Statement in Honour of a Truly Remarkable Lady

Born 24 March 1943 and Passing Away on 9 December 2025

To anyone who reads this tribute, whether through my website absentjustice.com or my manuscript The Arbitraitor, I want to take a moment to celebrate a truly extraordinary woman. From August 1994 until 2021, she was not just my colleague but a radiant beacon of strength, resilience, and unwavering determination in the face of adversity.

Despite the relentless challenges posed by arthritis and its painful side effects, which eventually necessitated her use of a wheelchair, she never allowed her circumstances to dim her spirit or hinder her resolve. With remarkable courage, she dedicated herself to uplifting those in need, particularly women in crisis who often felt voiceless in a society that overlooked their struggles. Her extraordinary character shone through in her compassion and empathy, as she harnessed her exceptional writing abilities to help these women articulate their stories, effectively illuminating their struggles and triumphs with profound sensitivity and grace.

Her presence enriched my life in immeasurable ways, infusing our shared work with her passion and insight. The impact of her influence will forever resonate in the projects we brought to life together. This remarkable woman, whose selflessness and dedication extended beyond our collaboration to encompass the broader mission of supporting others, will always be remembered for her boundless compassion and the lasting imprint she left on the hearts of all who had the privilege of knowing her.

In fact, at least seventy percent of the material compiled on both the website absentjustice.com and The Arbitraitor can be traced back to her meticulous craftsmanship. Whether it was through the pages she authored, edited, or carefully organized on my behalf, her diligent contributions formed the very backbone of these records. She played an essential role in preserving the intricate narrative of the COT saga, ensuring that its complexities and nuances would not be forgotten.

When I first found myself entangled in the government-endorsed arbitration process against Telstra—a process that feigned justice while ensuring that the telecommunications giant would escape accountability for its persistent telephone faults—I was already spiralling into financial ruin. I had liquidated nearly all my possessions and taken on a daunting mortgage for my beloved Cape Bridgewater Holiday Camp. As one of the original four Australian citizens who naïvely entered this supposedly transparent arbitration, I soon discovered that fairness was a mere illusion, manipulated by an arbitrator and an administrator who had little interest in true justice. This treachery is chronicled in detail on absentjustice.com and in The Arbitraitor. Other innocent Australians soon followed, brought into a web of deceit, as seventeen more joined the arbitration only to share in our collective misfortune.

Desperate and financially devastated, I resorted to selling the pews from my 1870 Presbyterian church and my 22-seater bus to evade the sheriff's relentless pursuit. In my darkest hour, I even confronted the sheriff, employing a Full Nelson wrestling hold to forcefully eject him and his two henchmen from my office when they demanded the essential industrial kitchen equipment necessary for the schools and social clubs that sustained my business. This act of defiance led me to Portland Magistrates’ Court, where I stood charged with assault, my struggle sensationalized on the front page of the Portland Observer.

During these grim times, it is noted in government Hansard we (COT) Cases were fighting against thirty-seven elite law firms that, according to the Australian Senate in March 1999, Telstra had strategically ensnared in its web, knowing it would make it nearly impossible for the Coalition of Telecommunications (COT) Cases to prove their claims of ongoing phone
problems.

Ultimately, the submissions were pieced together by two former Queensland Senior Sergeant Detectives, alongside the technical expertise of the esteemed George Close and the appointed DMR Corporate Forensic Accountants. The price of their services was staggering over $300,000 in professional fees alone, a deliberate hardship that heightened the sense of hopelessness I faced. This figure didn't even account for the wages I had to cover for my staff during the gruelling 13-month arbitration battle, a treacherous fight to keep my claim alive in a system designed to crush the dreams of the innocent.

Help seemed scarce—until a serendipitous moment led me to a unique listing in the Yellow Pages telephone directory tiled secretarial services. There, I discovered an extraordinary woman whose brilliance was to keep me afloat for three decades. This lady saw the significance of my cause and chose to
stand up for it.

Despite my limited resources, which left me struggling after an arbitration that awarded me less than my professional costs, this remarkable woman remained steadfastly at my side. I had also borrowed from private lenders at high rates during my twenty-eight years at sea, compounding my challenges. Still, she offered unwavering support.

“Alan, I will stand with you. We will win this battle,” she assured me repeatedly, her belief illuminating the darkness that threatened to cloud my hopes.

