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THEAGE . SATURDAY, MAY 15, 2010theage.com.auNews2

A doctors world has been shattered forever,yet she can expect no justice and no closure

TheNAKEDCITYJohn Silvester &

Andrew Rule

Dr HeatherHunters life willnever be thesame after shewas hit by astolen four-wheel-drive.

PICTURE:CRAIG ABRAHAM

BEFOREherworldcavedin,HeatherHunterwasa much-loved anddedicatedcountrydoctor.She wasalsoa tirelessenthusiastwhobroughtmuchtoher communityin Sale.

DrHunteris stilllovedbutnowa doctor intitle only. Thatpartof herlifeendedafter shewasterriblyinjuredin a road

collisionlastOctober.Hermemorywasshatteredalongwithher bodywhenshewasthrownfromherbikeonadesertedcountryroad.She hadtakento cyclinga fewyearsearlier aftersorekneesforcedhertogiveuprunning.Inanycase,shehad runthreemara-thons,anditwastimefora newchallenge.

EverySaturdayshe wasupearlytoseethesunriseon theroad.Herhusband,Dr JohnJar-man,a quicker rider, wouldgivehera 15-minutestarton the60-kilometreride sothey couldcoverthelast fewkilometrestogether.

DrHunterwasonher wayhomewiththewindatherback,20kilometres fromSale,whenacarhit her, inflictingcata-strophic injuries.

A passingmotoristfoundher,thenher husbandarrivedafewminuteslater. Hegaveherfirstaidbeforeshe wasflowntoMelbourne.

HeatherHunterwillnever

practisemedicineagainandneverwalkorridea bike.Andshehas lostsomethingequallyprecious mostof hermemory.While shecan remem-berher childhood,heradultrecollectionsare hopelesslyscrambled.Sheknowsshe wasadoctor andrecallssomepeoplesfaces. Inreality, shehas lostbothher pastandher future.

HeatherHuntermetJohnJarmanwhentheywerebothfourth-yearmedicalstudentsatAdelaideUniversity. Theymar-riedthe nextyear,before gradu-ating.Thatwas 35 yearsago.Theylivedfor eachother,along-timecolleague says.

Nowherhusbandisone ofherfewlinkstothelifeshehad.Hermemoryis fragmented. Itvariesfromday today,he saysquietly.

DrHuntercant rememberwhathappened whenherbodywasdrivenintoa ditchonthatSaturdaymorninglastspring.

Itmeansshe cantgiveevid-enceagainsttheman wholeftherthereto die.

Whatis knownisthisis notacaseof adistracteddriver, orspeed, oralcohol,or evenofroadrage.Policesayit isworse.

Detectives believea manshedidnot knowdeliberately

rammed herwiththe intentionofabductingandrapingher.

Policesay hedrovepast her,didaU-turn,anddrovebyasecond timethenparkedin waitforher nearChinnsBridge.Theunlicenseddriverthentook offanddeliberatelysmashedintoher.Therewereno brakemarksandthe angleof impact showeditwas noglancingblow.

Shehadabrokenbackandwasalreadyin acomawhenhereversedbackon tothe muddyverge. Heloadedherbike intothe stolenToyota LandCruiser,thengrabbed herunderthearmsandtriedtodragherintothevehiclewhenhe wasspotted.

Whena passingcar stopped,theattackerfoundthefour-wheel-drivewas bogged.Heraninto swamplandbefore

surrenderingtopolicefivehours later.

Hisnameis PaulAllanMiller,heisjust22 andpolicefearhewillbecomeoneof Australiasworstsexoffenders.But hewillneverbe judgedover whatmotivatedhim torun DrHunteroffthe roadthatmorning.

BecauseDr Hunter haslost

hermemory, shecannottestify.Millerhas decidedto avoidatrialbypleadingguiltytochargessuch asfailingto stopafteran accident,failuretorender assistanceand theft.

Hisversionis thatit wasanaccident,that hewas dragginghertothecarto gethelpwhenhepanickedand ranaway.Experts sayshe washit frombehind atspeed,thrownfromthebull-bar tothe bonnet andthenflungto theground.

