Dawn Rowan

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Dawn Rowan (born 15 February 1946, in Adelaide, South Australia) is a therapist who specialises in counselling adult survivors of childhood ritual, satanic, emotional, sexual and physical abuse. She has been the subject of one of the longest legal battles with the Federal Government of Australia in modern times.[ citation needed ]

Adelaide City in South Australia

Adelaide is the capital city of the state of South Australia, and the fifth-most populous city of Australia. In June 2017, Adelaide had an estimated resident population of 1,333,927. Adelaide is home to more than 75 percent of the South Australian population, making it the most centralised population of any state in Australia.

South Australia State of Australia

South Australia is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of 983,482 square kilometres (379,725 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, and fifth largest by population. It has a total of 1.7 million people, and its population is the second most highly centralised in Australia, after Western Australia, with more than 77 percent of South Australians living in the capital, Adelaide, or its environs. Other population centres in the state are relatively small; Mount Gambier, the second largest centre, has a population of 28,684.

Psychological abuse is a form of abuse, characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another person to behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder. It is often associated with situations of power imbalance in abusive relationships, and may include bullying, gaslighting, and abuse in the workplace. It also may be perpetrated by persons conducting torture, other violence, acute or prolonged human rights abuse, particularly without legal redress such as detention without trial, false accusations, false convictions and extreme defamation such as where perpetrated by state and media.

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In 1987 the Government of South Australia ceased funding the Christies Beach Women's Shelter, where Rowan was manager, due, it said, to 'unsubstantiated allegations' of misappropriation of funds, sexual misconduct, intimidation, physical harassment and unprofessional conduct - which were released in a report by the Health Minister, Dr John Cornwall, to the South Australian Parliament under parliamentary privilege. Rowan sued the Federal and South Australian governments and also two television networks. She also defended herself in a five-month court case in the Supreme Court of South Australia in 2001 - and won. [1] On 21 June 2001, in a 300-page legal judgment, Justice Debelle ruled that all these allegations were 'false and a shocking defamation', motivated by malice. Rowan was awarded damages of A$340,000, which - with interest - totals $585,000.

Government of South Australia state government of South Australia

The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. The Government of South Australia, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, was formed in 1856 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended from time to time. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, South Australia has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Constitution of Australia regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth. Under the Australian Constitution, South Australia ceded legislative and judicial supremacy to the Commonwealth, but retained powers in all matters not in conflict with the Commonwealth.

Christies Beach, South Australia Suburb of Adelaide, South Australia

Christies Beach is a seaside suburb in the southern Adelaide metropolitan area, within the City of Onkaparinga. The area is scenic and hence popular with photographers as Witton Bluff provides a natural vantage point over the entire suburb and beyond.

John Robert Cornwall was a Labor member of the South Australian Legislative Council for 14 years, from 1975 to 1988. He was a senior member of the front bench for most of his political career.

Justice Debelle also noted: 'One curious feature of this litigation is the fact that files kept by the relevant departments, have, to a large extent, been lost or destroyed. Some files were destroyed or lost after this action had commenced. There were four State Government departments and one Commonwealth Government department involved in this matter... It is possible to understand that files from one department might have been inadvertently lost or destroyed. Coincidence cannot explain why files from five departments cannot be located...' [2]

In this and subsequent court hearings (all the parties appealed) Rowan, who had no legal training, mostly represented herself against four legal teams - including QCs, senior and junior barristers, briefing solicitors and other supporting legal staff.

Queens Counsel jurist appointed by letters patent

A Queen's Counsel, or King's Counsel during the reign of a king, is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the monarch to be one of "Her Majesty's Counsel learned in the law." The term is recognised as an honorific. The position exists in some Commonwealth jurisdictions around the world, but other Commonwealth countries have either abolished the position, or re-named it to eliminate monarchical connotations, such as "Senior Counsel" or "Senior Advocate". Queen's Counsel is an office, conferred by the Crown, that is recognised by courts. Members have the privilege of sitting within the bar of court.

Barrister lawyer specialized in court representation in Wales, England and some other jurisdictions

A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the philosophy, hypothesis and history of law, and giving expert legal opinions. Often, barristers are also recognised as legal scholars.

A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to practise there as such. For example, in England and Wales a solicitor is admitted to practise under the provisions of the Solicitors Act 1974. With some exceptions, practising solicitors must possess a practising certificate. There are many more solicitors than barristers in England; they undertake the general aspects of giving legal advice and conducting legal proceedings.

According to Rowan the case set legal precedents in the Westminster System in that citizens can now challenge parliamentary privilege via the 'tort of misfeasance' - abuse of public office. [3]

Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. It is common in countries whose constitutions are based on the Westminster system.

A tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act.

Misfeasance, nonfeasance and malfeasance are types of failure to discharge public obligations existing by common law, custom or statute.

An appeal in 2004 upheld the finding in Rowan's favour. [4] A 2006 appeal in the Supreme Court of South Australia struck out one of Justice Debelle's findings (malice) and released the Commonwealth from liability. It ordered Rowan to pay the Commonwealth's costs, heavily discounted to $380,000 (the then-current value of her home). This judgment follows the rule on costs, which means the unsuccessful party (Rowan in this appeal) must pay the costs of all others joined in the action.

Supreme Court of South Australia South Australias superior court

The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court of the Australian state of South Australia. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court hierarchy. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and as many other judges as may be required.

Rowan then made a submission to the Supreme Court claiming a 'perception of bias' on the part of at least two of the three appeal judges, which was not disclosed at any time in the trial. This was dismissed by the three appeal judges.

The Australian federal government then pursued Rowan in the Federal Court, declaring her bankrupt on 24 August 2007. Since then, she and her supporters have been urging the federal government to waive the debt she owes to the Commonwealth, because at all the hearings her innocence has been affirmed. Australia's Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, recommended an Act of Grace Waiver in May 2008. Over a year later (September 2009) the Minister for Finance, Lindsay Tanner, annulled Dawn Rowan's bankruptcy but is yet to make a decision on waiving her debt to the Commonwealth. [1]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Dawn Rowan Saga, Rowland Croucher, accessed 2009-06-11
  2. ↑ Rowan v Cornwall & Ors (No.5) No. SCCIV-90-1481 2002 SASC 160 (21 June 2002), Australasian Legal Information Institute, accessed 2009-06-01
  3. ↑ The Amazing Dawn Rowan Saga, Rowland Croucher, Originally written in 2004, Archived December 20, 2004, at the Wayback Machine . last updated in 2007
  4. ↑ Court upholds defamation decision, ABC News Online, 24 November 2004, accessed 11 June 2009

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