Jonathan Swan National political reporter
July 10, 2013
Tony Abbott and his party are being pursued by a private detective, an army of pensioners and a very determined man in a wheelchair.
Hundreds of online activists – at least a third of whom are pensioners and led by a quadriplegic IT expert – have raised more than $50,000 and hired a private detective to investigate the affair.
''Ashbygate'' is the name given to the series of events that led to the resignation of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Peter Slipper.
The affair began on April 21 last year when a front page story in News Limited papers alleged that Mr Slipper had sexually harassed his adviser James Ashby. It took a turn last December when the Federal Court judge Steven Rares dismissed Mr Ashby's case as an ''abuse of process''.
Justice Rares found that Mr Ashby had worked ''in combination'' with Mr Slipper's opponent for the seat of Fisher – Liberal National Party candidate Mal Brough – and possibly other members of the LNP in a plot to damage Mr Slipper and possibly destabilise the Gillard government.
Mr Ashby denies that he participated in such a plot and is appealing Justice Rares' judgement. Mr Brough refuses to comment.
James Ashby: Claimed he was sexually harassed. Photo: Wolter Peeters
If the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, thought the judgment about an LNP connection to the affair would be left to rot quietly, he was wrong. A growing group of online activists have taken matters into their own hands.
Over the past several months, these activists have started a fund called the Ashbygate Trust, which has already raised more than $50,000. They have recruited two lawyers and a private detective to join a team of three ''citizen journalists'' and hundreds of other tipsters pursuing Ashbygate.
Fairfax Media has seen a bank statement for the Ashbygate Trust and read some of the emails sent from donors. The pledges, which range from $20 to $2000, have been coming from everywhere. The average donation is about $120.
Mal Brough: Found to have worked "in combination" with Mr Ashby. Photo: Harrison Saragossi
''I'm getting lawyers, doctors, retirees, tradesmen, graphic designers, old people, young people, people from I believe every state and territory,'' says Brock Turner, the man who came up with the idea for the Ashbygate Trust.
''Old hippies saying I haven't felt this empowered since the 60s.''
The leaders of Team Ashbygate say they won't stop until they discover exactly who within the LNP, besides Mr Brough, was in on what they are describing as a ''conspiracy''. The ultimate scalp, of course, would be Mr Abbott.
Peter Slipper: Resigned as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Photo: Andrew Meares
The reason they suspect the Opposition Leader's involvement is because of the careful language he uses whenever he is asked about Mr Ashby.
''I had no specific knowledge of this,'' Mr Abbott has repeatedly said.
But so far they've found nothing that links Mr Abbott to Mr Ashby.
Brock Turner is the unlikely leader of Team Ashbygate. He has never been a journalist, he says. Nor is he a member of a political party. And he has no particular affection for Peter Slipper. Mr Turner believes all the politicians involved in the Ashbygate conspiracy probably have something they would rather we didn't know about.
The reason he came up with the idea for the Ashbygate Trust, Mr Turner says, was because he thinks the mainstream media have been letting politicians off the hook.
In Ashbygate, there are ''so many elements of what would normally constitute a fairly popular story'', Mr Turner says.
Besides the court judgment, there are hints at a larger conspiracy, he believes. There is evidence that others within the LNP, such as Christopher Pyne and someone from Julie Bishop's office, had spoken to Mr Ashby in the weeks leading up to his explosive allegations.
Mr Pyne, who admits to having a drink with Mr Ashby in Mr Slipper's office when Mr Slipper wasn't present, says the meeting was an innocuous social discussion.
Mr Brough admits to meeting Mr Ashby and advising him about his sexual harassment case against Mr Slipper. But despite the fact that Mr Brough is running against Mr Slipper for the Sunshine Coast seat of Fisher, Mr Brough maintains he helped Mr Ashby only because he was concerned for the young man's welfare. It had nothing to do with attacking his political opponent, he says.
Newspapers certainly covered Justice Rares' judgment when it was released in December, but Mr Turner says he is angry that ''mainstream'' journalists have not dug deeper.
''There has to be some demonstration that if the mainstream media won't pursue it, someone else will,'' he says.
Mr Turner, who is 45, broke his neck about 20 years ago in a swimming accident. He gets around in a wheelchair and does most of his work using voice-recognition software. Some days he spends up to 12 hours investigating Ashbygate, and from his small weatherboard house on the Gold Coast, Mr Turner is helping to steer the army.
His right-hand man is David Donovan, the editor of the journalism website Independent Australia.
Mr Turner approached Mr Donovan in March with his idea to start the Ashbygate Trust. Mr Donovan encouraged Mr Turner to write a ''call to arms'' to test public interest in the idea. The post went up on April 3.
''The response was pretty incredible,'' Mr Turner says. ''Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of emails. People were writing in straight away saying, 'where do I give my money, we've got to get this off the ground'.
''Within two weeks we had $25,000-30,000.''
One email that sticks in Mr Turner's mind came from a woman suffering from terminal cancer, who said she hoped they got to the bottom of Ashbygate before she died.
''For whatever reason, pensioners seem to be highly interested in this whole affair,'' Mr Donovan says. ''Probably about 30 per cent of our unit trust holders are pensioners.''
He thinks the main reason people are so exercised about Ashbygate is ''it's just a cracking yarn''.
''It's got it all; it's got sex, it's got corruption, it's got a conspiracy element going on in there.''
The two men have been co-ordinating the investigation around a central website – ashbygate.com.au.
You become a member by donating money to the Ashbygate Trust. If you want to vote on decisions taken by the group, you must have given at least $100. That buys you one vote. Pensioners are given a vote for $50. Mr Donovan circulates a newsletter to keep members up to date with the latest developments.
Mr Donovan will not reveal much else about the group or the status of their investigation. The private investigator, who is Sydney-based but does much of his sleuthing on the Sunshine Coast, would prefer to remain anonymous.
Asked what he has discovered beyond what is already on the public record, Mr Donovan hesitates.
''I probably can't really give a lot of this information away, since we're still in the process of uncovering this sort of stuff.
''The next major news that we come up with will probably surprise people. Perhaps it won't be about who they expect.''
Even so, after several months of sleuthing, Mr Donovan has yet to reveal any substantial developments.
Mr Donovan and Mr Turner both admit to feeling anxious about delivering results for their members. These strangers have donated their money and want to see the fruits of their faith.
''In some ways I feel a little bit guilty that I haven't been representing the interests of all those trust members . . . That I should have done more,'' Turner says. He then admits to spending ''a lot of time'', unpaid, buried in Ashbygate.
''I do find that I'm less inclined to social conversation,'' Mr Turner says. ''I spend a lot of time in my own head, thinking about permutations or ways to progress what we're doing.''
It's notable that Mr Turner is unsure whether they will ever get to the bottom of Ashbygate. But that's not entirely the point, he says. Being seen to be trying to get the truth out is important in itself.
If they can ''embarrass by example'' some of the politicians involved, and ''demonstrate they're going to be held a bit more to account'' – that, too, would be a victory. Mr Turner wants to show the media they ''won't be able to just let a story like this lie fallow for so long''.
Mr Donovan is more optimistic. He thinks there are enough ''chinks'' in the LNP ''plot'' that they will eventually get to the bottom of it. But probably no time soon, he cautions.
''It's not just all about getting Brough,'' Mr Donovan says.
''What we're trying to work out is, how much of an organised conspiracy is it, how far up the scale it goes.
''People are fascinated by it because they really do suspect . . . that it comes from up high.''
Internet Activists Pursue Ashbygate | Peter Slipper | Tony Abbott
