros
Fairfax Books, 160pp, $29.95
We have become so used to faux gruesome murders on television cop and crime shows that recounting the details of a real murder can seem almost pallid and uninspiring by comparison.
In this account of the murder of Jody Galante, Herald journalist Edmund Tadros (whom I have never met) has realised the problem posed by television and opts for an unusual and effective technique.
Tell the story as a straight, chronological description of events. Provide transcripts of proceedings and, in an unusual form of flashback, interweave unfolding events with childhood memories. Don’t embellish, psychologise or theorise. Let the drama, with all its nuances and subtleties, unfold as an unfiltered piece of reality.
The challenge of this kind of “verite” writing is sustaining a sense of drama, particularly when all the reader has to do is look at the title, look carefully at Steven Siewert’s dramatic cover image or read the back-cover blurb, which declares: “What drives a man to kill his wife in cold blood?” to know how the book’s narrative is resolved. The technique adopted by Tadros, which works superbly, is to create a situation in which both the reader and Jody’s mother become convinced, long before the evidence is gathered and the murderer confesses, that the killer is Mark Galante. It’s a variation on the literary device known as dramatic irony: the reader knows who the killer is but the police are still investigating. The reader becomes engrossed in the story as the police build their case.
This is a beautifully written account of a murder. It is genuinely original in its approach and suitably circumspect in its conclusions. The way it weaves interviews with family members, transcripts of internet chat rooms, snippets of dialogue, police press releases and a note written by Mark Galante into a compelling narrative gives the story a powerful momentum. But don’t expect a neat televisual conclusion. Tadros admits at the end of the book that no one, with any certainty, knows exactly why Mark Galante killed his wife.
BRUCE ELDER
Sep 06 2008
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The farce of the APEC excludable person’s list
In the months before the 2007 APEC forum, the NSW Government passed special legislation so police could create a list of “excludable persons”, who were considered so dangerous they would be immediately arrested if they entered Martin Place and other public areas around the Opera House during APEC Leaders’ Week.
It turns out that university activists and Greenpeace members made up a third of the secret list of 61 people. Pictured above are nine of the excluded. Read more at The Sydney Morning Herald.
This was a freedom-of-information request that came back with a useful police document.
A blog link to this story.
Other stories I’ve done about police and APEC for The Sydney Morning Herald.
August 24, 2007: Cheney protester convicted
June 18, 2007: Spy for us and we’ll drop charge
June 19, 2007: Those on APEC black list ‘know who they are’
June 21, 2007: Protesting at APEC a bad idea, activists told
June 29, 2007: Cages on wheels: APEC plan to keep the peace
Sep 02 2008
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The murder of Jody Galante
On January 7, 2006, pregnant mother-of-one Jody Galante was reported missing by her husband Mark. A week later Jody’s body was found in bushland at Bilpin, in the Blue Mountains. She had died of a single gunshot wound to the head. Police investigated the murder and made an arrest in March 2006. The case came to a conclusion in April 2008.
I covered this story for The Sydney Morning Herald from when it was a missing person’s inquiry and have written a book about the investigation. Buy the book online here. Visit the dedicated website here.
January 10, 2006: Woman vanishes in market mystery
January 12, 2006: Silence meets missing mother plea
January 17, 2006: Missing mother Jody murdered
January 25, 2006: I’d never hurt her says husband
March 2, 2006: A wave then accused wife killer led to cells
April 11, 2008: My daughter’s killer: I held his hand
November 16, 2008: Honours for catchers of wife-killer
BOOK EXCERPT: Blood, tears and lies
Oct 29 2007
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NSW Police, a big group of teenagers and the ensuing riot
Catalogue of police blunders at party that was broken up
Police tried to suppress details of their baton-wielding reaction to a teen dance event, but freedom-of-information laws have exposed the embarrassing details. Read more…
I’ve had mixed results with freedom-of-information laws. On this ocassion I was able to get a hold of a useful report into the NSW Police. I asked for the document after writing these earlier articles with Herald journalist David Braithwaite.
October 12, 2006: Dance party riot spray row
October 13, 2006: Critics have a spray over police tactics
Jul 13 2007
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Universities violate privacy laws
Two more useful freedom-of-information searches that came back with useful results about the way universities and the police interact.
July 11, 2007: Uni lets police see personal records
THE University of Technology, Sydney, has given police access to student and staff information during the past two years without the knowledge or consent of those involved. Read more at the Sydney Morning Herald.
July 13, 2007: Police got student data just by asking
THE University of Sydney has provided confidential student information to law enforcement officials without demanding a warrant, subpoena or even an explanation. Read more at the Sydney Morning Herald.
May 07 2007
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The high cost of being a police officer
In seven years 17 serving and former NSW police officers have committed suicide. In fact, more NSW police have died from suicide while on duty than from any other cause.
These articles examined the traumas officers face on a daily basis and the challenge of making it acceptable for them to ask for help.
March 9, 2007: Training to spot police in distress
May 1, 2007: It’s OK to cry: NSW police chief
May 2, 2007: When thin blue line snaps
May 5, 2007: Hidden scars of a career facing society’s horrors
May 7, 2007: Cops struggle to cope with problems
* Support is available for anyone who may be distressed, by calling SANE Helpline 1800 18 7263 or Lifeline 131 114.
Apr 27 2007
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Bashings, robberies rife at city stations
RAILWAY stations in central Sydney are the most dangerous in the state. Passengers are most likely to be bashed, sexually assaulted or robbed at city stops, confidential police figures show.
Despite a 2005 RailCorp promise to work more closely with police, there are an average of 18 crimes a day across the metropolitan and country rail network.
There were 1300 assaults, 417 robberies and 111 sexual offences committed during a 13-month period to November 2006.
The data, obtained from police under freedom of information laws, show for the first time the extent and location of crime on the rail network. Read more at the Sydney Morning Herald.
April 28, 2007: Rail chief defends network
THE acting head of RailCorp, Rob Mason, says more needs to be done to reduce crime on the rail network.
Mr Mason was responding to a report in the Herald yesterday that showed there were 1300 assaults, 417 robberies and 111 sexual offences in a 13-month period on the NSW rail network. Read more at the Sydney Morning Herald.
Feb 24 2007
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Casino stood by as clerk lost stolen millions
STAR CITY casino allowed a 31-year-old bank clerk earning $44,000 a year to lose $8.5million of stolen money in its high-roller room, despite believing the source of his funds was suspicious and monitoring him for nearly a year.
Erick Tjandra, a pathological gambler, stole $10.4 million from his employer, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, gambling most of it away at the casino.
While staff had concerns about his behaviour and funding, no meaningful action was ever taken by the casino’s managers.
The details of the case have been revealed in the Casino Control Authority’s triennial report, which also found a single call from a Star City cashier to the federal anti-money laundering body, Austrac, led to the end of Tjandra’s 11-month gambling run. Read more..
