They had hoped he would go away quietly, fade into anonymity. Just another ex-cop with an axe to grind. In time they thought no one would listen. It has been 46 years almost to the day since Denis Ryan’s career as a Victoria Police detective came to an end after he tried to charge a priest, Monsignor John Day, with child sex offences. All hell broke loose in the Victoria Police Force; some of its most senior men tried to bring him down. But Ryan would not be silenced and people would, eventually, listen. In this week’s Australia Day honours, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia, recognition finally for his role in child protection investigations.
Ryan’s story is no tormented parable searching for meaning. The lesson is simple: do the right thing, no matter the cost. “I was a pain in the arse to the police force and the government. There was no way I would have stopped. None. I wish others would have done the same,” he says now. But Ryan paid a high price. It cost him the job he loved and the financial security of a police pension. He has just turned 86 and lives in a rented flat in Mildura, northwest Victoria, eking out a life on the old age pension. He knew at the time his doomed investigation of Day would lead to more victims. It troubles him to this day.
Full story here.
I see $660 million got hacked from the tulip fund.
I still don’t understand it.
Saw that Boa. I handed my tulips over to the grandkids and they cashed out before Xmas. I don’t understand it either but they did. I’m not sure how you can steal something that doesn’t exist. The major banks were going to start using the chain block technology but they might think twice now.
untraceable huh? well well….so the exchange did it? or not?
Funny that. Where does the hard cash come from ? Maybe money does grow on trees….?
It’s like trying to understand infinity Wiss!
Hope to see Dennis and any number of other police whistleblowers finally get the recognition and the rest they justly deserve, and that those ugly aspects of police culture – even not regarding the Catholic mafia and some of the Freemasons – get rectified as well. An Australia Day gong and getting his full police pension back are the least Dennis Ryan deserves.
I also hope that the Unholy Trinity got dumped in suitably awful unmarked graves somewhere in or near a sewer for their crimes. Some of those Catholic mafiosi and church hierarchs likewise.
Pension plus many years of interest. The Vic Government are dragging the chain on it. Ryan’s comment about them scanning the In Memoria column might contain more than a seed of truth.
Massive brawl breaks out at South Coast carnival on Australia Day:-Will Dutton, Turnbull, The Daily Terror and Alan Jones blame the NSW government for this in the form of ‘NSW government and police fail in their attempts to stop gang violence’. Not a chance….but they went for the Victorian government over an isolated staged (by hacks) gang attack.
Well Will Hodgman has bitten the bullet and called the election for 3 March.
Presumably to strike while the iron is hot and before the Jacqui Lambie Network gains too much traction. Rumours are she will align with Labor – who will align with anyone at all to get power.
I had thought that the next election would be a shoe in for Labor. Although I’m damned if I know why that sentiment reigned. Unions losing influence maybe. Tasmania is on the crest of a huge wave. Everyone wants to be here. Property market the strongest in Australia as mainlanders buy the place up and inflate prices beyond the reach of ordinary Tasmanians. Rentals non-existent as Airbnb takes over. (No, I hate it all to be honest. Tassie is losing what made it unique due to developers’ greed – Charles Woolley has written some impassioned columns on the subject)
But what may well get the Libs over the line – hence the election call – is Labor’s strange decision to announce the abolition of pokie machines. Yes they are awful but, without putting too fine a point on it, it would be their voters who mostly play the machines in this state. Federal Hotels, who have the monopoly via alleged rather dubious dealings with the government at the time, are outraged. Privately owned company with their own mint. Full page ads in the Mercury decrying the injustice of it all !
Its going to be interesting.
Time to put out the “No political pamphlets ” notice on my letterbox 😁
Pokies are the scourge of the hotel and hospitality industry. Anyone who has the courage to curb them and their awful influence would get my vote. It’s not just Labor voters who are addicted to them believe me….it’s all levels of society and I can just imagine how Federal Hotels are outraged that their easy source of money could be threatened. At least Crown Casinos identifies problem gamblers, some of whom are fine upstanding Liberal voting members of society.
The problem gamblers that Crown identifies don’t play the pokies. They are high rollers. From the the reports I’ve read in the past, they certainly do identify them, allegedly, and offer free flights and luxury accommodation to make their pastime so much more comfortable. They then get sued for encouraging the misguided gambler.
Penny, and where does individual liberty come in? As a libertarian I’m opposed to almost all such regulations because the powers that be never know when to stop. Did you see some people are arguing for a sodium tax?
Sodium tax Sugar tax bring it in. The number of people walking around with their stomachs sticking out over the pants is a National Crisis. Health issues caused by these being put into foods at dangerously high levels by corporations is a world wide problem. The Nation will save $Billions$ in health costs. As a Libertarian are you getting a rebate on you health insurance? Are you the beneficiary of a Pension or Superannuation concessions? have you driven on roads provided by taxation? or attended a Dr’s surgery or a hospital provided or funded partly by taxation? Libertarian by convenience eh?
