Speaker 1: Appo che Production.
Speaker 2: I send him my speech in July this year that
Speaker 2: I considered there had been a cover up in this case,
Speaker 2: and I can assure you I'm not backing down. I
Speaker 2: don't give a stuff what the police commissioner says. I
Speaker 2: want those goddamn autopsy photos and if there's nothing to hide,
Speaker 2: then release them.
Speaker 1: That Senator Jackie Lamby from last night, the nineteenth of
Speaker 1: November in the Senate. It's the final two weeks of
Speaker 1: sitting for twenty twenty four and Parliament only returns in
Speaker 1: February of twenty twenty five. Welcome to a short bonus
Speaker 1: episode of the Senator Jackie Lamby's full speech. You might
Speaker 1: remember back in July this year, Senator Lamby brought the
Speaker 1: Parliament up to speed with the case of Eden Westbrook. She,
Speaker 1: like all of us, has lots of questions, the same
Speaker 1: questions that Jason and Amanda have been asking for almost
Speaker 1: ten years.
Speaker 2: The police, who conducted a deeply flawed investigation in the
Speaker 2: days following Eden's death, stated that Eden had taken her
Speaker 2: own life, and the coroner also found that Eden's death
Speaker 2: was suicide. Eden's mum and dad, Jason and Amanda Westbrook
Speaker 2: don't believe Eden ended her life, and neither do I. Amanda,
Speaker 2: and Jason have fortfuly ten years to get the truth.
Speaker 2: Despite gas lighting, intimidation and harassment. Eden was a bright,
Speaker 2: bubbly and very loved young woman, and immediately before her
Speaker 2: death she was looking forward to a weekend away the
Speaker 2: two of.
Speaker 3: Her sisters and was planning to buy her first car.
Speaker 2: Not only was the investigation into Eden's death deeply flawed,
Speaker 2: the disgraced late Senior Sardeant Paul Reynolds was a coroner's
Speaker 2: associate in this case. Reynolds pedophilia activity over three decades
Speaker 2: in Tasmania as a senior police officer was exposed to
Speaker 2: some extent by the recent wise review.
Speaker 1: In the almost ten minutes speech in the Senate, Jackie
Speaker 1: Lambe also brought up the information you heard in the
Speaker 1: last episode around the death and the investigation into Helen
Speaker 1: Bird's police assumed suicide which has later been called murder.
Speaker 2: Just a few weeks ago at a Bombshall coln Is
Speaker 2: ruling into the two thousand death of Helen Bird by
Speaker 2: hanging at her home in the suburb of Hobart was overturned.
Speaker 2: The same police forensics officer on Bird's case was also
Speaker 2: the forensics officer on Eden's case. Helen's family and friends
Speaker 2: have been fighting for years to get the truth of
Speaker 2: her supposed suicide, and now, fourteen years later, the coroner
Speaker 2: has found that Helen Bird's husband was involved and stated
Speaker 2: to her death.
Speaker 3: To make it look like suicide.
Speaker 2: I have recently put in a number of right to
Speaker 2: information applications in an effort to get answers for the
Speaker 2: Westbrook family. In one application's response, many of the pages
Speaker 2: were completely redacted. Exemptions were applied and it was not
Speaker 2: considered in the public interest to release the information sought
Speaker 2: about Eden's death. The argument for a public inquest into
Speaker 2: Eden's death and an inquest by an external coroner and
Speaker 2: counsel assisting is compelling, and the evidence support this just
Speaker 2: keeps stacking up.
Speaker 3: First, the Tasmanian Coroner and.
Speaker 2: Chief Magistrate are still refusing to provide Eden's autopsy photos
Speaker 2: to the independent expert forensic pathologist authorized by the rest
Speaker 2: books for an analysis.
Speaker 3: Just the fact that they won't hand them.
Speaker 2: Over suspicious in itself, especially given the evidence from Eden's sisters.
Speaker 2: Eden's sisters saw Eden's body immediately before she was cremated.
Speaker 2: Both say that Eden had evidence to bruising to her
Speaker 2: face and that either Eden's teeth were shattered. Inquiries by
Speaker 2: Bridgewater Police Police some months after Eden's death with a
Speaker 2: key witness, Kem Woodbrook, who according to police, was the
Speaker 2: first to discover Eden's body, suggests that Eden may have
Speaker 2: had marks on her wrists, that her hands it may.
Speaker 3: Have been tied behind her back.
Speaker 2: There is also involvement of Reynolds as a coroner's associate, who,
Speaker 2: in Coroner Mictaggart's own words, provide a regular oversight and
Speaker 2: direction to the investigation. The Wise Review in twenty twenty
Speaker 2: four Seniors Sergeant Paul Reynolds failed to deal specifically with
Speaker 2: Eden Westbrook's matterten the written report, despite detailed oral and
Speaker 2: written submissions from the Westbrooks and their former lawyer, the
Speaker 2: matter clearly fell within the terms of reference. That is
Speaker 2: shameful in itself, absolutely shameful. The recent, very recent decision
Speaker 2: of Coronel Webster in the Helen Bird case roses critical questions.
Speaker 2: The same coroner on Eden's case found that Helen also
Speaker 2: died of her phyxia due to hanging, and that her
Speaker 2: death was suicide.
Speaker 3: There is no.
Speaker 2: Evidence of an inadequate investigation and forensics and involvement and
Speaker 2: staging of a suicide by Helen Bird's husband.
