Reader’s submission

Vincent Morfuni QC
Presidente dell’Australian Calabrese Cultural Association (ACCA)

 

In the conference held on 7 June 2022. Assistant Commissioner Riley indulged in fear mongering and threatening a section of the Australian community (Italians in general and Calabrese in particular).

The conference was allegedly held to mark the anniversary of Operation Ironside. That operation was first made public in June 2021 when the AFP informed the public of the arrests made and property seized based on intelligence gathered as a result of the AFP and the FBI intercepting communications between alleged criminals by means of the Anom software on mobile phones that had been sold to criminals by FBI operatives.

In June 2021 and later in November 2021 the AFP reported on a number of bikie gang members arrested as a consequence of that intelligence. At that time there was no mention of Italian or Calabrian crime families nor any assertion made that the bikie gangs targeted the operation were under the direction of Italians.

12 months on and the focus was switched by Assistant Commissioner Riley from the evidence-based assertions in 2021 to the unsubstantiated assertions based on the same intelligence in the possession of the AFP in 2021.

Assistant Commissioner Riley stated, amongst other things that there were 51 Italian crime families in Australia, of which 14 were Calabrian.

He did not name any of the families, although he presumably knew who they were. He also stated that each family had thousands of adherents, again without giving any evidence for such a claim.

He warned the Australian public that they could be living next to one of these criminals because they lead a modest lifestyle and kept a low profile. He also threatened Italians by saying that they were being watched.

He also asserted that the bikie gangs were under the direction of the Italians. No new evidence was given to support that assertion and flies in the face of statements made in 2021. It serves as an exercise in fear mongering and vilification of a section of our community. The statements by Assistant Commissioner Riley are the latest reiteration of the erroneous labelling and stereotyping of Italians. The true picture, however, is vastly different.

The criminal statistics kept by law enforcement agencies establish that Italians are one of the most law-abiding groups in our community. They have made positive contributions to Australia, a fact acknowledged by many political leaders and politicians. Italians comprise significant numbers not only of trades and commercial enterprises but also of the professions.

All Italians have now been branded by Assistant Commissioner Riley as potential criminals, of whom ordinary Australians should be wary. In referring to the Italians in the way that he did, Assistant Commissioner Riley appears to have acted contrary to the convention that it is inappropriate to refer to the ethnicity of persons who commit crime, a convention that was apparently adhered to in the 2021 communication when the crimes with which those persons were charged were the focus and not the ethnicity of the persons charged.

The language used by Assistant Commissioner Riley amounts to racial vilification and should not be tolerated in the community and should not be used by law enforcement officers. The AFP should charge any person against whom they have evidence.

If they lack evidence, they should do their job and acquire the evidence rather than threatening people with the threat that “We have our eyes on you” Relying on alleged intelligence to label people is always problematic.

The intelligence often does not translate into evidence and even more significant is often simply not true. There have been historic examples of people being labelled based on intelligence which caused significant and irreparable harm to the individuals concerned but did not advance the cause of justice in any way. Some readers will recall that dark moment in United States history when under McCarthyism people who were labelled as communists lost jobs and careers, even though the allegations were unfounded.

Not only that, but it led to significant division within the community. Other readers may recall the large amount of intelligence that the FBI under Hoover collected about ordinary United States citizens going about their ordinary daily lives, not because they were involved in criminal activity, but because it suited Hoover to collect the intelligence and use it to give him leverage over politicians. Those instances of McCarthyism and the illegal spying on US citizens by Hoover have been criticised on the grounds that they achieved little in terms of advancing the security or prosperity of the society.

The statements by Assistant Commissioner Riley similarly will do little to make our community more secure. It has, however, cast a dark shadow over the 99.99% of Italians who are law abiding and have nothing whatsoever to do with criminal organisations. That is why Labelling and stereotyping are such dangerous aspects of racism.

They appeal to our basest instincts bereft of any rational content.

Our community does not support criminals and all of us support the Law enforcement agencies in their work of eradicating crime. We do, however oppose the inaccurate labelling and stereotyping of our community.

If the AFP or other law enforcement agencies have evidence against any individual, then they should prosecute that individual. But if they don’t, they should not frighten the general community and vilify the Italian community in general and the Calabrese community in particular,in the way that they are doing. We need to be wary of any incursion on our freedom of action and readers are encouraged to contact their local politicians and express their dismay at the language of Assistant Commissioner Riley.