The long struggle over her ruinous involvement in the Bank of America Down Under Tour as part of the build up to Sydney’s 2000 Olympic Games descended even further down the lucrative lawyers’ picnic route when a Federal Court magistrate ruled against former Darwin Raintree Aboriginal Art Gallery owner , Ms Shirley Collins.
Magistrate T. Lucev , from Perth ,dismissed an application for Ms Collins to be represented at further proceedings by Brisbane chartered accountant, Barrie Percival, who has done so at previous hearings over the years and knows the case inside out .
Percival , who had flown to Darwin for the hearing, had asked to be accepted as a Mackenzie Friend , a term for a person , a non lawyer, who helps a litigant present a case, at further proceedings. The Canberra based legal firm of BlakeDawson , through Paul Vane-Tempest ( with an impressive moniker like this it would not be surprising if he presented his bill in guineas), via a TV link which at times belched metallic sounds like something out of a Dr Who episode in which the world is about to be sucked into a black hole , appeared on behalf of the federal Department of Finance and Deregulation. V-T challenged the right of Percival to represent Collins.
In delivering his lengthy, rapidly read, at times hard to hear, decision rejecting Percival’s application , Lucev made it clear that another lawyer would have to become involved ,despite court being told that two approaches for legal aid had been turned down. At the end of his oration, magistrate Lucev, WA’s first appointed magistrate in the Federal Court, ordered that Collins,72, a pensioner , should pay $2365 court costs before the start of the Festive Season.
When Little Darwin asked for a copy of the finding as it seemed comment in the preamble sounded as if he had been critical of the way her application for a grace in favour payment had been handled , a court official said he had no idea when it would be available online.
The former managing director of the Australian Tourist Commission , John Morse, in America at the time of the Down Under Tour which was conducted in an inflatable replica of the Sydney Opera House , is on record as saying, after investigation of her case , he came to the conclusion that she had been used as” a scapegoat” for the mistakes and misinformation of others. Factors involved included an unrealistic commercial assessment by consultants , a naivety on behalf of the Australian Tourist Commission office in the USA as to the commercial opportunity , a change of policy by the Bank of America , and subsequently a hardline ,unsympathetic approach by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.
As a result, Morse said he had seen Collins go from a vibrant,successful Aboriginal businesswoman,running an Aboriginal art gallery, to someone who lost everything, including her business, her health, her home and her dignity. Summing up, he said it was “grossly unjust”. Continuing, he said his comments came from the perspective of decency,fairness and moral justice.
While he was sure Collins would acknowledge “her own naivety” in assessing the commercial opportunity for the Tour Down Under ,she had been given considerable guidance by others more familiar with doing business in the USA and took this in good faith. In hindsight, it was obvious that the promotion should not have been attempted on a purely commercial basis.
After years of seeking justice, one time locked up in a room in Brisbane with a flock of QCs and forced to sign documents under duress, Collins is now seeking a grace in favour payment from the Federal government. It is interesting to note that a former Administrator of the Northern Territory, C.A. Abbott, an ex politician , somewhat short of cash late in life, received a grace in favour payment from government and even a state funeral, for which he did not have to pay. Needless to say, Collins is not seeking a state funeral . Such a payment has to be passed by parliament. Instead of showing some humanity, decency, fairness and moral justice in this matter, politicians from both sides , abdicated to bureaucrats and lawyers. This has resulted in the ongoing legal crushing of a woman. It is hearsay that ATSIC and its successor have spent $400,000 on legal fees in this matter.
Collins is liable for hundreds of thousands and she is paying off in small instalments an account for the hire of a truck in America to transport the Aboriginal art . During one court hearing it was revealed that a party to the dispute had indicated it was prepared to pay up to $100,000 to Collins, but this had been kept secret . Not one cent of that money was paid to her .
FOOTNOTE: During the Darwin hearing , a reporter asked for the name of the magistrate. After being given his surname, the reporter then requested the Christian name . It was spelled out as TONI . No, the reporter replied, that’s the girl’s way, and wrote TONY in her notebook. In fact, it is TONI .
There used to be a famous advertisement for a home hair care product, first appearing on May 16, 1949, and later in Life magazine , in which twin women featured. Hair conscious people were asked : Which twin has the TONI? In the lank, dank ,Yank bank marathon court case , Magistrate Lucev definitely had the Toni ; Collins was scalped, yet again.
ADDENDUM:The magistrate's associate,Ms Sandra Gough, kindly advised that once the court receives the transcript and finalises the judgment, it will be posted online. This should take approximately a week.
