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Pauline's little stint in Her Majesty's Hotel came to an end as her lawyer
finally made a good move. She and fellow One Nationite David Etteridge walked
free from goal this afternoon as their convictions were overturned on appeal. As usual, everyone had their own barrow to push after the decision. Tony
(punch-drunk) Abbot claimed that the outcome proved the legal system worked -
easy for him to say - he didn't spent 10 weeks in prison. The most disgraceful comment came from Chief Justice Paul de
Jersey, the judge who ordered Pauline's release, who said
if they both had experienced trial counsel throughout the process it would have been faster
In other words, she didn't get a flash enough lawyer, so what did she expect? The underlying message is quite clear - if you don't give enough money to the legal
fraternity, don't expect justice. To top it off, Jersey also declared that this " further illustration of the
need for a properly resourced, highly talented, top level team of
prosecutors". Funny - they already have all the resources they need to
convict innocent people, how much more skill does Jersey think they need? Notions like natural justice don't seem to matter much in the Australian legal
system. In fact this whole fiasco has demonstrated that, in reality, the
Australian legal system is not much different to that in any corrupt third
world country: it's all about money, and who you give it to. As for Pauline herself, everyone's wondering whether she will go back into
politics, or settle quietly into public obscurity. Maybe this miscarriage of
justice will give birth to a new political career?
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