POST
PRODUCTION
SCRIPT
Four
Corners
2021
The Great Awakening:
a family divided by QAnon
49
mins 47 secs
©2021
ABC Ultimo
Centre
700 Harris
Street Ultimo
NSW 2007
Australia
GPO Box
9994
Sydney
NSW 2001
Australia
Phone : 61 2 8333 3314
e-mail : kimpton.scott@abc.net.au
Precis
|
“QAnon is …first and foremost a conspiracy theory…(about) a global
satanic paedophile cult, who have infiltrated the highest levels of government,
the media, Hollywood.” The extreme political movement QAnon has mobilised a committed band
of believers dedicated to fighting what they claim is a war against corrupt, child
abusing elites. There are vocal devotees here in Australia. “Tim believes that the world has really been taken over by… Luciferian
paedophiles and that is represented by the left, the radical left.” Sister of QAnon follower One QAnon adherent has attracted attention because of his long friendship
with the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison. The Prime Minister’s old friend is an enthusiastic exponent of QAnon’s
bizarre conspiracy theory. Now his family are speaking out on Four Corners about his descent
into this extreme world view and their fears for him. “I’m his mum…we’ve watched the change over these last years be quite
dramatic.” Mother What emerges is a portrait of a family in distress, divided by politics
and extremist beliefs and a growing sense of alarm. “I think almost all of us have broken down on the phone trying to
explain…grieving the loss of someone who’s still alive and it’s a very confusing
emotion.” Sister In this dramatic episode of Four Corners, family members detail their
growing awakening to the powerful hold this extremist movement now has. “At that point we recognised, there’s a level of radicalisation that
is very different to even a year prior to that.” Those with experience of QAnon at the highest levels say the conspiracy
theory movement needs to be watched very carefully. This episode of Four Corners has already sparked a political furore
and an angry rebuke from the Prime Minister. “I find it deeply offensive that there would be any suggestion that
I would have any involvement or support for such a dangerous organisation.” Prime Minister Scott Morrison |
|
QAnon
video montage: |
QANON
VOICE OVER: "Have you ever wondered why we go to war
or why you never seem to be able to get out of debt? Why there is poverty, division
and crime? What if I told you there was a reason for it all? Fellow slaves, it’s
time to buckle your seatbelt…. |
00:10 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: The QAnon conspiracy theory has taken off around
the world. The bizarre ideology has attracted millions of believers worldwide,
including a large number in Australia, fuelled by the lockdowns during COVID-19.
QANON
VOICE OVER: "…to
achieve this victory against the greatest force of evil the world has ever known." |
00:30 |
Q
Anon title: |
JITARTH JADEJA, FMR QANON BELIEVER & SUPPORT GROUP MODERATOR: I really
look at it as like a force of nature. |
00:53 |
Jitarth
100% |
It's like a Corona virus of the mind. |
00:56 |
Capitol
riots |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: In America, QAnon’s dark and divisive politics have fuelled
ugly conflict. |
00:58 |
Canberra
tower and GVs |
In Australia, it has led to
families being split apart. VAL STEWART, TIM STEWART’S MOTHER: We’ve watched the change over these last
years be quite dramatic. |
01:08 |
Val
Stewart 100% |
That’s what raises our concern,
that we do have family members who are involved. |
01:18 |
Sydney
suburban street/Stewart family at table |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: The Stewart family in Sydney are among
those deeply concerned over QAnon’s spread, as they’ve watched their son and brother |
01:26 |
Photos.
Tim Stewart |
Tim Stewart become immersed
in its beliefs. KAREN STEWART, TIM STEWART’S
SISTER: Tim believes that the world has really been taken over by Satanic paedophiles
or Luciferian paedophiles, they call them, and that that is represented by the
left – so the radical left – |
01:35 |
Karen
100% |
and if you don’t believe in
the QAnon perspectives then you’re a paedophile enabler. |
01:51 |
Photos.
Tim Stewart, Time and Morrison |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Tim Stewart has been a close family friend of Prime Minister
Scott Morrison, and has reportedly boasted about his access to the PM. |
01:56 |
Prime
Minister's residence, Australia |
Music |
02:07 |
|
MILES TAYLOR, CHIEF OF STAFF, US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY: I would think that someone in a position like Prime Minister
Morrison would want to condemn those views and indicate strongly to the public
that they have no bearing |
02:10 |
Taylor
100% |
on his official actions, on
his responsibilities, nor on his world view. |
02:20 |
Scott
Morrison |
SCOTT MORRISON, PRIME MINISTER: I find it deeply offensive that there would
be any suggestion that I would have any involvement or support for such a dangerous
organisation. I clearly do not. |
02:24 |
Milligan
to camera. Start-up |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Tonight, on Four Corners,
we hear for the first time from a family who have watched with alarm as their
son has descended into an extremist political conspiracy, and they share their
concerns about his relationship with the Prime Minister of Australia. |
02:36 |
GFX
Title: |
Music |
02:53 |
Stewart
family dinner |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: On Sydney’s suburban
fringe, the Stewart clan sits down to dinner. VAL
STEWART, TIM STEWART’S MOTHER: First toast of the evening. Here's to life's
journey, still going on. And we're all in it. It's good to be together. |
03:04 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Over
recent years, the conversation during these family gatherings has often been tainted
by a dark topic – the apocalyptic ideology of the far-right conspiracy theory,
QAnon, which has split this family. VAL
STEWART, TIM STEWART’S MOTHER: We’ve watched the change over these last years
be quite dramatic and a lot of that was to do with QAnon. |
03:19 |
Val
100% |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER:
You are a mother who still loves her son. VAL STEWART: Yes. LOUISE MILLIGAN,
REPORTER: And would like to maintain a relationship with him. How is it, as a
mum, watching this? |
03:44 |
Super: |
VAL
STEWART, TIM STEWART’S MOTHER: It’s not pleasant and, you know, the relationship
has become quite strained over this last year. |
03:58 |
Karen
100%. Super: |
KAREN STEWART, TIM STEWART’S SISTER: It’s like a conversion and there is
that religious undertone to QAnon, and so constantly donning the armour of God
and things like that because they are out there having to fight against the Satanists
that have taken over the world. |
04:04 |
Stewart
family dinner |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Val and Brian Stewart and their daughter Karen have decided
to speak out as a warning to others. |
04:21 |
Photo.