The liberty to starve your children for instance.
Theres a few individual liberties I’d like to exercise too.
Where do your individual liberties begin and end?
That’d be salt in their wounds!
The abolition of pokie machines would be a wonderful thing B & not just in Tasmania. Nobody wins that game but the establishment they’re in & I hope the Greens down there will back the idea. I say good riddance to bad rubbish & even if, as you say, pokie players are mostly Labor voters (not true btw) wouldn’t they be saving them from the shocking spiral of the rip-off that is gambling? Now that’s what I call great progress.
Sounds like the Federal Hotels may be sensing a financial catastrophe.
I say to them, how does it feel?
Seems to me Hodgman is selling the place off to the highest foreign bidder anyway & seeks to continue his pretense of environmental management while his government wants to permanently stuff-up pristine wilderness & remove decades long-held environment protections, again, so they can rip into the blackwood forests & the Tarkine.
It’s disgraceful vandalism but nothing new for the Liberals.
Hey Bella
Yes pokies are not the best. It’s a brave move for a party wanting to win government though, imo. (The Greens do support the idea)
The thing is, there is a large ageing population here (although that demographic may be slowly changing ) who have not much to do except go down to the local and play the machines all day – especially in the rural areas. Sad, but true. And these pubs and clubs derive a large part of their income from the machines. Put together with the reining in of penalty rates it could result in Labor votes jumping over to the Libs, who may be counting on that.
Its going to be really interesting to see what happens. I have no idea anymore. I dont believe any of them!
I am not impressed with the way the current government are encouraging inappropriate tourism development without apparent thought of the outcome longterm. Charles Woolley reckons we could become another Bali!! He’s pissed off too. It’s sad and frustrating. All of a sudden one sees Porsche SUV’s and other fancy cars all over the place. Porsche must have a special on!!Developers are quite obviously making a lot of money here. Bah humbug.
I love that Jacqui Lambie, Boadicea, she has guts and determination and not afraid of anyone. We need more like her imho. Cheers
Shes got a couple of high profile (by Tassie standards) citizens standing for election, HB. We live in interesting times down here.
The problem with Poker machines is the fact that not only people become addicted to them but governments do as well. They are a terrible thing which has done untold amount of harm to everyday Australian families. The amount of normal law abiding people who have found themselves behind bars because of their addiction is significant. The issue in getting rid of them is how does the government decouple the revenue stream from the decision once implemented. Somebody will have to pay somewhere. Let’s face it that somebody will be Joe Public.
You can expect not just Federal Hotels to weigh in some significant cash to this argument but the Australian Hotels association, the big clubs from all over Australia along with the manufacturers. Expect employment numbers and the amounts of community grants to be quoted ad-nauseum.
In deciding whether or not the habitual users are Labor voters or not is a difficult task but it does appear the major outlets for these machines, the big clubs, are in areas which seem to vote Labor. As Penny rightly pointed out though, the big casinos have banks of the infernal things as well, so who knows what the real story is. I think we can draw from Julia Gillard’s experience when she had a crack at them to probably deduce the answer.
I reckon those states who have them are stuck with them as it would be impossible to disentangle the mess unless significant policy work was done and the things were very, very slowly phased out. By slowly I’m talking a decade or so.
Good comnent Razor.
Compensation has been bandied about – but as you say Joe Public will be paying.
The captial of Tasse is probably entrenched Liberal as entrpreneurial people are making a lot of money running with this government.
But the electorates Labor would be hoping to regain are rural or low income. Both living off a lot of welfare and pouring a lot of it down the pokies or over the bar counter. That’s why Labor is attractive for them. That’s a fact – not a criticism. Ask anyone who owns a pub with pokies here. I know a few.
I have not heard what the JLN approach is.But her stomping ground would be prime pokie material. I wonder if she will take a stand one way or the other? I’ll let you know if she does! Shes busy trying to wipe out meth addiction up there. Good on her.
I just think Labor took a big risk which may come back to bite them. Maybe they should have waited until they gained control. I’m not arguing the issue of pokie machine morality.
Yvonne your facts are just your bigoted ignorant outlook. Anyone else you want to pigeon hole? Oh wait the teens the bloody teens even though teen pregnancy has dropped massively since the 70’s you still reckon the are all on the gear and having kids for the welfare. Lets have a look at the numbers shall we. 65% of all Welfare in this country goes to Pensioners, 10% goes to the unemployed and sick the rest of the 25% is the Unfunded Howard and Costello welfare system. They are Facts unlike your rubbish.
Could you point out where I have mentioned pregnant teenagers in my comment, Gary.
God you are a bigot. Just look at the facts. They are facts, not fantasy. There is a problem with gambling. We all know that.
What I am saying, is, I am not sure whether Labor’s stance will bring the result they hope for and the result if the election will clarify that no doubt. My comment is neither pro Liberal or pro Labor/Green. Are you that thick?
