The following letter is my response to “The Australian” newspaper for their defamatory article about me last Friday.
At a time when the Australian Government temporarily silences me and forces me to remove information depicting the truth about events that have happened to me completely out of my control. It appears fine for a major newspaper to spout absolute rubbish and publish defamatory articles filled with what Aussies call “Complete and Utter Bullshit !!!”
I look forward to their response and remind them to please not make the mistake of underestimating my capabilities where matters of truth and justice are concerned.
Much respect xxx PRB
WITHOUT PREJUDICE CONCERNS NOTICE Defamation Act 2005 The Management, News Corp Australia 2 Holt Street Surry Hills NSW Australia 2010 RE: Story in The Australian 10/08/17 “Sydney tent city mayor’s link to cult.” Dear Sir/Madam, On the 10/08/17 your paper “The Australian” ran an article that appeared online with the headline “Sydney tent city mayor’s link to cult”. That article referred to me and made statements that I consider highly defamatory. In point form I refer to the statements made and the imputations they carry. 1) I am referred to as the head of the Church of Ubuntu which is referred to as an “anti medicine cult” in the body of the story and as a “cult” in the headline. The imputation is that I am a cult leader who is dangerous and who exercises control over people with no concern for their wellbeing. 2) Secondly by putting the word Church in inverted commas and stating it is “influential” the imputation is carried that I exert control over people as a cult leader. 3) Thirdly, the imputation is carried, by linking the Church in the same sentence where it discusses Lanz Priestley as having assaulted women, that I somehow condone violence against women. This is outrageous as I do not and never have condoned violence against women. On the contrary, I dedicate my life to selfless service and in some cases this involves helping people struggling with the shocking negative impacts of violent abuse. Further to this, I cannot speak for Lanz but what a disgusting thing to raise and certainly shows the lengths your paper goes to defame good people. 4) By stating “The parents later sought meal plans and treatment advice from the Church of Ubuntu and a deregistered doctor. The church claims the child, with serious medical conditions, has since been taken into the care of child protection authorities.” The imputation is carried that the child was NOT taken into the care of child protection authorities and I am a person prone to making up lies when in fact the opposite is true and it is well known that the child was taken into the custody of Family And Community Services (FACS) NSW on the 19th May 2017. 5) By stating “Anti-vaccine proponent Andrew Katelaris is listed as Ubuntu’s “chief medical adviser”. He prepared “huge doses” of cannabis mixed with coconut oil and injected it directly into the ovarian cancers of two women at his Newcastle centre in September, 2015. One woman later died.” The imputation is carried that I am somehow responsible for the death of a woman. This again is clearly false in a number of ways. Firstly Dr Katelaris is not an “Antivaccine proponent” and secondly he is not listed as “chief medical advisor ” but as “an external consultant” with our wellness clinic. Thirdly, this incident has no direct connection to the Church and happened long before my involvement as Secretary and Public Officer and not withstanding of course, the accusations towards Dr Andrew Katelaris were never raised by either of the woman he assisted, or their families. 6) By stating “The Church of Ubuntu did not respond to multiple requests for comment” I can only presume that you are referring to the one phone message I missed around 4pm Thursday 9/8/2017 because I was busy helping a family with a child custody issue. I would also point out that in our constitution it clearly states “To expound and support the values and teachings of all the recognised faiths.” We help the homeless, we help the sick, we help the disabled, the meek and the humble. We support people in need everywhere we are able. Much of this work is done for free, that is for no pecuniary reward of any kind. I do not indoctrinate or coerce anyone, I personally do not receive any money for my work with the Church I am the secretary and public officer and a Minister, I exist on “dana”, donations gifted in kind for my selfless dedication to supporting people in need. We are not a “Cult” I am very distressed at the story you ran about me directly and by mentioning my name and carrying my photo along with these imputations I believe both myself and our Ubuntu Community have been severely and unfairly defamed. Therefore I invite your organisation to make an offer of amends. Without prejudicing future legal actions, I suggest that any offer of amends must include, A) A full retraction in the same size font and prominence as the original story. B) An apology. C) My reasonable out of pocket expenses in relation to this concerns notice and considering your offer of amends. D) Due diligence in contacting other outlets that have copied and ran this “story” and advising them of the truth and your making of amends. E) Fair, just and equitable financial compensation for damages. Or in lieu of all of the above, an unbiased series of articles over a period time based upon myself and our Ubuntu Community. These articles will present our view and position in regards to all of the matters raised in your article including our experiences and understanding on the current status of the child protection industry in Australia. I note that as this information is now on the internet it will never be able to be removed and compounds the damage I have suffered as a result of this untrue, unfair and defamatory publication. I also note this false information has been republished on a number of Australian and overseas online publications and this even further compounds the damage I have suffered. If no adequate offer of amends or no offer of amends at all is made within the statutory period I will without further notification file and serve a Statement of Claim for damages for defamation. Paul Robert Burton.