Tim |
What has prompted them is witnessing
51-year-old Tim Stewart descend into the world of QAnon. |
04:31 |
|
KAREN
STEWART, TIM STEWART’S SISTER:
Tim believes that the world has really been taken over by satanic paedophiles,
or Luciferian paedophiles, they call them, |
04:40 |
Karen
100% |
and
that that is represented by the left, so the radical left. |
04:49 |
QAnon
video |
|
04:54 |
|
KAREN
STEWART, TIM STEWART’S SISTER:
They believe
there is a spiritual warfare being waged and that they have knowledge of this,
and so that they’re on a crusade to make sure that the Satanists are overthrown
and things like that. |
04:58 |
|
QANON
VOICE OVER: "The world is currently experiencing a dramatic covert war of
biblical proportions, literally the fight for earth between the forces of good
and evil." |
05:11 |
|
MILES TAYLOR, CHIEF OF STAFF, US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 2018-19:
QAnon really came onto the radar screen in October of 2017 on a website called
4chan where individuals propagated this |
05:20 |
Taylor
100%. Super: |
conspiracy theory that the United States government was secretly being
run by a cabal of Satan worshipping cannibalistic child predators who were
running a global sex trafficking ring and were hell bent on undermining
Donald Trump while he was in office. Now, this conspiracy theory was not only
untrue, it was in my view, indiscriminately crazy. |
05:37 |
QAnon
video |
QANON
VOICE OVER: "That’s
why we have Q." LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: The conspiracy theory was started by
an anonymous online figure known as Q – who has never been identified. ELISE THOMAS, OPEN-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE ANALYST, THE INSTITUTE FOR
STRATEGIC DIALOGUE: Someone started posting as a secret insider in the US
Government, |
06:03 |
Photo:
Bush, Obama, Bush Clinton |
calling themselves “Q”, as a reference to the Q-Level security
clearance, which doesn’t actually exist outside of the Department of Energy |
06:20 |
Thomas
100%. Super: |
and in the initial Q drop, saying that Hillary Clinton would be
arrested the next day, which obviously did not happen. |
06:27 |
|
But over time, this individual, or group of individuals, and it’s still
not clear who exactly it was, continued to post and continued to gather a following. |
06:33 |
Capitol
building |
Music |
06:42 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Miles Taylor was the Chief of Staff at the US Department
of Homeland Security in the Trump administration. |
06:46 |
Photos.
Taylor during Homeland Security |
MILES TAYLOR, CHIEF OF STAFF, US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 2018-19:
It was clear to me in late 2018 and early 2019, that these conspiracy theory trends
like QAnon were a danger to the country |
06:53 |
Taylor
100% |
and that the vitriolic rhetoric on some of these message boards could
jump the tracks into violence very, very easily. |
07:04 |
|
We were worried about that, and it wasn't just a law enforcement concern,
we started to view it as a real national security threat. |
07:12 |
Razor
wire surrounding Capitol |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: In the United States, the FBI has declared
QAnon a potential domestic terrorism threat, but that hasn’t happened in Australia.
|
07:19 |
Canberra.
Early morning GVs |
According to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Australia is the fourth
largest country for QAnon-related activity online. |
07:30 |
|
ELISE THOMAS, OPEN-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE
ANALYST, INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC DIALOGUE:
In March 2020 we had, obviously, the outbreak of COVID-19 and along with
that became a lot of associated mental health pressures, and |
07:42 |
Thomas
100% |
we
know that belief in conspiracy theories is quite closely linked to various
mental health stressors
and so we saw an explosion of conspiracy activity around the world,
including in Australia
and as part of that, we did see QAnon come to Australia in a more
significant way than it had been before. |
07:50 |
Sunrise.
Rowers on lake |
JITARTH JADEJA, FMR QANON BELIEVER & SUPPORT GROUP MODERATOR: I think people forget that
coronavirus, initially, when it first came out, it was very traumatic for a lot
of people. No one knew where this virus had really come from, right? |
08:06 |
Jitarth
100%. Super: |
There was very little information.
It came on so fast governments were shutting down. People were scared, it was
traumatic, |
08:17 |
Jitarth
at computer |
and they go searching for answers. LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Recent
university graduate, Jitarth Jadeja is a moderator of an online forum for
people who’ve lost family members to what they call the ‘Qult’. |
08:23 |
CU
Computer screen. Reddit posts |
The QAnon Casualties reddit
group has about 160,000 members, including in Australia. |
08:37 |
Jitarth
at computer |
JITARTH JADEJA, FMR QANON BELIEVER & SUPPORT GROUP MODERATOR: The
power of QAnon is not even really about the beliefs. The power is the behavioural change that it
causes in a believer, it's destructive to the person themselves and their
relationships, their family and friends. Every day I see stories of families
being ripped apart; people's children being kicked out of the house by their
parents. People having to call off marriages after decades. |
08:44 |
Jitarth
100% |
People's parents, you know, accusing them of wanting their children to
die. So, it is the saddest place in the internet. |
09:10 |
Jitarth
at computer |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Jitarth
was completely engrossed in the conspiracy theory for a year and a half. One
of his biggest regrets is that he got one of his relatives involved. JITARTH JADEJA, FMR QANON BELIEVER & SUPPORT GROUP MODERATOR: We
would talk for hours, |
09:21 |
Jitarth
100% |
four or five hours just sitting, standing in front of the, standing in
the kitchen, just talking. The moment I got out, I realised like, what have I
done? What have I done? And I tried, I've tried to talk to him. I've tried to
get him out. It doesn't work. |
09:34 |
Photo.
Tim Stewart |
Music |
09:49 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Tim Stewart, a town
planner and former bankrupt, was an early follower of QAnon in Australia. |
09:51 |
CU
blog page Sideways Step |
Around 2017, he started a blog called Sideways
Step for “expansive thinkers and spiritual explorers”. |
10:00 |
|
One of the posts is titled ‘The Reason for the
Treason, a conversation for the Great Awakening’. |
10:10 |
On
screen text: |
VOICE OVER: “The Great Awakening
is revealing that dark forces have found their way into the highest levels of
influence…” |
10:10 |
Thomas
100%. Super: |
ELISE THOMAS, OPEN-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE
ANALYST, INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC DIALOGUE:
So the idea of the Great Awakening and also of the Storm, is sort of linked
to the idea that there will be some sort of cataclysmic awakening of all the people
around the world as sort of the scales drop from their eyes and they see this
global satanic paedophile cabal for what they truly are, and the idea is that
Donald Trump, in some way, was going to bring on the Storm, which would lead to
the Great Awakening. |
10:27 |
CU
Blog page. On screen text: |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Tim Stewart’s blog lays out
a central belief of QAnon - that leftist elites are running a paedophile ring
that harvests children’s blood. |
10:48 |
On
screen text: |
VOICE
OVER: “The true nature
of these crimes shows that humans are being treated as a commodity and human energy
is being harvested without permission. Furthermore, it is focussed on children,
who are more innocent and unaware.” |
11:01 |
On
screen text: |
“Why do evil people wish to rob a young child
of their virginity?... Why do they drink blood? Why do they need to sacrifice
humans?” |
11:14 |
Stewarts
Twitter account |
In Australia, Tim Stewart rose to prominence in local QAnon circles
when his Twitter account, @BurnedSpy34, was included in a post by Q known as
a “Q-drop”, that users have to decode. |
11:23 |
Thomas
|
ELISE THOMAS, OPEN-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE ANALYST, THE INSTITUTE OF STRATEGIC
DIALOGUE: That’s how a lot of these
QAnon influencers got their start and first came to the attention of the rest
of the QAnon community. |
11:41 |
|
So we know from archived versions of the BurnedSpy Twitter account, that
in early 2019 he had around 1700 followers, and by late 2019, had you know, 20000-odd
followers. |
11:47 |
Photo.
