The First Time I Met - MP Don Pegler

Welcome to this first post in the exciting new series 'The First Time I Met' .

In 2004 the state parliamentary Legislative Review Committee were holding an Inquiry into Low Sexual Assault Conviction Rates, and came to Mount Gambier in September 2004 specifically to discuss the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse* issue, and parent claims, my claims, that the abuse was being 'covered up'.

After giving written submissions and personal testimony to the full Committee, another father and I were invited to attend the Liberal Party function that night at a Commercial St East motel.

Funny story to kick off: at the time I was bald from chemo* (I'd had 3 or 4 cycles) and spent most of the night standing behind the other father feeling quite unwell and obviously looking quite unhappy, and because I was big, bald, leather jacketed and very sullen, there were apparently some who thought I was the other father's 'minder', 'muscle', whatever; absolutely hilarious.

That evening I met Dean Brown, Vicki Chapman, Rob Kerin, Rob Lucas, David Ridgway (I think was on the LRC) and numerous others, including Don Pegler.

It was still quite early, perhaps 9pm, and myself, the other father, Rob Kerin and Don Pegler were discussing the St Martins Abuse issue; a lady I assumed was Mrs Pegler, we were not introduced, was standing just behind Don to his left.

True, Mr Pegler was not the only person there who was fairly drunk (it was more of an 'after-conference party' than actual conference; perhaps that was all over by the time we got there) but his attitude and conduct in front of me was un-acceptable; let's just say he offended my finer sensibilities.

As he finished a beer, he just handed the empty back to his wife without acknowledging her; it was piggish, arrogant behaviour and showed a fundamental disrespect for her, and no matter how hammered or bent out of shape I've been in my life, I would not treat some-one like that even if I was paying them to fetch and carry my beers and cart off my empties.

I took an instant dislike to Don Pegler, and quite frankly, if as a reader you do not have a problem with that behaviour toward a spouse, then I don't like you either and I'd thank you to not avail yourself of this blog furthermore...I said good day sir...

Seriously, for all my fractured failings and fundamental inability to function in a relationship*, even I understand respect and equality, and I know when I'm not looking at it, and I wasn't looking at it that night.

Literally swaying on the spot, Mr Pegler ploughed into the St Martins' Child Abuse discussion with the observation that;
          "When I was at school we knew who the suss teachers were, but they didn't mess with
           me because they only picked on the weak kids."
Obviously I cannot prove it, but this is a literal quote...I will never forget it.

Rob Kerin shot me an alarmed glance and took a step into the circle, deliberately putting himself between us fathers and Don, and said to him; "These were only 7 year olds, Don."

Mr Pegler did not apologise or relent, mumbling something under his breath about "I was just saying...I was stronger...they didn't pick on me..." and Mr Kerin deliberately engaged us with repeated questions to distract from the fact that Don was standing there bascially talking to himself.

I'll just say it again: Don Pegler, in the middle of a discussion about the abuse of a class-full of 7 year old children by their class teacher, said to 2 fathers of those children that our children were "weak".

Just to say that at all is unacceptable - it is blaming the children - but to say it to me, a father of one of those children...I'm lost for words...there is no adjective and no expletive I can muster.   

Again, Don Pegler has every right to conduct himself as he sees fit and I am certainly in no position to criticise someone for indulgence bordering on addiction, but as far as I'm concerned he crossed the line apparently unaware that the line even existed, and then even when he was alerted to the fact, he failed to withdraw behind the line with the appropriate apology, instead choosing to stomp about in the muck heap of his own verbal excretions.

I did say an instant dislike.

(PS-08/03/2013 - in the interests of accuracy - I just spoke to the other father who said he thought that Don did briefly apologise, but I did not hear it)

Mr Pegler was on stage with me as a candidate for the March 2010 Election forum at the Sir Helpmann Theatre, and like all the other candidates when the St Martin's Abuse issue was raised, he spent the whole time I was responding from the lecturn looking down at the table and did not get up to make any comment.

At that forum, none of the other candidates spoke on the issue of Child Abuse at all; it was like a sickening Fawlty Towers episode acknowledging the reality of how South Australia operates; "I mentioned the Child Abuse once, but I think I got away with it." In other words, avoid gettting involved in Child Abuse issues if you can help it.

And it was writ large on that stage.

Now our local member, MP Don Pegler, knows exactly what has happened at St Martins and the subsequent failure of authorities to address the abuse, but he has failed to do anything, and is therefore in my mind as complicit in the Child Abuse Cover-up as Rory McEwen, Mike Rann, Jay Weatherill, the Lutherans themselves, etc.

He's been a member of parliament for 3 years; he knows about the abuse; he's done nothing about it; what would you call it?

Mr Pegler also has many questions to answer about his conduct as Mayor of the Grant District Council, and most particularly the re-zoning/development issues at the Millicent Rd Bunnings site where a serving Councillors land was re-zoned.

As per previous posts, there must be an external review of the conduct of Mt Gambier City and Grant District Councils relative to the multiple conflicts of interests and in-appropriate re-zoning issues at Millicent Rd and the Penola Rd site where Bunnings was meant to go.

At the 2004 Liberal function I also met Rob Lucas; I met him for a second time when giving evidence to the Statutory Authorities Review Committee Inquiry into the Teachers Registration Board, of which he was a Committee member, and a signatory to the grossly erroneous final SARC Report (no. 54), so to...

Tomorrow: The Second Time I Met - MLC Rob Lucas
(yes, I know the series is meant to be called 'The First Time'...it's just that...there was...well I...it...IT'S MY BLOG, I'LL CALL IT WHAT I LIKE waaaaahhhhhhh)        

*see previous posts