Transcript: MP John Kaye speech to Aussie Parliament

mongrel · Dec 1, 2009

Transcript: MP John Kaye speech to Aussie Parliament

A second Aussie MP has made a speech to Parliament supporting Sen. Xeno's call for an inquiry.

EDIT: Kaye is a Greens member for the parliament of NSW. You can show him your love here: Welcome to the website of John Kaye, Greens MP

He serves delicious caek:

It is possible that recognising the organisation as a religion was a grave mistake that has granted legitimacy to a cult that bullies, intimidate and exploits.

Link: Church of Scientology - 25/11/2009 - ADJ (Proof) - NSW Parliament

Full transcript:

Dr JOHN KAYE [6.43 p.m.]: Tonight I will inform the House about a conversation that has been reported to me. Until 2004 Marty Rathbun was the second most powerful man in the Church of Scientology, answering only to the current leader, David Miscavige. Mr Rathbun has become the church's most senior defector, alleging that coerced abortion, violence, intimidation and demands for ever-greater donations have become official Church of Scientology policy, beginning in its Florida office and leaching around the world. Mr Rathbun said:

It is all about image and money now. It is power, money and image and it is a direct reflection of Miscavige's personality. It is flowing down from the top.

Mr Rathbun, who still believes in the practice of Scientology and the teachings of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, said that many of the allegations in letters written by former Australian church members directly reflect unwritten church policies. Mr Rathbun said:

The common big three things that they [the Australian complainants] are hitting on are the craziness around what is imposed on the families, including the encouragement of abortion, the incredible commercial emphasis of getting money by any means necessary and the heavy handed tactics used to silence dissent.

Mr Rathbun stated that the church had sought to bully members of the Sea Organisation—Scientology's 8,000-strong international leadership group loosely comparable to a priesthood—into having abortions when Mr Miscavige banned anyone in the group from having children in or around 1985, shortly after Hubbard's death. Members of the Sea Org, as it is known, symbolically signed billion-year employment contracts. Mr Rathbun said:

But accidents occur and people got pregnant. The answer to that became, you know, people began to encourage people to have abortions.

I know at International Base [the Church's head office in Florida] in the late 80s and early 90s it was a pretty regular practice that [pregnant] people were told, "do you want to let mankind down?"

He believes Mr Miscavige thought Sea Org members would be easier to control and better able to devote long hours to fundraising if they had no children. Mr Rathbun said:

In about 2000 he got more and more uncontrolled physically and was beating people regularly and assigning more and more torturous punishments.

It got to the point where it was acceptable up there and I think it rolled down to the other churches and I received reports that it was happening at the Continental bases like Australia and England and South Africa and it became part of Church culture.

Mr Rathbun even admits to assaulting Mike Rinder, the organisation's Australian-born head of communications, who defected alongside Rathbun. He said:

It became a culture. I am no angel, I participated. On two occasions I beat Mike up. You know it was a fight. It wasn't like a smackdown you know where Miscavige comes in and you can't do anything. He fought back but I am a bigger guy and it is something that I regretted.

Mr Rathbun says the church has become even more obsessed with raising money. He estimates that when he left the organisation in 2004 the church had a war chest of around $750 million set aside to fight off attacks from lawmakers or media organisations. Mr Rathbun said:

A lot of people are under so much pressure to increase the sums of their donations that they took huge risks in business or in finance so a lot of people are having personal catastrophes now. Loans are being called in now, values of things they invest in have crashed.

He said it became common practice to demand that employees work 70 or 80 hours a week for as little as $50 pay. Church members, even at the most senior levels, found it impossible to leave the church or to reform it, or even to refuse its demands because of the three clubs wielded ruthlessly by its head office. He explained:

One is disconnection from family.

If I declare you a "suppressive person", if I expel you, you are never going to be able to talk to your family again.

Two is your business career, because you lose your network.

And three is, you are never ever going to be able to get to the holy grail in Scientology and reach spiritual enlightenment because you are expelled.

That is three big clubs and they are being used, increasingly, to extract ever larger and larger sums from people.

