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[News Thetan]

Probe into Scientology rejected (Brisbane Times)
6 December 2009, 2:54 pm

A SENATE inquiry into Scientology will not go ahead after the Rudd Government told the church it believed the Tax Office and police were the most appropriate authorities to investigate any complaints.

A staff member for Government Senate leader Chris Evans has emailed Scientologists who wrote to him after independent senator Nick Xenophon made a series of explosive allegations in the Senate last month, saying it would be inappropriate to conduct an inquiry into a private, religious organisation.

The email, from Hayden Falconer, noted that there was no precedent for the Senate to conduct such a targeted inquiry.

''It is not the role of the Parliament to inquire into the tax status of a particular organisation or individual, or to investigate criminal matters,'' it says. ''The role of the Senate is to inquire into issues of public policy and public administration.''

The Opposition yesterday cited similar arguments in its rejection of a probe, meaning Senator Xenophon will lack the numbers to establish the inquiry. But Senator Xenophon was undeterred, saying yesterday that in February he would call for a vote for an inquiry and did not accept the Government's argument.

''That's a cop-out. The matters for police will quite rightly go to the police, but there are matters there that relate to civil law and issues of law reform in terms of the tax free status,'' he said. ''If the major parties think that this is an issue that will go away, then they're kidding themselves.''

Senator Xenophon last month tabled letters from several former Scientologists alleging that the church was guilty of coercing abortions, forced labour, obstructing justice and covering up child abuse. Life for Scientology staff, former members wrote, featured unbearable hours, constant punishments, lack of access to medical care, and sometimes physical abuse and imprisonment.

The vice-president of the Church of Scientology International, Robert Adams, told The Age that every single allegation tabled in Parliament by Senator Xenophon was ''meritless'', and many had been investigated and dismissed earlier by independent authorities.

more at http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/probe-into-scientology-rejected-20091207-kd4l.html

[News Thetan]

Senate Scientology inquiry has failed (BigPond News)
6 December 2009, 6:12 pm

A Senate inquiry into the Church of Scientology will not go ahead after the federal government told the church it believes the Tax Office and police are the most appropriate authorities to investigate any complaints.

A staff member for the Leader of the Government in the Senate, Chris Evans, has emailed Scientologists who wrote to Senator Evans after an independent senator, Nick Xenophon, made a series of explosive allegations in the Senate last month, Fairfax newspapers say.

The email, from Hayden Falconer, said it would be inappropriate to conduct an inquiry into a private, and in this case, religious organisation. He noted there was no precedent for the Senate to conduct such a targeted inquiry.

'It is not the role of the Parliament to inquire into the tax status of a particular organisation or individual, or to investigate criminal matters,' the email says. 'The role of the Senate is to inquire into issues of public policy and public administration.'

The Opposition cited similar arguments in its rejection of an inquiry. Senator Xenophon will consequently lack the numbers to establish the inquiry.

But Senator Xenophon said on Sunday he will call for a vote in February for an inquiry and does not accept the government's argument.

'That's a cop out. The matters for police will quite rightly go to the police, but there are matters there that relate to civil law and issues of law reform in terms of the tax-free status,' he said.

Last month Senator Xenophon tabled letters from several former Scientologists alleging that the church was guilty of coercing abortions, forced labour, obstructing justice and covering up child abuse.

[News Thetan]

Government rules out Scientology inquiry (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
6 December 2009, 9:09 pm

The Federal Government has ruled out supporting a Senate inquiry into the Church of Scientology.

Last month Independent Senator Nick Xenophon called for an inquiry into the church and its tax-free status after raising allegations of criminal conduct by the church.

Senator Xenophon told Parliament he had received letters from former followers detailing claims of abuse, false imprisonment and forced abortion.

"I am deeply concerned about this organisation and the devastating impact it can have on its followers," he told the Senate.

"Do you want Australian tax exemptions to be supporting an organisation that coerces its followers into having abortions? Do you want to be supporting an organisation that defrauds, that blackmails, that falsely imprisons?

"Because on the balance of evidence provided by victims of Scientology, you probably are."

But a spokesman for Government Senate Leader Chris Evans says it is not the role of Parliament to inquire into those matters.

He says the Government believes the allegations should be dealt with by the Taxation Commissioner and police.

At the time of Senator Xenophon's allegations, a spokeswoman for the church, Virginia Stewart, said she was shocked to hear the claims, as no-one within the church seemed disgruntled.

Ms Stewart said the church tried to contact Senator Xenophon earlier this year after he spoke about Scientology on television but "he didn't even bother to reply".

[Alp]

Please note that these articles are based on an email sent from a staff member of one of the senators. THERE HAS NOT BEEN A VOTE ON THIS ISSUE! We do not know how every senator will vote in February, although we have opinions from some senators.

tl;dr: Don't give up! We still have a few months to provide rebuttals and to get letters to these senators. There's still plenty of time to get more senators in the "yes" column for when this vote comes around.

[Lorelei]

Worse comes to worst, the gov't is still urging their version of the IRS and local LEOs to look into the issue. It would be a far less satisfactory result, but it would be better than what the US is doing.