Tasmanian Parole Board’s condition on Sue Neill-Fraser unlawful

Posted on January 22, 2026 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban

 The Tasmanian Parole Board last year acted contrary to the High Court’s rulings when it tightened the parole condition on Sue Neill-Fraser, prohibiting her from claiming her innocence of the 2009 murder of Bob Chappel, her former partner. Concerned that the Tasmanian Supreme Court is taking too long to hear a challenge to the new condition from the Human Rights Law Centre in Melbourne on Neill-Fraser’s behalf (lodged in April 2025), we tasked Legal Intel AI (LIA) to research the matter. LIA found the parole condition legally faulty.  Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser | 2 Comments

Justice Estcourt stands with Sue Neill-Fraser

Posted on January 21, 2026 by andrew

It was no doubt a shock to Tasmania’s legal establishment when one of its most senior judges delivered a dissenting opinion – not because of his dissent per se, but because he argued to uphold the appeal against the most controversial murder conviction in Tasmanian history – that of Sue Neill-Fraser, a conviction – then as now – protected by the police, prosecution and politicians. He defied the Tasmanian establishment … of which he is a member.  Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser, Case 19 Marco Rusterholz | 5 Comments

How Daniel Andrews wanted to shift blame in Bike Boy scandal – new podcast

Posted on January 20, 2026 by andrew

Earlier this month, Bike Boy, a 6-epsiode podcast was launched that details how former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and his wife Catherine caused the car-and-bike crash that almost killed then 15 year old Ryan Mueleman and then scrambled to cover up their culpability. The podcast was released on January 7, marking the 13th anniversary of the fateful crash.  The podcast is based on evidence, witness accounts and statements, and official documents; no assertions or accusations are made but it adds to earlier reports, including ones in our sister blog, & here that reveal what really happened.  Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 1 Comment

Liar – #MeToo

Posted on January 17, 2026 by andrew

In 2020 artist Anthony Lister’s home was raided by a 23-man task force – including police armed with sub machine guns – who had come to arrest him for sexual assault. They broke down his door before carting him off to the police station to confront hordes of media salivating over this latest #MeToo salvo. The press were given access to photos of him being locked up. But several complainants were confronted with proof that their version of events was untrue, “in devastating cross-examination by Margaret Cunneen SC” reports BETTINA ARNDT.  Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 5 Comments

Barrister, politician, filmmaker, artist to speak at Sue Neill-Fraser Hobart rally Jan. 24

Posted on January 14, 2026 by andrew

A rally in Hobart Parliament Gardens remembering Bob Chappel and showing support for Sue Neill-Fraser on Saturday, January 24, 2026 will mark the 17th anniversary of Chappell’s disappearance (January 26, 2009). Chappel’s body has never been found; Neill-Fraser was controversially convicted of his murder in 2010. Speakers at the rally: Robert Richter KC, The Hon Meg Webb, MLC (Ind. Nelson), Eve Ash, producer of Shadow of Doubt, Undercurrent and the podcast Who Killed Bob? and Sky Parra, the artist who created Denied: Portraits of Wrongful Convictions. Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser | 6 Comments

Roadkill of the legal system

Posted on January 11, 2026 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban

If a bus carelessly runs over a pedestrian, we rightly expect the driver to call an ambulance – and he or she does so. We also demand that the driver be punished and better trained. The criminal justice system doesn’t take the same attitude when it is claimed* to have wrongfully convicted an accused. The accused becomes roadkill, often still lying by the side of the road years later. The self policing legal system closes ranks, more concerned it seems with protecting its all-important reputation than healing its victims.  Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Well meaning but … the Royal Commission that trampled on protections of the innocent

Posted on January 9, 2026 by andrew

In April 2015, eight months before Frank Valentine would be interviewed by police and four years before his 2019 trial for sexual assault of teenage girls in the early 1970s, his wife Maris Valentine BA completed a thorough report exposing flaws in the relevant processes of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Sexual Child Sexual Abuse. It was that RC which named him as a perpetrator which ultimately led to him being charged and finally convicted – and eventually imprisoned for 22 years, cut short by his death five years into his sentence.  Continue reading →

Posted in Case 26 Frank Valentine | 5 Comments

Lehrmann looks to High Court to rebut Lee’s rape judgement

Posted on January 5, 2026 by andrew

Bruce Lehrmann’s legal team, headed by solicitor Zali Burrows, has filed an application for Special Leave to Appeal to the High Court arguing it is a “matter of public importance” after an unsuccessful appeal to the Full Bench of the Federal Court late last year challenging the outcome of the defamation trial against Channel 10 and Lisa Wilkinson, which resulted in Judge Michael Lee’s finding that on the balance of probabilities he had raped Brittany Higgins.  Continue reading →

Posted in Case 18 Bruce Lehrmann | 7 Comments

Politicians make fake excuses to avoid accountability

Posted on January 4, 2026 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban

Australian PM Anthony Albanese is not the first political leader to make phony excuses to avoid an inquiry – and for similar self serving reasons: to avoid accountability. Regular readers will remember how back in July 2023, Tasmania’s Attorney-General Elise Archer made some pompous and erroneous excuses to avoid an inquiry into the case of Sue Neill-Fraser, who was convicted (wrongfully, we maintain*) of murdering her partner Bob Chappell.  Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser | 27 Comments

Speculation and bias – tools of trade for prosecutors and judges

Posted on December 30, 2025 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban

A bit harsh, that headline? Well, sure, there are judges and prosecutors who do not generally use those tools, but in the world of wrongful convictions, it is not uncommon. In trials and in appeals, these nasties often turn up, no doubt making their more ethical, professional colleagues squirm. In our unrelenting campaign arguing for the establishment of a national framework for a Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), we publish the following examples.  Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser, Case 11 Robert Xie, Case 17 Kathleen Folbigg, Case 19 Marco Rusterholz | 11 Comments