I don't know what happened in Australia, but I am telling you that it would have stemmed from the phenomenon I observed. It is consistent with that and it has rolled down from the top.

These explosive revelations underline the urgency of investigating the operations of the Church of Scientology in Australia. It is possible that recognising the organisation as a religion was a grave mistake that has granted legitimacy to a cult that bullies, intimidate and exploits. There is a growing case for comprehensive examination not only of the church leadership in Australia but also of the church itself as a religion. Mr Rathbun is the highest profile member of a growing body of refugees from an organisation that is accused of bullying, abuse and exploitation. It is time for State and Federal governments to step in and investigate the Church of Scientology, to investigate the allegations that have been made and to act to protect innocent people from the actions of an organisation that increasingly stands accused of exploitation.

Ann O'Nymous · Dec 1, 2009

Re: Transcript: MP John Kaye speech to Aussie Parliament

Good to have. Thanks.

_You_ · Dec 1, 2009

Re: Transcript: MP John Kaye speech to Aussie Parliament

Actually this is pretty fucking fantastic.

I missed this so thnx for putting it up mongrel..

fisherman · Dec 1, 2009

Re: Transcript: MP John Kaye speech to Aussie Parliament

AussieAnons, should we start a new round of letters to MPs in support of Senator Kaye's speech? Hang tough? what?

Ogsonofgroo · Dec 1, 2009

Re: Transcript: MP John Kaye speech to Aussie Parliament

Now if a few moar MP's would stop screwing the kangas and grow some gonads it'd be bettar!

I hope the Au populace is watching this bunch of milk-soppin'-blindered toadies they call their reps, pretty fucking sad really.

Oh yes , much thanx Mongrel and folk for the updates etc. !

*THUMBS* (two still)

tamphex · Dec 1, 2009

Re: Transcript: MP John Kaye speech to Aussie Parliament

Sending on further support to strengthen the push would be a great idea. The Organization of Scientology is under both the public and media spotlight, and now with our authorities looking into it, they're starting to slowly realize that everyone involved, whether it be anon, exscns or long time critics, mean bloody business.

Anon123456 · Dec 1, 2009

Re: Transcript: MP John Kaye speech to Aussie Parliament

tamphex;1087627 said:

Sending on further support to strengthen the push would be a great idea. The Organization of Scientology is under both the public and media spotlight, and now with our authorities looking into it, they're starting to slowly realize that everyone involved, whether it be anon, exscns or long time critics, mean bloody business.

this^

tazor · Dec 1, 2009

Re: Transcript: MP John Kaye speech to Aussie Parliament

Remember to get those petitions signed, guys.

KEEP THE PRESSURE UP ON THE ONES WHO AREN'T BACKING XENOPHON!!!!

Zhent · Dec 1, 2009

Re: Transcript: MP John Kaye speech to Aussie Parliament

Great stuff.

Heres some news coverage on it - Scientology

Loved the pic at the top:

JohnnyRUClear · Dec 1, 2009

Re: Transcript: MP John Kaye speech to Aussie Parliament

Argh.

It's great to have support, but here we go again with total confusion between the "religion" (or practice) of Scientology vs. the organizations known collectively as "Scientology". They are NOT THE SAME THING. The network of organizations is not a religion, in the same way that the Southern Baptists aren't a religion. It's only one set of organizational structures within what can be called a religion (or a cult). The lack of other such organizational structures only reinforces the idea that this is not a "real" religion; a monopoly on being "official" Scientology organizations is held by Miscavige, et al. That is not the case with "real" religions, but is the case with a lot of cults.

_You_ · Dec 2, 2009

Re: Transcript: MP John Kaye speech to Aussie Parliament

Dr John Kaye is a member of the Legislative Council (the upper house) of the NSW Parliament.

About John

Before entering parliament, John taught and researched electrical engineering at the University of NSW where he specialised in sustainable energy and greenhouse issues. John has a PhD from the University of California Berkeley and over twenty years of research and teaching experience. He has been a vocal critic of electricity industry privatisation and a strong advocate for renewable energy and energy efficiency.

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Transcript: MP John Kaye speech to Aussie Parliament

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