Perth Voice Interactive

AN anonymous email in 2014 warned numerous staff at community radio station RTRFM about predatory behaviour by influential presenter Dave Cutbush, but it went nowhere.

Cutbush, RTR’s director of music until 2010 and presenter until 2015, was this week stripped of his 2012 Golden WA Music Industry award as a result of long-running sexual misconduct against women and girls under 18. He has also left the events company he formed, Life is Noise, as a string of international bands cancel tours in response to the scandal.

Complaints

RTR chair Rewi Lyall told the Voice on Wednesday that as a result of recent complaints to the organisation, the 2014 email had been uncovered.

The station had previously said it had no record of any official complaints.

“We now know a number of people across the media and entertainment sectors, including some RTRFM employees, received an anonymous email making serious allegations,” Mr Lyall said.

“This issue is just one of a number of concerns subject to our ongoing investigations.”

Cutbush has admitted to “using my male privilege to gain sexual favours…I have used my position in the music industry to my advantage. I have propositioned women much younger than me and have behaved creepily in person at music events and online”.

He denies having “physically or sexually abused anyone”.

“Any allegations to the contrary are untrue.”

Women, some under 18, have described how they were harassed and relentlessly pursued for sex by Cutbush, posting screenshots of his lewd text messages.

Three women say they quit the music industry because of his behaviour.

One told the Voice Cutbush sent detailed, graphic sexual texts, which then turned to bullying when she turned him down.

There are claims Cutbush derailed the musical careers of some of those who crossed him, with former RTR general manager Melissa Callanan posting on Facebook that she’d quit because of his behaviour.

“Many years at RTR as music director … how many female artists lost opportunity for support and airplay…these behaviours are not without consequence for women on the receiving end,” Ms Callanan wrote.

A woman who volunteered at RTRFM told the Voice she was given veiled warnings on two occasions by other staff in 2014, but they came with an impression his position in the industry made him untouchable.

He was portrayed as “a giant, he was so important to the music community, people just put up with it,” she said.

Another text exchange that surfaced this week showed Cutbush asking a 16-year-old girl to “hook up” with him, saying he thought she’d have turned 18 since they last met.

Targeted

When she re-states she is 16, he keeps pressing her to meet up, only stopping when she tells him he should look for someone “your own age”.

Local muso Adam Brown Strummer says after a friend was targeted by Cutbush, he tried to use the Golden WAMI win as an opportunity to blow the whistle about his behaviour. The guitarist says he was “bombarded” by messages from peers pressuring him to delete the posts.

Life is Noise co-director Jack Midalia announced on December 15; “I take these reports seriously, and deeply apologise for not providing the safe space that the women in the industry deserve. Dave will no longer have any involvement in Life is Noise, effective immediately.”

Mr Midalia, co-director of LIN since 2016, did not respond to questions about when he first heard about Mr Cutbush’s behaviour and whether the pair still had any financial ties.

At the time of going to print RTRFM is continuing its investigations, with general manager Stu MacLeod (who started after Cutbush left) asking anyone with information to contact him.

Jason Cleary, who finished up as the station’s general manager in 2015, told the Voice: “I’m not sure where this has all come from about being well known, there seems to be a lot of social media talk which is not really my cup of tea to get into,” he wrote.

“Certainly no one put in any official complaint whilst I was GM. From what I have read he deserves whatever is coming to him.”

Cutbush issued a lengthy statement admitting to some of the allegations.

“I don’t expect forgiveness. It has taken me too long to realise I have created situations which made women in the music community and beyond feel uncomfortable and unsafe.

“I’m now committed to examining my actions and learning ways to change.

“The [international] #metoo campaign and more recently the [national] #menomore campaign has been weighing heavily on my mind. I thought this day would come when my actions and behaviours would be exposed, and I deserve to be found out.

“Specifically, I would like to apologise to the young girl in Sydney I asked out for a drink. This was a few years ago and she was 16 at the time, and this proposition was not appropriate as I was almost 20 years older. I am sorry for that. It was entirely out of line.”

The woman referred to, Kiki Kiki, was one of the first to speak up about Cutbush, revealing screenshots of his insistent propositions when she was 16. She released a response to his statement, saying “the way in which Dave has referred to his behaviour as ‘inappropriate and sleazy’ downplays his behaviour. It was truly predatory…why has he only addressed my case specifically and not the far more serious allegations brought against him. It appears that he is only responding to this as it has been the most publicised example of his behaviour and he knows he cannot avoid addressing this.”

Culture of silence

DAVE CUTBUSH was able to prey on women for so long in part because of the music scene’s culture of silence, and an atmosphere that permits abuse.

But he’s not alone.

Safer Venues WA’s survey released in November showed just how widespread abuse is in Perth’s music scene, with 90 per cent of women saying they’d experienced unwelcome sexual comments at gigs, 83 per cent saying they’d been non-consensually touched, and 35 per cent saying they’d been physically or sexually assaulted.