Policeinvestigators havevisitedthe crimesceneat least15times tryingto findevidencetofile tougherchargesagainsthim.But withoutthe victimstestimony, thereisnot enough.

Hehas beengivena confid-entialpsychosexualtest inanattemptto gaugehisdangertothecommunity.Accordingtoonesource,he testedoffthescale worsethanknownserialsexoffenders.

Oneof HeatherHunterscolleagues, DrDavidMonash,wrotetothe Adult ParoleBoard

seekinganswers.Whywas suchamanfreedwhen authoritiesmusthaveknownhe remainedaconstant danger?

GeneralmanagerDavidProvanreplied: ThemembersoftheboardandI acceptthattheparolesystemis notandcannotbeperfect,giventhathumanbehaviouris impossibleto predict.

Millers historyis aspredict-ableas itis violent.Withinweeksofreleasehe struckagain.Hewas jailedfor abductingandsexuallyassaultinga Salewoman. Justovera monthafterhewas released,heoffendedagainand hisparolewasrevoked.

Sixweeksafterhe wasfreedin2009,hewasaboutto bearrestedon further sexoffenceswhenhe tookoffin astolen

four-wheel-drive thecar heusedto destroyHeatherHunters lifethenext day.

OnMondayin SaleMagis-tratesCourt, hepleadedguiltyviaprisonvideo linkto thecharges heran from(wilfulexposure)andwas sentencedtothreemonthsjail.He willbesentencedoverthe Hunter

casein theLatrobeCountyCourtlaterthisyear.IfDrHunterhadnot

beenso fit,her injur-ieswouldhavekilledher.Nowsheliesinabedin theacquiredbraininjuryunitat theRoyalTalbot Rehabil-itationCentre,as shehasfor months.

Whenherhusbandwalksintoher room,

shesmilesand theytalka little.Heasksher questions.Sherememberssomethingsandforgetsothers.Oppositeheris apictureof thecoupledancing1950sstylerocknroll oneoftheirsharedpassions.

Whentheytookup dancingundertheshownames

CJandtheBabe,

theywentontobecomeVictorianstatechampi-ons.Whenshetooktobody--building,shefin-ishedsecond

intheMissBen-digofinal.She

learned Pilatesand endedupaninstructor.

Shehas foughtlong andpas-sionatelyformoremedicalresourcesin country Victoria,particularlyin obstetrics.ShehasdeliveredhundredsofbabiesaroundcountryAust-ralia.

Thecouplepractisedin

InglewoodandCasinobeforesettlingin Salein1995.DrJarmantalksof hiswifes

injurieswith thematter-of-facttoneof theexperienceddoctor.Despitethe calmfacade, hesuspectspent-upangermightcloudhisclinicaljudgmentandhehas decidedto stopseeingpatients.

Theresult,saysDr Monash,isthat thedistricthas lostnotone but two respecteddoctors.DrJarmanis strugglingto gatherhisthoughtstowrite hisvictimimpact statementandto helphiswifewith hers.

Buttherewillbe morethantheirvoicesheardwhenitcomestimeto sentenceMiller.Therewillbe statementsfromfriends,patients,colleaguesandmembersof therocknrolldan-cingclubthe couple started inSale15 yearsago.

Theywilltalknotof herlossbutof theirs.HowMillerrobbedallof themof somethingirre-placeable.

Incases ofoutrageous

injusticeit istemptingto lookfora fallguy asoftjudge,aweaksentence,a botchedinvestigationor a naiveparoleboard.

Butthistime,nooneis toblameexceptMillerhimself.Thepolicewatchedhimas besttheycouldandthe paroleboardrevokedhis freedomwhen itcould.

ThosewhoshouldknowsayMilleris beyondredemptionthesortof manwhoshouldbedeclareda serioussex offenderandgivenan indefinitesentence.

Buthisrecordandthecharges hefaces doesnot jus-tifysucha penalty. Hewillbejailedtosinkfora timeintotheanonymityof theprisonsystem.Andthen hewillbe released.Wewillhearof himagain.