Speaker 3: The same forensics officer who failed to take any.
Speaker 2: Measurements of the rope or the latter or samples from
Speaker 2: the rope for DNA testing or fingerprints in Helen's case
Speaker 2: was the same for a end officer who briefly examined
Speaker 2: Eden's death scene, shocking The Tasmanian Police Forensic Services is
Speaker 2: the only police forensic service in Australia not accredited by
Speaker 2: the National Association of Testing Authorities, and more is the
Speaker 2: crime scene examiner non independent from Police ah. The birdcase
Speaker 2: was largely exposed due to the diligence of Tasmanian Police
Speaker 2: officer Detective Senior Constable Nicki Munroe, and I congratulate her. Sadly,
Speaker 2: there are no public police champions in Eden's case. The
Speaker 2: police investigation immediately following Eden's death failed to interview critical
Speaker 2: witnesses and failed to undertake a professional investigation, and failed
Speaker 2: again later even though the name of the person of
Speaker 2: interest and possible suspect were part of the film. Referral
Speaker 2: from the Commission of Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse in
Speaker 2: institutions and the government response in early twenty twenty three.
Speaker 2: The more you know about the details of this case,
Speaker 2: the more dodgy it looks. There is stench everywhere just
Speaker 2: won't go away. In the days following Eding's death, the
Speaker 2: police didn't even ask to look at Eden's mobile phone,
Speaker 2: and they didn't examine her social media accounts. There was
Speaker 2: also an apparent failure to analyze all trip low calls
Speaker 2: one three, one four four and crime Stoppers calls around
Speaker 2: the time, and there is disturbing evidence of harassment intimidation
Speaker 2: by police of the west Folk family. One right to
Speaker 2: information disclosure recently confirmed the Comfortable Smithhurst did in fact
Speaker 2: view the relevant CCTV footage of the skate park, and
Speaker 2: there had been a misunderstanding in relation to information Smithhurst
Speaker 2: had provided to the rest Books within days of Eden's death.
Speaker 2: There are numerous statements taken by the Westbook's former lawyer,
Speaker 2: including statements from witnesses, covering critical issues from the evening
Speaker 2: of the seventeenth of February twenty fifteen, possible perophilia activity
Speaker 2: in the same in Helen's area around the time of
Speaker 2: Eden's death, and the movements and actions of key witnesses.
Speaker 2: It's very clear to me that the police made up
Speaker 2: their minds that Eden's death was suicide on day one
Speaker 2: without first conclusively establishing that there was nothing suspicious. This
Speaker 2: is clearly illustrated by the material obtained under the RTI.
Speaker 2: Police also failed to use intelligence data to determine whether
Speaker 2: there were similar incidents or grooming harassment in Saint Helen's
Speaker 2: around the time of Eden's death. I questioned why forensic
Speaker 2: science in Tasmania is not independent from police and why
Speaker 2: Tasmanian Police is the only police agency in Australia to
Speaker 2: not have its police forensic services for example, the crime
Speaker 2: sam examination, the photography, the fingerprints, the ballistics etc. Accredited
Speaker 2: by NATA, the National Australian National Association of Testing Authorities.
Speaker 2: Tasmanians deserved better, my goodness, so wont holibook parties in
Speaker 2: trouble down there. The deficiencies in Eden's case are simply
Speaker 2: mind blowing. It is time to hold an independent inquiry
Speaker 2: to ensure that this does not happen again to any
Speaker 2: other family. An inquest by external coroner and council assisting
Speaker 2: with proper legal support for the Westbrooks should be urgently
Speaker 2: established Helen's Byrd's death prove that the system can get
Speaker 2: things terribly wrong. I once again call upon the Tasmanian government,
Speaker 2: particularly the Attorney General, to make immediate steps to rectify
Speaker 2: this national disgrace. I say this to the Attorney General.
Speaker 2: I say this to you in Tasmania. You can go
Speaker 2: and change laws to release those autopsy photos.
Speaker 3: And I'll tell you what.
Speaker 2: My patience is running out with you, and I'm sick
Speaker 2: of your excuses. As a matter of fact, you're sitting
Speaker 2: in two weeks of parliament and you can't go in
Speaker 2: and change those laws to put this family out of
Speaker 2: their misery.
Speaker 1: It's important to note that the Attorney General acts as
Speaker 1: a bridge. They can't unilaterally change law. They have to
Speaker 1: work within the legislative framework and collaborate with Parliament, which
Speaker 1: is what Jackie Lamby's asking here. She says, given there's
Speaker 1: only two weeks of parliament left for the year until
Speaker 1: February of next year, she's urging the Attorney General in
Speaker 1: Tasmania to move fast, and she's passionate about it.
Speaker 2: You seriously are shame Cook, You seriously are I want
Speaker 2: those goddamn autopsy photos and if there's nothing to hide,
Speaker 2: then release them. This is putting a real stain on
Speaker 2: the state of Tasmania and it's putting a stain on
Speaker 2: the Tasmanian police.
Speaker 3: Was it a proper investigation done or not?
Speaker 2: It is a simple a question and we can't decide
Speaker 2: that until you release those autopsy photos. But there are
Speaker 2: stints to my high heaven over what happened to Eden
Speaker 2: Westbrook at fifteen years of age. And I'll tell you
Speaker 2: what if she was my daughter, I will want to know.
Speaker 2: I want to know the truth.
Speaker 3: Some