Tim |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: The Stewart family watched in alarm as Tim’s beliefs became an obsession.
|
12:03 |
Karen
Stewart 100%. Super: |
KAREN STEWART, TIM STEWART’S SISTER: It’s really outlandish and we’ve heard things from the Queen being a shape-shifting
lizard, to all sorts of things where a being might come down and do some training
and astral projection and time-travelling and things like that. |
12:10 |
Val
Stewart 100% |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER:
Your son believes that Donald Trump is saving the world from leftist paedophiles? VAL STEWART, TIM
STEWART’S MOTHER:
Yes, that is so. LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER:
And your son believes, and
has said to you that he believes, that both Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand
Prime Minister, and Michelle Obama, the former First Lady, are actually men? VAL STEWART, TIM
STEWART’S MOTHER:
Yes, that has been said to me, yes. |
12:24 |
Karen
100% |
KAREN STEWART, TIM STEWART’S SISTER: If people wear red shoes, then
they’re wearing red, so that when babies are slaughtered and the blood falls on the ground that no-one
will see the blood spatter, and there’s been tweets from them that say if you
don’t believe in the QAnon perspectives then you’re a paedophile enabler. |
12:49 |
Ocean
shots. Sunrise |
Music |
13:08 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER:
At the same time that Tim Stewart was descending into QAnon, one of his
old friends ascended to the highest office in the land. |
13:23 |
Photo.
Scott Morrison |
Scott
Morrison became Prime Minister in August 2018. |
13:32 |
Photos.
Lynelle/Jenny and Scott Morrison |
Tim
Stewart’s wife Lynelle has been best friends with Scott Morrison’s wife Jenny
for decades. |
13:38 |
Photos.
Tim and Lynelle/Scott and Jenny |
The
two couples cemented their friendships at their local Baptist Church in the early
1990s. |
13:46 |
Church
exterior |
BRIAN STEWART, TIM STEWART’S
FATHER: Well, it’s a close one, there’s no doubt about that. The two girls, in
particular, |
13:55 |
Photo.
Lynelle and Jenny |
have known each other from
high school onwards, |
14:03 |
Brian
Stewart 100%. Super: |
and the two men who married
the two girls became friends as well along the way. |
14:07 |
Photo.
Lynelle and Jenny |
VAL STEWART, TIM STEWART’S MOTHER:
They’ve had a lifelong friendship together. |
14:12 |
Val
Stewart 100% |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Would
you say best friends? VAL STEWART, TIM STEWART’S
MOTHER: Oh yes, I would say best friends. Yes. |
14:16 |
Lynelle
and Tim wedding photo |
Jenny was Lynelle’s maid of
honour, |
14:19 |
Jenny
wedding photo with bridesmaids |
and Lynelle was Jenny and
Scott’s bridesmaid. |
14:24 |
Photos.
Lynelle and Jenny |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Jenny
Morrison describes Lynelle Stewart on her Facebook page as her “dear old friend”,
Lynelle says Jenny is a “precious treasure” and a “forever friend”. |
14:29 |
Parliament
House, Canberra. GVs |
When Mr Morrison entered parliament,
the Stewarts were delighted. BRIAN STEWART, TIM
STEWART’S FATHER: Tim
was invited to attend Scott’s maiden speech. He was excited; |
14:45 |
Brian
Stewart 100% |
so was I, when Scott was elected. |
14:58 |
Parliament
recording. Super: |
HOUSE SPEAKER: "The member
for Cook." SCOTT MORRISON, FEDERAL MEMBER
FOR COOK: "Mr Speaker, it is with humility..." BRIAN STEWART, TIM
STEWART’S FATHER: I thought it was rather a
privilege that Tim was one of those who received the invitation. I would |
15:03 |
Brian
Stewart 100% |
imagine that any incumbent speaking
for the first time would ask people to attend who were in some way special to
him. |
15:14 |
Photo.
Tim and Lynelle wedding. Lynelle's Facebook profile |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: When
Tim and Lynelle Stewart celebrated their 24th wedding anniversary in
August 2017, then-Treasurer Scott Morrison sent his congratulations on Lynelle’s
Facebook page. |
15:22 |
Text
of Facebook message from Morrison |
"Happy Anniversary guys
– still remember you telling Jen and I a very long time ago in our little flat
in Bronte that you had an amazing guy – you were right." |
15:39 |
Photos.
Morrisons and Stewarts holiday |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: These photos, which they shared on Facebook,
are from the following year, when the Morrison family holidayed with the Stewarts
on the NSW south coast. |
15:50 |
Kirribilli
House exteriors |
When the Morrisons moved into
the Prime Minister’s residence in Sydney, Kirribilli House, |
16:01 |
Photos.
Lynelle Stewart |
Lynelle Stewart was hired
to work as household attendant. |
16:07 |
|
KAREN STEWART, TIM STEWART’S
SISTER: Lynelle was looking after the children and the dog, even before she was
employed. So certainly, was helping out. |
16:13 |
Karen
Stewart 100% |
She’s technically employed by
Prime Minister and Cabinet and her role has been to assist in looking after the
children and things like that. |
16:22 |
Lynelle's
Facebook page |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Lynelle
Stewart has frequently posted photographs from Kirribilli on her social media,
including |
16:31 |
Photo.
Lynelle and Tim, Kirribilli |
this one of her and her
husband Tim Stewart in 2018. |
16:41 |
Photo.
Sydney fireworks |
The families even celebrated
New Year’s Eve together |
16:47 |
Photo.
Morrison |
at the Prime Minister’s
residence. In January 2019, |
16:50 |
Photos.
Tim's photos at Kirribilli |
Tim Stewart shared these photos from Kirribilli, saying he was house sitting.
