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| The
son of a Tasmanian wharfie and a school teacher, Avon Lovell joined
the Hobart Mercury as its first university graduate cadet.
He worked for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Adelaide
Advertiser as well as independent publishers such as The Globe
and Nation Review. |
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| Back
in the early 1970's when the term 'investigative journalism' was not
even in use in Australia, Lovell was one of the first to identify
rackets in poker machines and clubs that were linked to the infiltration
of the US mafia into Australia. He wrote under a pseudonym because
according to the Nation Review's editor at the time, Richard Walsh
he was wary of those he was exposing. When Walsh was called before
the Moffitt Royal Commission into Organised Crime in Clubs
he refused to reveal the identity behind the pseudonym. |
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| Avon
Lovell signs
and fingerprints books, using a tape recorder as a paperweight, as
you do... Book Launch |
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| Lovell
fled Sydney for Perth where he took up a safe job publishing with
the West Australian Museum. Later in the seventies he published
a small but vigorous newspaper, Westlore News Journal, and
then turned his attention to book publishing. By the early eighties
he was working his way out of threatened bankruptcy. |
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| Avon
& the beloved 'Osborne 80' upon
which The Mickelberg Stitch was originally penned. |
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| Long
before it was fashionable to do so his inclination was to expose abuse
of power and delve into corruption and organised crime. So in
December 1983 when Brian Mickelberg was trying to persuade Avon to
take an interest in their case by making a fingerprint from a rubber
mould, it seemed to him "a good story". The fingerprint
had been the lynchpin in the evidence that convicted the Mickelbergs. |
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| Media
interest
is nothing new to this freelance journalist.
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| He
is still trying to publish that good story despite more setbacks than
most would have the heart to deal with. After 700 court appearances
in 9 years and more than 60 separate court actions arising out of
his publication of the Mickelberg story, Lovell had to develop creative
legal skills more than journalistic ones. |
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| He
considers that his career as a journalist and writer was cut short
by the virtual "banning" of the Mickelberg Stitch and the
subsequent reputation he has within some media circles as a person
obsessed. However, for Lovell his journalistic integrity was on the
line. He has been thrown out of the court press box and followed and
arrested after refusing to name a source. "There's no part of
my life that hasn't been exposed to the police. If I wasn't a rampant
optimist this would be total suicide territory", he says.
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| Extract,
Wendy Bacon & Denise Hare 'Reportage' winter 1994 |
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| Where
is he now? |
| Avon
worked for the C.E.P.U. as an industrial advocate, donates time to
organisations such as Whistleblowers (Australia) for which he is the
State Chairperson and National Vice-President. A member of Media Alliance
(Australian Journalist's Association) and P.E.N. International, Lovell
is dedicated in his pursuit of freedom of speech in Australia, and
other social justice issues. The United Nations High Commission for
Human Rights tribunal will soon hear the case of Lovell vs. Australia.
This will fight for the right to appeal charges of contempt of court,
in line with all other criminal proceedings and U.N.H.C.H.R. guidelines. |
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| Quotable
quotes: |
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"What
I have achieved to this point is due largely to all the good people
who have supported me both monetarily and morally to get me this
far." September 2002
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| "I'm
going home for a cup of tea." To the Royal Commission into
Police Corruption in Western Australia. |
| "I
have contempt, I have the utmost contempt for the court system. We
have a corrupt police force. The enquiry starts today or the royal
commission can only be seen by the rest of us as a joke" On
A Current Affair June 11th 2002. |
| "Leave
my mailman alone...He knows nothing!" News
crews camped on Avon's lawn get desperate; 18th July 2002 |
| "The
only thing that the West Australian public don't know about me is
whether I dress to the left or the right...And it's the right."
On ABC radio, regarding privacy issues in W.A. |
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"Get
stuffed...Ask me a decent question and I'll give you an answer."
Responding to media circus.
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| "Whoever
coined the phrase 'the law is an ass' was really on to something."
Television
documentary. |
| "The
method of their (Mickelbergs') conviction rankles at the very core
of my heart. No man in our system of justice should ever be convicted
and jailed for a day, let alone two decades, on anything but the most
scrupulous evidence. Freedom of the individual is too precious to
sacrifice without the utmost effort at fairness."
From Split Image. |
| "It's
better than gaol, I guess..."
On being fined $30,000 for his most recent contempt of court charges,
August 15th, 2002 |
| "Don't
call me obsessed, its not what we talk about every weekend at family
barbeques"To
The Australian. |
| "They
were convicted in the worst possible way with evidence you wouldn't
send a shoplifter down for"
Of the Mickelbergs. |
| "It
is an abomination, a complete breach of the presumption of innocence"
An outspoken Avon on A Current Affair June 11, 2002. |
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