InThe Age today

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FOUNDED IN 1854 Published by the Age Company Ltd (ABN 85 004 262 702) of PO Box 257,Melbourne, VIC 3001. Printed by The Age Print Company Pty Ltd (ABN 36096 607 402),Western Avenue, Tullamarine. Paul Ramadge, Editor in Chief, takes responsibility for politicaleditorial comment in this publication. To find out more about The Age, its people, history andservices, go to about.theage.com.au

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THEAGE . SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010theage.com.auNews2

A top cops simple credo: work hard, tell thetruth, dont flinch and back your judgment

Miller understoodthat a visible policepresence reassuredthe public anddeterred crime.

ONE of the great perks of amedia job is the chance tomeet famous people. Thedownside is that many of themare flogs.

The action-hero film star isa little shorter than you expect,the sportsman a little dumberand the philanthropist a littlemeaner. The comedian turns

out to be a manic-depressivewith a runny nose and badbreath.

The bikini babes impressivechest is a credit to her surgeonand her TV spray-on tan makesher look more like an emaci-ated yellow fever victim than ahealthy Aussie beach-lover.

And then there are thosefew who the closer you get tothem the bigger they seem.

One of these is SinclairImrie Miller, known to friendsand strangers as Mick.

Mick was a policeman inVictoria for 40 years and chiefcommissioner for more than adecade. Most present policedidnt serve under him. Thosewho did still revere him.

Miller didnt have formaluniversity qualifications, butno one could doubt his tower-ing intellect. He was the firstAustralian policeman to gradu-ate from the FBI academy andto be awarded a Churchill Fel-lowship.

Ask him about his health

these days and he responds:Put it this way. I no longer buygreen bananas. He will turn 84on Wednesday.

Last year he spoke at the70th anniversary of the Detect-ive Training School where hewas once officer in charge.

Although now needing acane to remain mobile, Mickwalked to the podium to astanding ovation. He enthralledthe crowd with a 20-minutespeech delivered with humour,passion and, as always, withoutnotes.

Not for him auto-cues orspeechwriters. With Miller, hiswords have always been hisown and his word never doub-ted.

Miller was a media favour-ite. Not because he tried tocultivate mates in the press (he

was never a leaker) butbecause he always chosesubstance over spin. To him,fudge was something to eat,not something to say.

When queried over usingpolice horses in a demonstra-tion, he replied he would useelephants if they were availableand call it Operation Hanni-bal.

Asked what action he wouldtake with a policeman who

shot child kidnapper EdwinJohn Eastwood in the leg, heresponded: Give him targetpractice.

Speak to some presentpolice administrators aboutMiller and they smile vaguelyand look into the middledistance. Clearly they see himas a throwback to a distant andsimpler age. They think there islittle to learn from the manwho ran the force from 1977 to1987. They are wrong.

Miller was a progressivewho embraced reform whilerespecting the past. One of hisfirst initiatives was to placewomen on the general senior-ity list so they would haveequal career opportunities.Under him, Victoria had thegreatest percentage of womenof any force nationwide.

He introduced taskforcepolicing, the air wing and thespecial operations group. Hepushed for a national body toinvestigate organised crimeand was the first senior police-man to advocate external anti-corruption bodies.

He rotated police in corrup-tion-prone areas a practice

that later lapsed with devastat-ing consequences.Miller understood that a vis-

ible police presence reassuredthe public and deterred crime a truism recently rediscovered,which has resulted in thereturn of police to the street.

Not that Mick was above alittle sleight of hand. By placingpolice on point duty at majorcity intersections, he createdan illusion the city was satur-ated with coppers. In reality,there were fewer than 30 at anyone time.

He took police out of carsand back on the beat, prom-ising a blizzard of blueuniforms around Melbourne inOperation Crime Beat. In real-ity, he had just 40 policeavailable but placed them inhighly visible locations. Thecrime rate dropped by nearly20 per cent and serious armedrobberies stopped.

Miller also understood howto lead from the front. Heworked harder and longer than

anyone else, and was usually inthe office well before 6am.