The little boy is his son. KAREN STEWART,
TIM STEWART’S SISTER: I don’t think it was an uncommon thing for them
to be there, not at all. |
16:54 |
Karen
100% |
I
can see there’s photos from New Year’s Eve there, and things like that, we’ve
seen that, yep. |
17:07 |
Beach
shots |
Music |
17:13 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Tim Stewart liked to boast about his
friendship with Scott Morrison. |
17:16 |
Photo.
Tim and Eliahi |
One associate who says he heard these boasts was Eliahi Priest, a self-styled
|
17:21 |
Remembrance
Party website |
online anti-corruption crusader who was questioned by counter
terrorism police after social media posts where he said he’d successfully |
17:28 |
Photo.
Priest, Tim and others |
hacked the Prime Minister’s office. Priest, who met Tim Stewart once in
2018, claims Stewart said he could pass information to the PM. ELIAHI PRIEST: Tim had said that he |
17:36 |
Eliahi
Priest 100%. Super: |
could make evidence I had about government corruption available to the
Prime Minister and have the Prime Minister of Australia act on that evidence. |
17:53 |
Priest
looks at photo of Morrison and Tim on phone |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Priest says Tim Stewart sent him this picture
of Tim and Scott Morrison together. |
18:00 |
CU
of photo |
ELIAHI PRIEST: I can’t emphasise enough how close Tim said the families
were, which was why |
18:06 |
Eliahi
Priest 100% |
he said there was a way, due to that closeness, that he could
influence the Prime Minister. |
18:13 |
Canberra
freeway/Parliament House |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: At the time, Scott Morrison was preparing for
one of his first acts as Prime Minister, a national apology to survivors of institutional
child sexual abuse. |
18:21 |
Eliahi
at computer. Zoom meeting participants |
Eliahi Priest set up a meeting with Tim Stewart and others. The group
wanted the phrase “ritual sexual abuse” included in the national apology. |
18:35 |
Salter
100%. Super: |
DR
MICHAEL SALTER, CRIMINOLOGIST AND CHILD PROTECTION SPECIALIST,
UNSW: So, when the QAnon conspiracy is using
the term 'ritual abuse', they're using it as synonymous with child torture, cannibalism,
really the most gross and vivid and graphic allegations of child abuse that you
can imagine. |
18:50 |
|
It has been folded into a set of beliefs about the United States Government,
in which there are high powered, high profile individuals who secretly engage
in these strange satanic ceremonies. |
19:06 |
Eliahi at computer |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Eliahi Priest showed Four
Corners messages he says Tim Stewart sent him referring to his attempts to
get the words “ritual abuse” into the apology. |
19:19 |
CU
Message from Tim to Eliahi |
VOICE OVER: “I am organising an intimate strategy for the PM re the Ritual
phrase. Ok mate, I am just preparing a message to Scott now re Monday… Once
he is awake mate he will kick ass…” |
19:31 |
Kirribilli
house exteriors |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Priest says he also received a text message
Tim Stewart said he had sent to his wife Lynelle. |
19:45 |
On
screen text of message: |
VOICE OVER: "An army of victims and therapists would specifically
love it if Scott’s apology referenced “ritual abuse victims”. This exact wording
is a key phrase for victims. Think of this like a code that sends a direct and
clear message that they have been heard by Scott specifically…" |
19:53 |
Canberra
GVs. Sunrise |
Music
|
20:11 |
Super: |
RADIO
AUDIO: "Hundreds of survivors of child sexual abuse in the nation’s institutions
will gather at Parliament House in Canberra this morning for an apology from the
Prime Minister." |
20:21 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: On the 22nd of October
2018, |
20:30 |
Guests
at Parliament House for apology. Survivors hug. |
Parliament
House opened its doors to abuse survivors and their supporters for the
apology by Scott Morrison. HETTY JOHNSTON, BRAVEHEARTS
FOUNDER: There was a lot of people waiting for a long time for this apology. We
felt like we were a part of history. We wanted it to be the moment of change. |
20:34 |
Hetty
100%. Super: |
We really believed that this
was the turning around of the tragedy of sexual assault against children in the
nation. |
20:54 |
Flag
flies over Parliament House |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: That morning, Tim Stewart’s texts to Eliahi
Priest suggested he was feeling confident. |
21:03 |
CU
Text messages. |
“Good
morning mate, I think Scott is going to do it! |
21:10 |
"Pretty
sure speech is at 11am. I hope he says it." |
"Pretty
sure speech is at 11am. I hope he says it." |
21:14 |
"Scott
is very aware of the enormity of today!” |
"Scott
is very aware of the enormity of today!” |
21:18 |
House
of Reps chamber |
PARLIAMENTARY
CLERK: "Government business notice number one, motion relating to
national apology to victims and survivors of institutional child sexual
abuse." |
21:21 |
Morrison
delivers apology speech |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: At 11am, the Prime Minister
rose to deliver the historic speech. SCOTT
MORRISON, PRIME MINISTER: "I move that the House apologise to the
victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. |
21:30 |
Survivors
watch apology speech |
It
happened anywhere a predator thought they could get away with it. |
21:44 |
|
And
the systems within these organisations allowed it to happen and turned a
blind eye. |
21:49 |
|
It
happened day after day, week after week, month after month, decade after
decade, unrelenting torment." DR MICHAEL SALTER, CRIMINOLOGIST AND CHILD PROTECTION SPECIALIST: The speech was received, I think, tremendously well.
It was taken in the spirit that it was offered, which was, |
21:57 |
Salter
100%. Super: |
I think, a spirit of generosity, a spirit of repentance and regret,
and that's something that survivors of sexual abuse don't often get. They
don't often get someone saying, "I'm sorry that this has happened to
you. I regret that this has happened to you." |
22:15 |
Morrison
delivers apology speech |
SCOTT
MORRISON, PRIME MINISTER: "The crimes of ritual sexual abuse happened in
schools, churches, youth groups, Scout troops, orphanages, foster homes." |
22:28 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: But close observers of the process were
taken aback by the use of the phrase “ritual sexual abuse”. DR
MICHAEL SALTER, CRIMINOLOGIST AND CHILD PROTECTION
SPECIALIST, UNSW: Ritual child sexual abuse wasn't a focus of the Royal
Commission. It wasn't evident in the reports or in the recommendations and
so, |
22:42 |
Slater
100% |
certainly, there were questions about, where did this phrase come
from? How did it arise? How did it come to be in the Prime Minister's speech
in the manner that it was? |
22:58 |
|
I'm in contact with international networks of mental health workers
particularly, who treat children and adults who have been subject to sexual
exploitation, and I was contacted, I was emailed. People reached out about
this phrase. It is a phrase that we're aware of. It's a very sensitive
phrase. |
23:07 |
Thomas
100%. Super: |
ELISE THOMAS, OPEN-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE ANALYST, INSTITUTE FOR
STRATEGIC DIALOGUE: The use of the phrase ritual sex abuse,
would have been taken as validation of the conspiracy theory by QAnon
followers, because it's a person in authority, using this phrase, which
appears to directly reference the conspiracy theory. |
23:24 |
Flag
flies over Parliament House |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Despite being asked repeatedly, the Prime
Minister has not answered Four Corners’
questions on the record about whether Tim Stewart passed on information to
him about the wording of the apology. |
23:38 |
CU
Stewart's Twitter account |
Immediately after the
apology, Tim Stewart began tweeting triumphantly using his Twitter account
@BurnedSpy34. |
23:54 |
|
“What
a great speech, @ScottMorrisonMP acknowledging the victims of ritual abuse. A new conversation began today in Australia. It was
a stepping stone to be sure, but we took the step.