And yes, there is a big problem with meth addiction amongst young people here. Yes there is a problem with youth derpression.Yes there actually is a problem with teenage pregnancy here. Some of the highest in the country. Give Jacqui a call – she’ll fill you in
Well said Razor. Let’s see how it goes. I have a feeling there are a lot of victims of gamblers out there who would quietly but happily see them gone.
And they vote.
I hope you’re right JB. Tomorrow Tassie the next day the rest of the country. I’d be willing to pay more tax to see them gone.
That’s the intriguing thing about this upcoming election JB. Hard to call.
From the beginning Poker machines should have gone into small sporting and social clubs for a 5-10 year period to allow those small community clubs to generate revenue to improve facilities and lower fees etc. This would have kept the communities money in the community building better clubs and better social outcomes. After that 5-10 year period the pubs and clubs then could have had them but the effect would be much different as people would have stayed in the community clubs and only venture to the pubs when the smaller clubs closed for the day. Taxation was the main driver behind the wrong decision being made. Pokies are a serious problem now. something has to be done.
That’s exactly what they did in Qld and guess what? It didn’t work. The small clubs became huge very quickly, most went broke as they were managed by people whose previous experience was tickling the take from the chook raffles. There are no better community or social outcomes from these machines. Zero, zilch, none!
I am not talking about the leagues clubs. I am talking small about amateur community tennis, cricket, ping pong etc. You are talking about QLD no wonder the outcome was bad. No surprises.
I wasn’t talking about leagues clubs either.
Exactly Razor. 5-10years would have them well and truly cemented to the lucrative profits the machines provide. It’s a no brainer.
Top piece Jack, and good to see BJ get a wrap, he is a top bloke.
I hope the compensation arrives soon and is appropriate.
It’s bound to throw up a dog’s breakfast result, Boa.
Yes for sure Jack..I think the JLN will get a couple of seats just to complicate things.
The pokie thing (imo) makes it really interesting. Labor have staked a lot on it. I dont think the Greens are as relevant as they once were.
I wouldn’t put any money on a result! 🙄
What a great women’s final. You couldn’t get it any better than that.
Top class Boadicea just superb and tonite the Men’s Final between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic. Melbourne is abuzz with Tennis right now. Cheers
What a gutsy Man is Denis Ryan, Mr Insider and a riveting column from you indeed so glad we all get to hear the full story. “I was a pain in the arse to the police force and the government. There was no way I would have stopped. None. I wish others would have done the same,” he says now. What a Champion and lets hope there are more Champions out there like Denise Ryan to stick up for the abused and oppressed. Bravo!
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Eh?
“Who watches the watchers”? Threw me too but Google Translate can do Latin – English.
us….but how?
Free press, vigiliant citizenry and a change the libel laws to make truth and the public good trump personal damage.
Want to give me odds on any of those three, UQ?
Nah
But who watches the caretaker’s daughter?
Whoever it is they need watching.
I like to watch…
You need watching.
Seller’s finest hour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqL77G2x61E
Nice one Jack……
I’m sure you must have played a part in his nomination for the OA honour.
Thank God he is still around to see justice done – and the score settled. It would have been tragic otherwise.
I had nothing to do with the nomination, Boa but I have been involved in the compensation process.
Good man!
Good on the people from Mildura and Ballarat for nominating him. May the Daniels Government now do the right thing. I did like the fact that you did not want to make him out to be the victim but instead concentrated on the events leading up to him being posted to Mildura and what happened afterwards. As I think I have said to you before, I think both Mildura and Ballarat are both wonderful places and now the stigma that has cursed both places has been lifted.
Congratulations JTI for telling Dinny’s story.
Hard to put a price on the price of the majority of a life.
Sadly his financial circumstances (and i’m only guessing from your comments) highlight another injustice in which Ryan’s oppressors, his police bosses, would have gone on to a career with all the financial investments, super, pensions etc and the ability to leave a lot of this to loved ones.
Good work Jack.
He stuck to his guns & it’d be a crime of a different nature if the government doesn’t award Denis Ryan with every cent he lost when his career ended including the full police pension as is certainly his due.
“I know it was you and you know it too.”
Gives me chills to read that.
A police officer with all the courage & decency that Denis Ryan showed throughout the entire sordid business should, no, must be recognised & gratefully acknowledged.
If our inhumane politicians can line their own pockets & spend four billion bucks on a dodgy arms race then you can’t tell me that Mr Ryan, whose service to this country was priceless, does not deserve to be gifted a nice home of his own anywhere he likes instead of of a tiny rented flat.
Forty six years, what can you say?
To say he is a good man is not enough and unfortunately a man like him is water off a ducks back to the Catholic Church, the perpetrators escape punishment still http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2017/02/27/pope-reduces-sanctions-against-some-paedophile-priests/