General Discussions

[DJC]

Top shelf ol mate. Reminds me of Justin Murphy who used to be called Coconut by the other Indigenous players (Black on the outside, White on the inside) because of his heritage (I think one of his parents was from the UK) .

Coconut is a derogatory term generally applied to Indigenous folk who work for government or are not involved with their community.  It doesn't reflect genetic origins.  Very few Indigenous Victorians don't have mixed genetic origins.

[LP]

I had a niece who has no Indigenous heritage but was fully immersed in Indigenous culture to the point they claimed to accept her as part of the mob, well at least to the point they could get a chunk of her pooled welfare cheques, and they shared drugs and alcohol with her as a minor which eventually lead to her death in her early 20s.

If Thorpe has been in that culture as an outsider, no matter what they may claim she will not be fully accepted. Through her close circle of friends she may think she is fully accepted, but behind closed doors a core sub-set of that culture will see her only ever in a utilitarian light, it's the ugly truth of the situation. Oddly, when we view her social media posts, it seems she is somehow drawn to a similar culture through the 1%ers she associates with, perhaps she is just gullible and blinded to manipulation through her closed minded focus on the cause whatever it may be!

[madbluboy]

I'm not talking about Pell's wrongful jailing, I'm talking about the Pell who knew of priest's violating young boys in Ballarat and did nothing about it accept to shuffle guilty priests around to other parishes to avoid negative publicity and law suits. Bolt chooses to ignore this when Pell admitted to it in a 60 Minutes feature.

Bob's foundation gave a character reference that helped keep Joffa out of prison.

[PaulP]

Bob's foundation gave a character reference that helped keep Joffa out of prison.

The way this post is written could be suggestive of something that I'm not sure is quite right. The character references were written well in advance of these issues coming to light, when we all thought Corfe was a good bloke, because folks like us and Bob Macguire had no reason to think otherwise. One could read this post as implying that Macguire wrote his reference with the specific intention of getting a sex offender off the hook. The bigger issue is whether such references should be used at all.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-08/c.../102070088

"The revelation that old references were provided to court without knowledge has sparked outrage and calls for prosecutors to appeal the sentence."

[DJC]

Courts should only accept references that are specifically written for the matter that is under consideration.

[Baggers]

Bob's foundation gave a character reference that helped keep Joffa out of prison.

Sorry, MBB, but I find the insinuation in your opinion more than offensive. I have worked with Fr Bob and regard him as a very dear friend. I loved the guy... an inspiration on so many levels. His integrity was impeccable. For you or anyone to besmirch his character by believing that he would help a sex offender get out of prison is mischievous and just plain wrong.

You should read Pauly's response to your post and understand the time lines of the character reference and when Corfe's 'activities' became public knowledge.

[madbluboy]

Sorry, MBB, but I find the insinuation in your opinion more than offensive. I have worked with Fr Bob and regard him as a very dear friend. I loved the guy... an inspiration on so many levels. His integrity was impeccable. For you or anyone to besmirch his character by believing that he would help a sex offender get out of prison is mischievous and just plain wrong.

You should read Pauly's response to your post and understand the time lines of the character reference and when Corfe's 'activities' became public knowledge.

Many people find your comments on Pell offensive.

[ElwoodBlues1]

The following are from the sentencing remarks from the county court: from his Honor Judge Mullay
MBB's remarks I dont think are out of order if you read this as written, its probably about the context of how well Father Bob
did really know Corfe and his history. Did Corfe tell Father Bob in the confession box for example what he did...who knows....?
Corfe got the suspended sentence due to a technicality in the law which allowed for suspended sentences for these crimes pre 2011 but the law was changed after that year, Corfe committed his atrocity in 2005 making him eligible for a suspended sentence and because he pleaded guilty.


40 As well as your work with the Anchorage for many years, you also became great
supporter of other charitable foundations. You became involved with the renowned
and successful Reclink football league, helping the homeless and vulnerable. A great
supporter of the down trodden, Father Bob Maguire knew you well and continues to
support you. He wrote to the court:
I, Father Bob Maguire, have known Joffa for approximately twenty years.
Joffa was of great support to my foundation in caring for the needs of the less fortunate
in the City of Port Phillip. One such area of support was with Reclink Football matches.
I am also aware of Joffa's community compassion and so offer my unconditional support
of Joffa.

[Baggers]

Many people find your comments on Pell offensive.

My comments on Pell are based on fact. And who are these many people?

[Gointocarlton]

Good people like Fr Bob will see the good and help anyone. I know the criteria for Sainthood is to have performed a miracle or some crap like that, if instead one of the criteria was to have had a genuine care and given endless help to the less fortunate in the community, Fr Bob would be a Saint.