@ScottMorrisonMP took control of the narrative powerfully and commenced phase
1 of our restoration." LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Tim Stewart’s son Jesse, |
24:05 |
Jesse
Stewart's Twitter account |
who is also a QAnon
follower, celebrated on Twitter using QAnon codes and hashtags. |
24:27 |
|
VOICE
OVER: "You know #TheGreatAwakening is in full swing when the Australian
Prime Minister @ScottMorrisonMP mentions #RitualAbuse. |
24:35 |
|
Scott
is a patriot." JITARTH JADEJA, FMR
QANON BELIEVER & SUPPORT GROUP MODERATOR: So within the QAnon
community, when |
24:43 |
Jitarth
100%. Super: |
it was first reported that BurnedSpy and Scott Morrison had some kind
of relationship or moved in the same social cycles, that was taken as a tacit
approval or tacit proof of this plan of the conspiracy of the Great Awakening,
of where the good guys will take over, that maybe Scott Morrison's on board,
you know, and as much as I wish I didn't have to say this, but it's true,
that the lack of condemnation and the lack of response to that relationship
by Scott Morrison – and
I don't like saying that because I actually like him – like people just thought that it
was, it was low key approval, that's it and it, and it boosted the
authenticity of the movement. |
24:49 |
Eliahi
at computer |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Eliahi Priest texted Tim Stewart about other issues he
wanted Stewart to raise with the Prime Minister, such as his claim that
school students were being taught about homosexual sex. |
25:35 |
Tim's
message to Eliahi |
Tim Stewart replied: “I
am in shock. This is going straight to Scott.” |
25:47 |
Photo.
Parliament House |
The Prime Minister did not respond on the record to Four Corners’
questions about why the words ‘ritual abuse’ were included in the
apology. |
25:55 |
|
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister has
previously said: |
26:05 |
On
screen text: |
“The term ‘ritual’ is one that the Prime Minister heard directly from
the abuse survivors and the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of
Child Sexual Abuse Reference Group he met with in the lead up to the Apology,
and refers not just to the ritualised way or patterns in which so many crimes
were committed but also to the frequency and repetition of them.” LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Four
Corners has spoken to most of the members of the reference group and seen
their formal written advice. |
26:08 |
|
The phrase “ritual abuse” is not mentioned. |
26:38 |
Morrison
apology speech |
SCOTT MORRISON,
PRIME MINISTER: "We honour every survivor in this country, |
26:43 |
Stewart
family watch apology speech |
we love you, we
hear you and we honour you." LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Watching Scott Morrison’s apology speech at home was Tim
Stewart’s sister Karen, who had their parents, Val and Brian, by her side. KAREN STEWART, TIM STEWART’S SISTER: When I heard the word ritual in
that speech, |
26:46 |
Karen
100% |
my phone next to me buzzed and it was a family member saying did you
hear that, did you hear that, that’s the first time that’s ever been said in
the Australian Parliament. |
27:04 |
Ocean
shots |
|
27:14 |
Photos.
Karen as child |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: The
apology had particular significance for Karen Stewart, who says she was
sexually assaulted when she was a child. KAREN
STEWART, TIM STEWART’S SISTER: A speech that was to |
27:21 |
Karen
watches apology speech |
empower
us, to make us feel like we had been heard, to take us seriously, we achieved
all of that. So, in the one |
27:31 |
Karen
100% |
speech,
I received that and then the word “ritual” pops in there and I felt that that
snatched it away, because it was a signal to another group of people that are
not there for my healing. |
27:38 |
Reconstruction.
Karen abuse sequence |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Karen Stewart’s experience echoes that of so many
survivors, in both the abuse and how the institution responded. Karen was 14
when she says she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by two young men from her
church community. She told her
parents and her brother Tim, who supported her through the aftermath. VAL STEWART, KAREN
STEWART’S MOTHER:
Even though we didn't know the details, the details at the time didn't
matter to us, |
27:51 |
Val
Stewart 100%. Super: |
what mattered was something
horrible had happened that was emotionally destroying. |
28:26 |
Photo.
Karen as teenager, with parents |
BRIAN STEWART, KAREN STEWART’S FATHER: I
noticed a girl who had lost a softness of character that had previously been
there. Somebody who had become hard, somebody who sought |
28:32 |
Brian
Stewart 100%. Super: |
values that were not those that we had instilled within her. There was
a change that took place. |
28:43 |
Karen
100% |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER:
And looking back on it now as an adult who sort of knows a lot more about the
world, what do you think that young girl was going through? KAREN STEWART: Trauma.