The national #meNOmore campaign further shed light on how widespread sexual abuse was in the industry, with dozens of women sharing stories of rape and sexual harassment. More than 1000 women have signed the open letter, which states “it saddens us that the people who hold us in fear and keep us silenced are the people we work with, people who many of us have aspired to work under, and people who some of us have known as friends.”

Fear of damaging the music scene has led to victims being discouraged from speaking up. A prominent Perth music photographer told this reporter in 2016, that a mutual friend who had been raped by a local musician shouldn’t go public about it, because “Perth’s arts scene is really small, it could damage the music community”.

In lieu of the promotors, venue owners, industry bodies and the media taking action to cease working with known abusers, women have instead resorted to quietly sharing between themselves the names of men in the music industry they should never be alone with.

by DAVID BELL

THE Corruption and Crime Commission says conflicting evidence makes it impossible to determine whether Perth councillor James Limnios attempted to bribe colleague Reece Harley not to run for deputy lord mayor.

The CCC also dismissed an allegation of misconduct against Cr Harley, with Cr Limnios’s complaint being described as “selective and misleading”.

Cr Harley gave evidence to the CCC that Cr Limnios asked him not to run and told him “look mate if it’s about the money, I’m happy to split the deputy allowance with you or put you on a consultancy”.

He says he told Cr Limnios “look James I don’t think it’s appropriate to talk about financial transactions,” and claimed Cr Limnios replied “no, no, no, that’s not what I meant”.

Councillors Jim Adamos, Lexi Barton and Jemma Green told the CCC Cr Harley had told them about the bribe shortly afterwards, and said he would report it to CEO Martin Mileham.

Cr Limnios gave “unequivocal sworn evidence” to the CCC there was no such conversation.

The CCC report states “Cr Harley’s evidence that a bribe was offered is credible. Cr Limnios’ denial that a bribe was offered is also credible. In the absence of a verified recording of their conversation, the Commission is unable to determine which account is correct”.

The CCC reported that if Cr Limnios had been found guilty he could have faced two years’ prison and a fine of $24,000.

Following Cr Harley’s complaint, Cr Limnios lodged his own alleging Cr Harley had been offering councillors support for their favoured committee positions if they supported his tilt for deputy lord mayor.

Cr Harley did send an email to all councillors ahead of that meeting asking for their preferred committee positions in order to prepare for Tuesday’s meeting.

After examining the email, and interviewing other councillors, the CCC found there was nothing improper in the email, with no promises made, and no inducements offered.

The Commission was critical of Cr Limnios’ evidence against Cr Harley, calling his letter to the CEO “selective and misleading”.

The CCC report said “there is no evidence to support Cr Limnios’ allegations against Cr Harley. Had he spoken with other councillors, and based on their sworn evidence to the Commission, each would have told him they were not offered any inducement to vote for Cr Harley as deputy lord mayor.

“Councillor Limnios read into the Harley email something sinister that bears no relationship to the actual words and to the recollections of individual councillors as to what Cr Harley had said he was doing by contacting them.

“There is no evidence to support the allegations of serious misconduct against Cr Harley.”

It concluded “it is unlikely that Cr Harley offered Cr Limnios any inducement. He did not do so to any other councillor. The substantial probabilities are that no inducement of the kind alleged by Cr Limnios was offered.”

Cr Limnios told the CCC he might’ve misinterpreted the facts while under pressure that week.

Normally the CCC only releases a report where there is a finding of wrongdoing, but in this case it noted the public interest was served in knowing the commission had thoroughly investigated the allegation.

by DAVID BELL

THE latest CCC report into Perth city council reveals a culture of distrust, “mischief,” and bullying tactics.

The report reveals that someone provided “mischievous” information to the press, leading to “media publicity affecting” the outcome of the committee and deputy mayoral elections in October.

The week of the council meeting to decide committee positions, several news outlets reported that Cr Harley had met with Cr Janet Davidson at council house to discuss committee preferences.

The ABC’s Rebecca Carmody tweeted the day before the council meeting there was an “alleged deal cut between Harley & Davidson on 9th floor of council house. Davidson promised 3 board positions”.

The CCC does not find any promises were made.

Traditionally not an ally of Cr Harley, Cr Davidson said that no promises were made, and the CCC found there was no evidence to suggest the meeting was “in any way exceptional”.

“Somebody maliciously gave Ms Carmody information which was false… the Carmody tweets and subsequent media may have damaged both Cr Davidson’s and Cr Harley’s reputations,” stated the CCC report. “Cr Limnios has given sworn evidence that he did not do so” but that “it is likely that Cr Limnios or someone in a position to know his actions and attentions had communicated with Ms Carmody”.

The report reveals that Cr Jemma Green said that after being elected in 2015 she was frozen out by lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi’s allies.

Cr Green told the CCC that apart from Cr Harley, “the other councillors hadn’t been willing to engage with me or meet with me”. She said “subsequent to my being elected I contacted them and asked for an introductory coffee, and some of them till just a few weeks ago I hadn’t actually had an introductory coffee with them at all. Some of them met with me but told me that they were instructed by the lord mayor not to meet with me and not to talk with me…it was a pretty hostile situation I would say.”

