Networked Knowledge - Media Report

Channel 7 Today Tonight Adelaide
23 August 2007 The Story of Dawn Rowan

Link to Dawn Rowan's web site with further details - http://dawnrowansaga.blogspot.com/

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Program

Rosanna Mangiarelli presenter

First tonight, one of this State’s most appalling miscarriages of justice. Dawn Rowan is a pioneer in exposing and combating domestic violence - the kind of crusader all communities need. However, for the past 20 years she's been fighting a bitter legal battle against both the State and Federal governments over baseless allegations that shut down the shelters she established. Despite the court’s finding Dawn to be the innocent victim, she's now about to be made homeless. Graham Archer has the shocking details.

Graham Archer; Dawn Rowan  .... and it's also 18 years of living with the real terror of bankruptcy and losing everything I owned. But I thought that was a possibility only if I lost. I didn't think that was a possibility if I won.

Graham Archer: Because in the end you won but you lost?
Dawn Rowan: That's right.

Mark Parnell MLC: My big fear is that cases like this have a chilling effect in the community. They send a message to people that you might be a victim of bad government behaviour,  but just shut and go away, because if you do challenge them they will throw everything at you and they have no morality when they are doing it.

Graham Archer: Tomorrow is "D" for Dawn Rowan. The day the Commonwealth and State governments moved in to take her home. Does that effectively mean that you're homeless?

Dawn Rowan: Yes that effectively means that I'm homeless, and because I work from home, when I'm able to work - that I won't have a place to work as well. 

Dawn Rowan: As we reported some months ago, during the 80's Dawn and her colleagues were pioneers in the area of family violence, setting up the first shelters for women and children fleeing violence at home. It was controversial and at times dangerous work.

Man who assaulted his wife: ....I just picked her up and dragged her across to my place and I told her I was going to give her the biggest kicking of her life, but I pre-planned that. I told a few blokes at work that I was going home to give it the biggest kicking of it’s life, cause I'd had a guts full

Graham Archer: Though independent, the shelters relied on funds from State and Federal welfare departments which resented the lack of control and sought to convert the shelters into emergency housing for all comers. The women led by Dawn fought a brave battle but became the targets themselves of personal vilification. You were characterized as a trouble maker?

Dawn Rowan: Oh absolutely. An empire builder. The mouth from the south.
Graham Archer: This culminated in the report commissioned by the then State Minister Dr John Cornwall which under parliamentary protection unleashed an appalling barrage of unfounded accusations about how the shelters operated. Dawn - and her Christies Beach shelter was singled out for special attention. The list included allegations of financial mismanagement and much worse.

Dawn Rowan: Sexual harassment of women in a women’s shelter. Physical and verbal violence of women in a women’s shelter; and they're there because of those issues. Inappropriate exploitative counselling,  which is a shocking, shocking allegation to make.

Graham Archer: Was any of it true?
Dawn Rowan: Absolutely not. Not one bit of it.

Graham Archer: Four separate enquiries found the allegations to be baseless. But the damage to the women's reputations and their future job prospects had been done. No apology was offered and  Dawn's only redress was to be through the courts. She embarked on a legal battle which lasted almost 20 years. The 2002 the trial judgement cleared her entirely and was scathing of those who'd defamed her.

Justice Debelle from court transcript: The allegations were a shocking defamation.  
Graham Archer: It (the judgment) singled out Cornwall and the Review chair, Judith Roberts as being motivated by malice.

Justice Debelle from court transcript: I find there is sufficient evidence that members of the Review Committee did not honestly believe what they were stating about the Christies Beach shelter was correct.

Graham Archer: There were many alarming aspect to the case including that all five government departments involved lost substantial portions of their files. 

Justice Debelle from court transcript: Some files were destroyed or lost after this action had commenced.

Graham Archer: However, despite the strength of the judgement, both the State and Federal governments - using tax payers funds – appealed. And after a 16 month wait for the results, the findings of malice against Roberts and other committee members were overturned. The consequences were devastating.   Dawn became responsible for the legal costs of the Commonwealth Government throughout the 15 year case and the appeal. Dawn was innocent but now faced ruin.

Graham Archer: So having been falsely accused of criminal conduct by a Government Minister and his staff?
Dawn Rowan: Yes.
Graham Archer: After being appallingly defamed?
Dawn Rowan: Yes.
Graham Archer: Having to resign?
Dawn Rowan: Yes.
Graham Archer: Move States?
Dawn Rowan: Yes.
Graham Archer: Having seen documents and notes go missing?
Dawn Rowan: Yes.
Graham Archer: The court has now found that you have to pay the governments costs?
Dawn Rowan: That's right.
Graham Archer: The Commonwealth Government's costs because they've been let off by the Full Court? And well never know what this has actually cost the taxpayer?
Dawn Rowan: No

Graham Archer: No government is innocent in this. But the Rann Government in 2002 chose to fight her to the bitter end, even though they had no legal or moral grounds. And the Federal Government have done the same. And due to a legal technicality she must pay their entire costs - which means now losing her remaining possession - her home.

Mark Parnell MLC: She's been overwhelmingly vindicated by any number of enquiries and legal process and yet she's the one who continues to be the victim and it really is not just.

Graham Archer: According to Mark Parnell, Greens MLC, this case is a classic reminder that we have a legal system and not a justice system.

Mark Parnell MLC: The answer to this is very simple the State government and the Federal government need to back off they don't need to exercise every bit of legal power they have to extract money from Dawn

Graham Archer: It's easy to blame the system but individuals make these decisions surely they should be made on moral grounds as much as legal grounds?

Mark Parnell MLC: I think that's right. And I think the real tragedy of this case is the people who really were the guilty parties - way back two decades ago - they're the ones who aren't suffering at all.

Rosanna Mangiarelli: Our attempts, and those of scores of others, to have justice prevail have fallen on deaf ears. And the Minister who has the ultimate say - who could call off the dogs - Mal Brough is saying nothing.

Mark Parnell MLC: Mal Brough has not to responded to any of the thousand of approaches that have been made to him. He is the Minister responsible for funding the women's shelters.

Graham Archer: So tomorrow, Dawn will walk into court for the last time into and face the inevitable outcome of having her one remaining - a most precious asset - her home would  be taken from her ... So you're running out of options aren't you?

Dawn Rowan: Yes.
Graham Archer: In fact it would be fair to say that you've run out of options?
Dawn Rowan: Yes. If they proceed to bankruptcy and leave me homeless and penniless at the age of 61 with no superannuation I certainly don't have any options in being able to survive.  

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