Trauma that I didn’t understand. Sorry, I’m doing what I didn’t want to do,
so just give me a moment. |
28:47 |
Karen
at home. CU |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: The pastor of the church eventually
conceded that a “serious crime was committed” against Karen. In 2011,
Karen reported the assaults to police. They decided there was insufficient
evidence to proceed. VAL STEWART, KAREN
STEWART’S
MOTHER: The emotional effect and the trauma, we have since learned, is
never out of her mind, |
29:08 |
Val
Stewart 100% |
and for us as a whole
family, we’ve had now 30 years of what has been trauma and traumatic. It’s
huge, it doesn’t go away, ever. |
29:35 |
Fade
up from black. Sunrise by ocean |
Music
|
29:48 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER:
Karen Stewart’s experience |
30:04 |
CU
flowers on table/Karen at computer |
as a survivor has amplified
her distress over her brother’s obsession with QAnon and its discredited
theory about ritual sexual abuse. |
30:06 |
|
KAREN STEWART, TIM STEWART’S SISTER: They talk about saving the
children. |
30:17 |
Karen
100% |
But I was that child, I was once the child that they claim they’re
saving. My life is the worse for having QAnon in it. |
30:23 |
|
That was one of the moments where I recognised that my brother cared
more about QAnon than about the healing of people in relation to their own
child sexual abuse. |
30:33 |
Trees |
DR MICHAEL SALTER, CRIMINOLOGIST AND CHILD PROTECTION SPECIALIST, UNSW: QAnon hasn't made the world a
better place for survivors. It hasn't made the world a better place for
children. We can't point to one positive development or advancement that has
been driven by QAnon, |
30:47 |
Salter
100%. Super: |
and it
risks submerging legitimate issues, legitimate disclosures within a
conspiracy culture. |
31:00 |
|
Music |
31:07 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: In the past couple of years, Karen
Stewart has become estranged from her brother Tim and their political beliefs
have become even more polarised. |
31:17 |
View
through door of Karen at computer |
Karen ran as a state candidate for the Greens, while Tim Stewart’s
views became extreme and sometimes bizarre. |
31:29 |
Val
Stewart 100%. Super: |
VAL STEWART, TIM STEWART’S MOTHER: Tim would be in a place that
I knew I couldn’t follow and so, that’s what began to create a division
between us, because I couldn’t go to the same places that he would consider
he was in and believe what he believed and support what he supports. |
31:42 |
Jitarth
at computer |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: For families affected by QAnon, it’s
a common experience. |
31:59 |
|
JITARTH JADEJA FMR QANON BELIEVER & SUPPORT GROUP MODERATOR: When
I was deep into QAnon it destroyed beyond repair a lot, if not most of my relationships,
because at some point you can't not talk about QAnon; you are like this
homeless guy on the street shouting about judgement day |
32:06 |
Jitarth
100%. Super: |
and even then, it's not a discussion. You're not talking to the
person; you're talking at them and they're standing there and sitting there,
and you can see the disinterest in their eyes. You can see this almost
disdain and the pity, but you cannot stop yourself. |
32:22 |
QAnon
video. Super: |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Tim Stewart and his son Jesse have
become increasingly well-known in the QAnon world. |
32:38 |
|
In November, they were interviewed on a Youtube QAnon talk show. Both
appeared using their online personas – Burn Notice for Tim and Negan HQ for
Jesse. The hosts applauded the father and son duo. |
32:47 |
YouTube
QAnon talk show excerpt |
TIM (BURN NOTICE): "It
was actually kind of good we could really start, start doing, looking at things
together and exploring stuff together once, uh, once we knew who we were." YOUTUBE HOST: "What a great bond. I mean, that's
just a great thing. You're both like separate patriots that found out you are
patriots in the same war, in the same troop, in the same battalion." TIM (BURN NOTICE): "Yeah,
yeah." |
33:07 |
Photo.
Tim |
YOUTUBE HOST: "You didn’t answer her question Burn, who Q was.
Who do you think Q is?" |
33:28 |
Super:
Voice of Tim Stewart |
BURN NOTICE: "Whether it's a cosmic social experiment on humanity
or a really clever person from the NSA that's just, you know, gone out on
their own and gone rogue. Whatever the case is, it's worth keeping an eye on." |
33:35 |
Washington
GVs/Trump rally |
Music |
33:51 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER:
Before the US election, Tim Stewart reposted a comment on the far-right
social media platform Gab, saying: |
34:07 |
Social
media post: |
VOICE OVER: “It is our
obligation to overthrow the tyrannical ruling class”. |
34:15 |
Biden
victory |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: After
Joe Biden won the election, Tim Stewart posted: |
34:19 |
Tim
Stewart social media post: |
VOICE OVER: “The Deep
State… have committed open electoral fraud in full view of the world. Things
are about to get very messy for those who commit treason and for those who
aid and abet those committing treason.” |
34:24 |
Jesse
Stewart social media post: |
LOUISE MILLIGAN,
REPORTER: Jesse Stewart wrote: |
34:36 |
Parliament
House, Canberra |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER:
The subject of Tim Stewart’s beliefs and his relationship with the Prime
Minister, has been raised in the Senate three times. |
34:55 |
Senate
Committee hearing |
SENATOR PENNY WONG:
"Please don't make assertions about what I'm doing…" LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: In
Oct 2019, Labor Senator, Penny Wong, raised questions about Lynelle Stewart’s
employment at Kirribilli House. SENATOR PENNY WONG: Is a
close friend of the Prime Minister one of Australia's leading proponents of
the QAnon conspiracy theory? SENATOR MATHIAS CORMANN:
I'll take that on notice. |
35:05 |
|
SENATOR PENNY WONG: Is the
partner of that person on the Prime Minister's staff? Has a QAnon
conspiracist been invited to either Kirribilli or the Lodge? Another
assertion in the story is that information from this person has been passed
directly to the Prime Minister. SENATOR MATHIAS CORMANN:
I'm taking all of these questions on notice, just for clarity. SENATOR PENNY WONG: Yes, I understood that. |
35:24 |
Parliament
House |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: The Prime Minister’s department later
responded saying that the personal relationships of the PM’s staff were not a
matter for the department and that it had no knowledge of the other issues
raised. |
35:46 |
Morrison
post on Stewart's Facebook page |
Soon after the Senate
hearing, Scott Morrison posted a jovial comment on Tim Stewart’s Facebook
page. "Happy birthday Tim Stewart – nice to see the mullet out of the
time capsule." Tim replied: Thanks mate. |
36:01 |
Photo.
Tim Stewart |
KAREN STEWART, TIM STEWART’S SISTER: I don’t understand why the Prime
Minister would want to be seen to be with someone who has such radical
beliefs. |
36:18 |
Karen
100%. Super: |
That’s not who I would want any Prime Minister, regardless of who they
are, hanging around with, hearing the sorts of things that come out of Tim’s
mouth in relation to QAnon. |
36:28 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: The Stewart family recall how that year Tim and Lynelle
Stewart told them that they were hoping to holiday in Hawaii with the
Morrisons over summer. |
36:40 |
|
VAL STEWART, TIM STEWART’S
MOTHER: Tim and Lynelle were just sharing that there was a holiday
planned in Hawaii and |
36:53 |
Val
Stewart 100%. Super: |
my impression was it was
going to be a heap-up of quite a few families, which would include many who’ve
been going to Hawaii for years. |
36:58 |
|
They would have all been
involved, Scott and Jenny were going to go as well, that was, that was
mentioned. |
37:05 |
Australia
2019 bushfires |
Music |
37:11 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: In Dec 2019, during the Black Summer
bushfires, the Prime Minister went on leave and flew to Honolulu. |
37:23 |
Hawaii
GVs |
RADIO NEWS AUDIO: Prime Minister Scott Morrison has attracted
criticism for holidaying in Hawaii as blazes continue to burn across the country. |
37:33 |
Photos.