Her story, much like our shared journey with the fellow COT cases, resonates far beyond the present, echoing into the annals of history. I had the privilege of presenting compelling evidence of our claims to three former prime ministers and prominent political figures, including the Honourable David Hawker MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives. I later learned that Mr. Hawker personally delivered a copy of the Arbitrator to the Honourable Senator Helen Coonan in February 2006, bringing Senator Barnaby Joyce’s call for an independent assessment of my still unaddressed arbitration claims and that of thirteen others. We finally had the second chance we had desperately needed to prove the first arbitration had been a sham.

This formidable woman unearthed a deeply unsettling truth: when I submitted my second arbitration review claim to Senator Helen Coonan’s office in 2006, it was deliberately ignored. Ronda, as I will now refer to her, sent me an explosive email dated July 2008 that exposed a shocking reality:
crucial information from my claim submitted in 2006 had never even been opened during the so-called review process. This brave woman revealed the dark underbelly of a system designed to overlook injustice, proving that the other claim documents submitted via email remained untouched for a staggering 18 months after the government review began. The disturbing implications of this negligence, or perhaps intentional cover-up, paint a picture of corruption that cannot be ignored.

I must stress that the electronic evidence she provided is irrefutable proof of the illegal acts that systematically disadvantaged those whose claims were meant to be scrutinized by the Senator's office during the Telstra arbitration. It is appalling that crucial information, which was promised an assessment, was heartlessly disregarded. The $16,000 I spent gathering this evidence became utterly worthless when it was callously deleted fifteen months after submission, hollowing out the assessment process and betraying the very citizens it was designed to protect. The government, deep in its own corruption, chose to ignore a truth so undeniable that it threatened to expose its darkest dealings, all at a high human cost.

On January 12, 2026, I stood at her memorial service, representing a woman whose impact was not just profound but also deeply unsettling in its implications. Many in attendance knew well of my story and the grave justice issues this indomitable lady bravely championed, particularly her fierce advocacy for women silenced by a system insidiously designed to oppress them. I spoke, keenly aware of her moral strength, unwavering integrity, and relentless pursuit of justice—qualities that flickered like a beacon amid a world steeped in corruption and moral decay.

That day, her two daughters entrusted me with five storage boxes filled with years of documentation from their mother’s relentless fight not just for me, but for fifteen other Australian citizens wronged by the John Howard Liberal government between June 1997 and March 1999, a reality starkly illuminated by the contents of the arbitration. Jenny and Jill gave me these boxes to carry back to Ballarat, Victoria, after the emotionally charged memorial service.

Within these boxes was the very computer their mother faithfully used until July 2021, when illness finally curtailed her dedicated mission to unveil the flagrant injustices faced by the COT Cases. As I opened the Lenovo ThinkPad on the afternoon of January 13, 2026—a device that held decades of our shared struggles—I uncovered a handwritten note, tucked with care inside the cover, a symbol of her unwavering commitment to justice in a system designed to betray her and so many others.

It was addressed to me by this beautiful lady, knowing that when this short note was read, I would know it was truly a voice from heaven:

"Hello Alan,

I have tried to keep duplicates of your work on this laptop, as well as on a USB but, in July 2021, this became too difficult for me for various reasons, most to do with my failing health and the limits I now struggle with in relation to moving around. I hope that the work that's backed up until now is useful. If you 're still fighting for justice when my daughters send this back to you.

On one level, Alan, it's been a pleasure to be able to do my little bit to help you with your huge fight for justice but it's also very sad that your fight has gone on for so long: I so hope you get there in the end!

Best wishes

Ronda" 

I invite all visitors to explore my introduction to the Arbitraitor. My co-author, Ronda, entrusted this work to me after her passing on December 9, 2025. She directed her two daughters, Jenny and Jill, to ensure I received all copies of the material she passionately devoted herself to for my case and other COT cases from August 1994 to 2021, when her health made typing impossible.

Loyalty like Ronda’s is a rare gift, exemplifying an extraordinary bond. There is profound truth in my writing, affirmed by this gracious woman just days before her departure from this world.

"The Arbitraitor" emerges from a book Ronda wrote about my case during and after my arbitration, which I shared with Australia’s 76 Senators to celebrate the remarkable legacy she was to later leave behind.

On 27 January 1999, after having also read The Arbitrator, Senator Kim Carr wrote:

“I continue to maintain a strong interest in your case along with those of your fellow ‘Casualties of Telstra’. The appalling manner in which you have been treated by Telstra is in itself reason to pursue the issues, but also confirms my strongly held belief in the need for Telstra to remain firmly in public ownership and subject to public and parliamentary scrutiny and accountability.

“Your manuscript demonstrates quite clearly how Telstra has been prepared to infringe upon the civil liberties of Australian citizens in a manner that is most disturbing and unacceptable.”