In the days when promotionwas based on the dead hand ofseniority, Miller was seen as astar from his early years. In the1950s, the then chief commis-sioner, Selwyn Porter, knewthat SP bookmakers had cor-rupted the force and he neededan honest young policeman tolead a massive clean-up.

He was just a senior con-stable when selected to run thespecial duties gaming branch.When Mick needed a trustedJustice of the Peace to sign hissearch warrants he chose TheHerald newspapers chief policereporter Alan Dower, whoauthorised thousands ofwarrants over the years. Notone operation leaked.

In the modern world of

media management such arelationship would be seen asclose to treason.

As a career move, apoliceman today would bebetter off being caught inbed with a KGB fan-dancer than in a pubwith a media hack.

Millers SP team,

known as The Incor-ruptibles, exposed themassive illegal industry,leading to judicialinquiries into off-coursebetting and corruptionin the Postmaster-Generals Department.

As a result, the TAB wasformed to break the illegalbookies stranglehold awayfrom racetracks.

In recent times govern-ments have encroached onthe independence of police.While politicians of both per-suasions publicly talk of theneed to respect the office ofconstable, both sides try to usethe purse strings to influencethe decisions of senior police.

No one tried to manipulateMiller and he was chief com-missioner under both Laborand coalition governments.

Today, police ministers popup at every photo opportunityto reinforce the tough-guy talkthey hope will lasso the lawand order vote and senior

police are constantly fighting tomaintain independence.

When he retired, Mick couldhave joined private boards andmade a small fortune. Instead,he and his wife Beverley didcharity work, including Mealson Wheels.

In the 1950s, the Millersbought a block in MountWaverley and constructed theirhome, using a book called Howto Build a House.

They raised three childrenin that house. Bev died in 2007after 55 years of marriage. Micknow lives there alone.

Miller is an intricate manwith a simple code. Work hard,tell the truth, dont flinch andback your judgment.

Some of the new breed sayMick is old-fashioned. But classnever goes out of style.

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THEAGE . SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2010theage.com.auNews2

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Whatodds thefacts,Robbie? Robbie Waterhouse: fromdisgraced bookmaker todapper fellow.

WHOEVER killed GeorgeBrown systematically torturedhim first. They twisted his leftarm until it was wrenched fromits socket and the bone snap-ped. His right arm wasshattered above the elbow . . .

They used a blunt instru-ment probably an iron bar to do the rest. Both legswere broken above the knee.Death, when it came, was fromtwo savage blows that fracturedthe skull.

So began a Sunday Agestoryin 1997 that investigated theworst outrage to blight Austra-lian racing the killing of asmall-time Sydney trainercalled George Brown in early1984. Anyone interested inracing scandals would find itwith a little searching.

The curious would also findthe word Waterhouse in thestory not in reference to the

fashionable horse trainer Gaibut her husband Robbie, thedisgraced bookmaker who haswriggled his way back intopublic and media favour asGais helpmate.

Robbie Waterhouse wasnamed not only in the GeorgeBrown story but in many oth-ers from his murky past.

What a difference a decademakes in a country where dis-grace can be stared down soeasily. Robbie was the dapperfellow basking in the applauseon the dais with Gai after shewon the Caulfield Cup in Octo-ber. A pro media performer,Gai grabbed the chance to pro-mote the family brand praising her wonderful hubbyfor finding the winning horse,Descarado.

Gai and Robbie looked a

golden couple that day. Andtheir photogenic offspring Tomand Kate are racings youngroyals, all members of theexclusive First Name Club.

Waterhouse Inc has alwaysattracted a lot of ink. But forrather different reasons thesedays than in the 1980s and1990s a fact barely acknowl-edged in an allegeddocumentary, Family Confid-ential, screened by the ABCearly this week.

Perhaps the doco-makershad amnesia. Perhaps theyarrived back from 30 years inouter Mongolia with nothingbut a camera and one nameand address: Robbie Water-houses. Or, more likely, theystruck a deal with one side of

the family that discouraged anycontact with dissenting voicesfrom the other side. Such aswith David, Robbies youngerbrother. Or Martin, their firstcousin.