Morrison in Hawaii |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: After photographs emerged on social media,
Mr Morrison rang into a radio station. |
37:39 |
GFX
Morrison radio call. Super: |
SCOTT MORRISON, PRIME MINISTER, 2GB: "The girls and Jen, they
love holidaying in Hawaii and so we’ve had a few nice days here." |
37:46 |
Honolulu
beach GV |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Mr Morrison was forced to cut short his
trip, |
37:53 |
Social
media posts. Man walks along beach/Stewart family in Hawaii |
the same day as Tim Stewart’s family flew to Hawaii. |
37:56 |
GFX
Morrison radio call. Super: |
SCOTT MORRISON, PRIME MINISTER, 2GB: "The girls and Jen will stay on
and stay out the rest of the time we had booked here. But I know Australians
understand this. They’ll be pleased I’m coming back, I’m sure, they know I
don’t hold a hose mate, and I don’t sit in the control room." LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: The Prime Minister did not respond on the
record to Four Corners’ questions
about the Hawaii trip. |
38:02 |
|
Music |
38:23 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: In the past year as part of a global
crackdown on QAnon accounts, Twitter has permanently suspended Tim and Jesse
Stewart’s accounts for “engaging in coordinated harmful activity”. |
38:27 |
Senate
Committee hearing. Senators Wong and Cormann |
In October last year, the concerns about Tim Stewart were again raised
in the Senate. |
38:41 |
|
SENATOR PENNY WONG: "Are
you aware that the
Prime Minister’s close friend has been banned from Twitter for what the
social media platform describes as a coordinated harmful activity?" |
38:48 |
Super: |
SENATOR MATHIAS CORMANN: "I
mean, I’m not sure that you can characterise that person, whom I don’t know,
based on the fact that the wife is employed, having gone through all of the
relevant checks, I mean, I don’t know that that’s reasonable. |
38:57 |
|
The only thing I am aware of, as has been confirmed by Ms Foster, is
that the woman concerned has been employed. There doesn't seem to be any
suggestion that there is anything concerning." LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: The Department of Prime Minister and
Cabinet was also asked about the inclusion of the phrase ‘ritual abuse’ in
the 2018 apology. |
39:16 |
|
SENATOR PENNY WONG:
"So there is an allegation that there were changes to the speech,
including – and this seems far-fetched – but I think it would be useful to
put it to you to make sure it is refuted – that this close associate had
urged a change to the Prime Minister's speech to use a different word, the
word being 'ritual'. So I’m just thinking, I'm asking: can we use this
opportunity to make clear that isn’t the case." |
39:41 |
Stephanie
Foster in hearing. Super: |
STEPHANIE FOSTER, DEPARTMENT OF PRIME MINISTER & CABINET: So
Senator, I don't know. I have just asked all of my staff openly if anyone has
any information. It would appear that the answer is no, so the best I can do
is take that on notice." SENATOR PENNY WONG:
"Okay, that's fine." LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: No answer to that question was provided. |
40:10 |
Plane
landing |
Jesse Stewart blamed members of his family for the twitter ban and
sent them threatening text messages. |
40:26 |
Text
message from Jesse Stewart: |
“You better tread lightly
also…Wanna play with fire and you will get burned. Watch yourself buddy." |
40:34 |
I will make you lot famous
… all of you. FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT.” |
"I will make you lot
famous… all of you. FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT.” |
40:41 |
Val
Stewart 100% |
LOUSE MILLIGAN: Your
grandson, Jesse, has sent threatening messages to the rest of your family? VAL STEWART, TIM STEWART’S
MOTHER: Yes, very much so. Yeah, that’s, that’s been for a period of just
over a year, that that’s been happening. Yes, things escalated. KAREN STEWART, TIM
STEWART’S SISTER: My mother, |
40:47 |
Karen
100% |
a lovely woman, was – I
don’t know if I can swear on this – but called a cowardly motherfucker. So,
these are not your standard responses to a grandmother. And so, they were
quite concerning, and at that point we recognised, all right, there’s a level
of radicalisation that is very different to even a year prior to that. |
41:05 |
Stewart
family dinner |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Late last year, the Stewart family became
so concerned they took the extraordinary step of reporting Tim and Jesse
Stewart to the national security hotline several times. |
41:29 |
|
KAREN STEWART, TIM STEWART’S SISTER: So it was at that moment that we decided we can make excuses for lots
of things, but if we’re under threat and our safety is a concern, we have to
legitimately inform somebody, because we no longer know these people. |
41:43 |
Photo.
Tim |
So we did make a report to the authorities to ensure that we were
doing the right thing as community members. VAL STEWART, TIM STEWART’S
MOTHER: I don’t know
what might happen in Australia, |
41:58 |
Val
100% |
but that’s what raises our concern; that we do have family members who
are involved in something that could finish up being a threat to Australia. |
42:08 |
Sydney
Harbour GV |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: The Director-General of ASIO, Australia’s top spy chief,
has also been informed about the activities of Tim and Jesse Stewart. |
42:17 |
Kirribilli
House exterior |
Tim Stewart told Four Corners: |
42:30 |
On
screen text: |
“I am too busy to read
questions relating to the nonsense that’s been put out there, which are just
hit pieces... I don’t promote or support any kind of violence.” |
42:33 |
Kirribilli
House exteriors |
Four
Corners has
learned that Lynelle Stewart stopped working at Kirribilli House at the end
of last year. Scott Morrison did not respond on the record to Four Corners’ questions about whether
he and Tim Stewart are still friends. |
42:45 |
Taylor
100%. Super: |
MILES TAYLOR, CHIEF OF STAFF, US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
2018-19: I think it's important for the Prime Minister and any other national
leader to disavow individuals, either within their orbit or outside of their
orbit, who harbor these types of extremist views. That's really important. And
look, I understand, again, we all have friends and family members that have
unorthodox views, but when you're put in a position of public trust you have
to maintain the public's trust. |
43:04 |
Social
media post. Trump statement |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: In recent months, Tim Stewart has shared posts of Donald
Trump calling the US election “The Big Lie” and has reposted conspiracies
equating vaccines with Nazism. |
43:28 |
Morrison
receives COVID vaccine |
|
43:45 |
Social
media post from Jesse Stewart |
Jesse Stewart has started
criticising Scott Morrison online. |
43:48 |
“If
[governments] start going the route of vaccine coercion, mandates,
restrictions for those who refuse, vaccine passport or any other draconian
idea, then motherfuckers are gettin' lynched. Call me extreme, crazy -IDGAF! Fuck
around and find out, Australian Government!” |
VOICE OVER: “If governments
start going the route of vaccine coercion, mandates, restrictions for those
who refuse, vaccine passport or any other draconian idea, then motherfuckers
are gettin' lynched. Call me extreme, crazy -I don’t give a fuck! Fuck around
and find out, Australian Government!” LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: On April 28, in response to a post about
corrupt politicians, |
43:53 |
“I’d
pay 2 grand to see [certain people] hanged.” |
Jesse Stewart said: VOICE OVER: “I’d pay 2 grand to
see certain people hanged.” |
44:16 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: In an email to Four
Corners, Jesse Stewart said he was referring to “traitors and paedophiles.”