The CCC described the atmosphere around the deputy mayoral race as “febrile,” but concluded Cr Green’s appointment as “fair and untainted”.

She was a reluctant candidate, initially turning down the nomination but eventually allowing her name to put up, and she was unanimously elected.

PERTH’S Immigration Centre was forced to close for six hours on Tuesday, when a woman dressed as Santa locked her hand into a concrete barrel in the foyer.

Santa was joined by up to 30 helpers protesting against the treatment of refugees on Manus Island. Refugee Rights Action Network spokesperson Michelle Bui says the Australian government needs to give refugees on Manus Island a chance to rebuild their lives.

“The department can turn things around and make it on the Good List next year by evacuating Manus and Nauru and bringing refugees back to Australia,” she says.

by MOLLY SCHMIDT

A PET cat is recovering after being shot by a bow and arrow in Bayswater on Sunday.

Fable Goldsmith found her injured cat, Vincent, in the back yard of their Percy Street house, and rushed him to the vet where he was given antibiotics.

Ms Goldsmith told the Voice on Tuesday that Vincent was convalescing and making good progress.

One small mercy: the arrow’s point was a target tip, which creates a narrow wound channel.

Target arrows aren’t supposed to be used for hunting because they can cause a slow death for a wild animal as they limp around for days impaled by the shaft.

But in this case it meant Vincent could be whisked off to the vet for urgent treatment.

Ms Goldsmith reported the shooting to the police and local rangers, and the RSPCA is now investigating.

by DAVID BELL

ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD Isobel Lippiatt will help feed the hungry over the school holidays.

For the past three years the Inglewood primary student has been volunteering for Food Rescue, which collects unsold food from cafes and restaurants and donates it to refuges and charities like Shopfront, St Bartholomew’s and Uniting Care West’s Tranby Day centre.

Her mum Jade initially encouraged her to give it a go because, she says; “I think it is really important that kids understand that some people go hungry, and all the excess food that some restaurants and cafes have at the end of the day would go in the bin”.

Isobel, who’s just been elected red faction captain at IPS, tells us; “at first I thought it was going to be really boring, going around and asking for food, but it actually turned out to be really fun so I did it again the next school holidays.”

She said she enjoys spending the food collection days “hanging out with my brother and family”.

by DAVID BELL

Bayswater 1 Vincent 0
AFTER criticising the city of Vincent in the past on their stalling tactics in renewing the lease and helping the multi cultural association in Farmer Street, North Perth—I must now thank them.
The centre, run by Home and Community Care Services, now has a new home in Morley (which they now own).
After being “run out of town” by Vincent, with all their sitting on their hands and procrastinating over so many years in regard to decisions (obviously for their own hidden agenda), the multicultural centre is packing up their elderly, who are no longer wanted by Vincent, and all their staff and vehicles and moving to Morley.
How fantastic it was to hear from lord mayor Dan of Bayswater at the Christmas party (who, by the way, actually stayed well after he made such a positive speech, instead of racing off as past representatives of Vincent council would do).
What a difference and attitude this mayor showed when it came to assisting the needs of the elderly and this wonderful multicultural association.
Bayswater you have a fantastic pro-active young mayor there, and he even changed some of my misgivings on local government.
It seems sometimes things work out well in the end, despite the rotten deeds of some.
Larry Arrigoni
Loftus Street, North Perth

As easy as…
IT has never been more apparent to me how out of touch our national broadcaster the ABC has become when a music teacher told me recently she is reliant on material the ABC stopped producing over five years ago because she has no other adequate resources available to her.
The cancellation of educational programs by the ABC is a tragedy, especially for our young, their parents and teachers.
The ABC now dishes out “pap” to our kids and endorses the confidence trick of our politicians and their parties that we are a democracy when we only have the constitutional right to elect representatives to our parliament/s.
Give us back an ABC that is relevant to our values and enforce the statute governing their accuracy and impartiality by having complaints handled and enforced by an independent body with the further option of legal redress!
Gordon Westwood,
Coode Street, Maylands

Inhumane
ANYONE with an ounce of compassion would have been horrified to see the footage of the bull who suffered catastrophic injuries in the rodeo at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre last week as he bucked and then twisted and fell as his hind leg snapped.
But what happened isn’t unusual in an industry where abusive treatment is standard practice in order to guarantee that the paying public see some “action”.
Bulls are shocked with electric prods, viciously kicked and violently slammed into the ground and the spurs and bucking straps cinched around their abdomens cause these frightened and often docile animals to buck in a desperate attempt to escape.
Extensive bruising and internal injuries are common, and necks, backs and leg bones are often shattered.
We do not live in the Wild West and we should not be tolerating cruelty as a deranged form of amusement.
As long as what the RSPCA calls “a legalised form of cruelty” continues, Australia will be known to the rest of the world not just as “down under” but as downright backwards.
Desmond Bellamy, special
projects coordinator
PETA Australia