True, David and Martinwere mentioned in the show but only in their absence, andin disparaging terms by peopleestranged from them. Theresno sign of serious research orany effort to produce an even-handed overview. Havingostensibly set out to documenta family at war, the filmmakersinterviewed only one side: theone with most to gain frompositive publicity.

What would a diligentresearcher have found merelyby speaking to David and Mar-

tin Waterhouse, who knowwhere the bodies have beenburied through the familyslong and Machiavellian his-tory?

First, there is the newspaperstory mentioned above, head-lined Who killed GeorgeBrown?. Robbie is named in itbecause he heavily backed anundistinguished filly called Ris-ley at Doomben two daysbefore Browns death.

Brown trained Risley, andthe solemn word in racing for26 years has been that he waskilled either deliberately oras a result of being savagelybeaten for failing at the lastminute to ring in anotherhorse in her place. (For therecord, the real Risley started

and struggled to run secondlast after being backed in from14-1 to 4-1 at Wollongong andfrom 12-1 to 8-1 at city meet-ings in an apparentlyinexplicable interstate bettingplunge.)

Waterhouse subsequentlyattempted to sue two newspa-pers over the George Brownstory on the grounds that pub-lishing he had backed Risleywith such confidence impliedhe was a torturer and mur-derer.

A judge struck out the keyimputations Waterhouseclaimed had been madeagainst him, and he droppedthe action. To proceed wouldmean getting into the witnessbox an experience he

seemed unwilling to repeatafter being exposed as a liarover his part in the Fine Cottonscandal a few months afterBrowns death.

The heart of the scam waswhen a quality galloper calledBold Personality was substi-tuted for the much inferiorFine Cotton at Eagle Farmraces in the spring of 1984.

It is so notorious that Fam-ily Confidentialcould notignore it. Instead, they intro-duced it halfway through theprogram, softened by a fawningvoice-over sugar coating thefact that Robbie was outedfrom racing for life laterreduced to 17 years forprior knowledge of the crim-inal conspiracy. No mention of

the fact Waterhouse was sub-sequently convicted of lyingunder oath and sentenced toeight months weekend prisondetention. No mention of thedamning facts and allegationscanvassed in a 1986 4 Cornersinvestigation over which theWaterhouses tried to sue.

The first that David or Mar-tin Waterhouse knew of thisweeks Family Confidentialpro-gram was when previews werepublished in Sunday newspa-pers a week before it was to beaired. David Waterhouses law-yers immediately warned theABC they would act if he wereunfairly represented.

They also offered materialthat would have been useful if

the documentary had notalready been in the can,prompting last-minute editingto ensure it was legally, if notethically, safe.

The offered materialincluded a genealogy expertsreport commissioned by Davidand Robbies father Bill in the1960s. The report concludedthat Bills claim of being des-cended from First FleeterLieutenant Henry Waterhousewas nonsense. But that fancifulversion of the family historywas still blithely peddled onthe show.

Among the material offeredto the ABC was transcript evid-ence from various legal actionsthe Waterhouses had takenover several decades. Ofinterest to any seriousresearcher is that Bill Water-house sued the ABC over theexcellent 1986 4 Cornerspro-gram which, in part,mentioned allegations relatingto the Big Philou nobblingscandal. (The Bart Cummings-

trained champion Big Philouwas scratched just before the1969 Melbourne Cup afterbeing drugged by a corruptstrapper, as outlined in thiscolumn recently.)

The past might be a foreigncountry but what they do therecannot be undone. Ask thefrightened men prepared toface jail over Fine Cotton ratherthan risk revenge from facelessmen pulling the strings. Askthose bruised by the abortedRisley ring-in and those whobacked horses got at byruthless rorters.

The Waterhouses are not agreat Australian family, just afamously flawed one. No oneshould expect any better fromthe worst of them. But the ABCshould be ashamed for runningsuch blatant puffery.

Best Columnist or Blogger Quill 2010

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