He described himself as a “shitposter … & satirist” and said, “I never
have nor will participate in violence”. |
44:23 |
Karen
100% |
KAREN STEWART, TIM STEWART’S SISTER: The experience of watching
someone become radicalised is the most unusual thing. |
44:40 |
|
We know how we get to know a stranger and bit by bit with every
conversation you become to either like them or not like them and you can
start a long-term relationship with a friend because of how that’s panned
out. But we never talk about what might happen if it goes in reverse. So the
loving and caring brother and nephew it went in reverse. They became
strangers. |
44:48 |
Senate
Committee hearing |
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER:
Three weeks ago, questions were again raised in Senate Estimates about the
Prime Minister’s view of Tim Stewart’s beliefs. |
45:12 |
Super: |
SENATOR PENNY WONG: "The
questions relate to whether or not the prime minister had anything to say
about comments by his friend and QAnon proponent, a Mr Tim Stewart,
describing the day of the Capitol Hill attack as one of the greatest days on
earth. Crikey also asked the PMO what measures if any were in place to
prevent Mr Stewart having access to confidential information about the Prime
Minister. What are the answers to those questions?" |
45:23 |
Senator
Birmingham. Super: |
SENATOR SIMON BIRMINGHAM: "Senator Wong, in terms of if you want
to pose those questions, I’ll happily take them on notice for you in terms of
a response being provided." |
45:51 |
|
SENATOR PENNY WONG: "Do you agree that a friend of Mr Morrison’s
whom adheres to these theories is a possible vector for foreign interference?" |
46:03 |
|
SENATOR SIMON BIRMINGHAM: "Senator, I’m not aware of the nature
of the relationship, so in that sense, to some extent, it’s a hypothetical,
but I can assure you that the Prime Minister takes his security obligations
seriously and is alert to all threats that security agencies brief him on." LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER:
There has still been no response to the questions taken on notice. |
46:15 |
Canberra
GVs |
Four
Corners
contacted the Prime Minister with a detailed list of questions five weeks ago
and followed up with his office more than 20 times. |
46:50 |
Morrison
press conference |
On June the fourth, the
Prime Minister was asked at a press conference about Four Corners’ story. |
47:04 |
|
REPORTER: Are you concerned
that the ABC is involved in so called vigilante journalism? Were the
allegations put to you and what is your connection to the man at the centre
of that story? |
47:11 |
|
SCOTT MORRISON, PRIME MINISTER: I find it deeply offensive that there
would be any suggestion that I would have any involvement or support for such
a dangerous organisation. I clearly do not. It's also just so very
disappointing that Four Corners in
their inquiries would seek to cast this aspersion, not just against me but by
members of my only family. I just think that is really poor form. LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Two days later, a spokesman for the
Prime Minister provided a one paragraph statement on the record to the
program: |
47:19 |
GFX
statement text: |
VOICE OVER: “This is a personally motivated slur against the Prime
Minister and his family by a Four
Corners program that is already facing serious questions about the
accuracy, bias and credibility of its journalism, that is now giving credence
to irrational Twitter conspiracy theorists and raising the profile of what
the Prime Minister clearly deems a discredited and dangerous fringe group.” |
47:53 |
|
Music |
48:18 |
Stewart
family dinner |
VAL STEWART, TIM STEWART’S
MOTHER: "You have to serve each other, pass it around." |
48:29 |
|
We popped over to see them all the other day, so it was, it was quite
lovely to get a few photos and feel part of that very extended family that we
don't always get to see. |
48:35 |
|
LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER:
The Stewart clan is deeply troubled by the breakdown of their family. They
haven’t given up on Jesse and Tim. |
48:46 |
|
VAL STEWART, TIM STEWART’S
MOTHER: I’m not a psychologist, I’m his mum, and I hope that one day, some of
this might be in the past, but I know that, there are just concerns that we
would have in |
48:57 |
Val
100% |
hearing and watching some
of what has happened over particularly this last year or so. |
49:09 |
Val
sits alone at home |
KAREN STEWART, TIM
STEWART’S SISTER: I think almost all of us have broken down on the phone
trying to explain the loss of a family member, and I know my mother has
viewed it, she’s described it as grieving, grieving the loss of someone |
49:17 |
Karen
100% |
who’s still alive and
that’s, it’s a very confusing emotion, and I feel for her in that – and Dad. |
49:33 |
Val
sits alone at home |
Music |
49:41 |
Ends |
|
49:47 |
CREDITS:
The Great Awakening: A family divided by QAnon
reporter
LOUISE
MILLIGAN
producer
JEANAVIVE
McGREGOR
researcher
LAUREN
DAY
additional
research
LYDIA
CHU
ABC REFERENCE LIBRARY
editor
SIMON
BRYNJOLFFSSEN
assistant
editor
JAMES
BRAYE
MARIAM ZAHR
camera
RYAN
SHERIDAN
sound
ROBERT
MACKAY
additional
camera
MATHEW
MARSIC
CHRIS
ALBERT
LOUIE
EROGLU ACS
CRAIG
BERKMAN
additional
sound
JAMES
FISHER
OLIVER
JUNKER
ANDREW
TIMLIN
SPRIOS
MAVRANGELOS
TOM
STATON
ASH
EDEN
archive
producer
MICHELLE BADDILEY
MICHAEL OSMOND
designer
LINDSAY
DUNBAR
digital
producer
NICK
WIGGINS
LAURA
GARTRY
social
media producer
HARRIET
TATHAM
publicity
PAUL
AKKERMANS
promotions
LAURA
MURRAY
sound
mixer
EVAN
HORTON
colourist
SIMON
BRAZZALOTTO
post
production
JAMES
BRAYE
additional
vision
MILES
TAYLOR
GETTY
IMAGES
POND5
REUTERS
AP
BIT
CHUTE/ REDPILL17
theme
music
RICK
TURK
titles
LODI
KRAMER
production
coordinator
LYDIA
CHU
production
manager
WENDY
PURCHASE
supervising
producer
MORAG
RAMSAY
executive
producer
SALLY
NEIGHBOUR