An Exclusive Brethren mother and two male relatives have risked jail by failing to present two children for planned access visits with their father.

In February, Family Court judge Robert Benjamin convicted the mother, who cannot be named, her son and her son-in-law and imposed a four-month suspended jail sentence on all three after they did not present the children for their first access visit.

The Age has learned that twice since that judgement the two children, aged 13 and eight, have not turned up for scheduled time with their father.

The father has filed an application with the court, arguing that the mother has contravened Justice Benjamin's orders.

But since February the case has become complicated by the fact that the mother is seriously ill and by her appeal against Justice Benjamin's February rulings and the sentence, which she argued was "manifestly excessive". The decision in that appeal has not yet been delivered.

The illness makes a prison term unlikely. The father has now also launched a bid for custody of the two children.

Justice Benjamin's judgement in February was an emphatic statement by the Family Court that it would not tolerate the Exclusive Brethren flouting court orders in pursuit of the sect's policy of strict separation of its members from those who have left the church.

The court heard then that the Brethren had funded the mother's legal case, setting up a bank account and depositing $50,000 into it. She told the court that she considered the money as a loan to be repaid.

The Age has been told that since February the father has had some access to the children, but the two most recent planned visits — on the weekend from May 19 and a week-long visit from June 2 for the school holidays — had not gone ahead.

Last month the mother's barrister, Melbourne Queen's counsel Noel Ackman, argued before the Family Court's full bench that Justice Benjamin should have disqualified himself from the case in February on the grounds that he was biased. He also argued that the judge's ruling that she had contravened his earlier orders was wrong, and that the sentence was too harsh.

The president of the Family Law Practitioners Association of Tasmania, Tony Fitzgerald, said this case was being keenly watched by family lawyers because of the clash in value systems being argued out.

"It's an extreme example of what happens in many, many cases at various levels, so from that point of view it's interesting," he said.

Senior family lawyer Michael Taussig said that sometimes extreme forms of religions — including Christian cults, and some forms of Judaism and Islam — argued against the general legal principle that spending time with both separated parents was best for the child.

"Sometimes these religious issues do blur or muddy the waters in regard to what is best for the kids, and that is what the secular court has to decide," he said. "It's of interest because there are so few of us in the family law business who have had contact with that sort of case."

A controversial Christian sect which shuns computers, videos and modern technology has held talks with the government about taking over state-funded schools.

The Exclusive Brethren, a radical offshoot of the Protestant Plymouth Brethren, have discussed plans for sponsoring academies and trust schools with Jim Knight, the schools minister.

In a written House of Lords answer Lord Adonis, an education minister, revealed the extent of negotiations with the Focus Learning Trust, the organisation that runs the brethren's private schools.

Lord Adonis said that although the sect had made a "number of representations" there were no current proposals to set up such a school.

Police are awaiting a legal opinion before deciding whether to prosecute an elderly member of the Exclusive Brethren for sexual abuse against five women.

The Nelson man, in his 70s, was interviewed by police recently and is awaiting their decision on whether he will face charges.

The five women claim they were abused by the man as far back as 50 years ago.

Since the allegations arose, the Exclusive Brethren have asked the man not to attend church and to avoid being anywhere with unsupervised young people.

Superintendent Grant O'Fee said the length of time since the alleged assaults meant the matter was "not quite as simple as it sometimes appears".

That was why police had asked for an opinion from their legal section.

"There's no forensic evidence or [crime] scene to speak of, and time has eroded some people's memories."

Police would not be bound by the legal opinion, but it would carry considerable weight.

"I would be disappointed if we haven't got a decision by the end of next week, at the latest," Mr O'Fee said.

The Exclusive Brethren have offered to co-operate with police.

Church spokesman Tony McCorkell has said the man should feel the "full force of the law" if convicted.

'OKU fiema?u 'e he fa?ahi Teomkalati ke fakahoko 'a e liliu he vave taha 'aia ko hono fakavave?i. 'Oku fiema?u 'ehe Pule?anga ke luelue mamalie pe 'a e fakahoko 'a e liliu. 'Oku 'ikai ke tui 'ae Paati Langafonua Tu'uloa (PLT) ki he Pule'anga ke luelue mamalie pe 'a e fakahoko 'ae liliu. Pea 'oku 'ikai tui 'ae PLT ki he Temokalati ke fakahoko fakavavevave 'ae liliu.

Koe tui 'ae PLT ke fakahoko'ae liliu 'i he taimi kuo tau maau ai. Ko 'ene tu'u he taimi ni 'oku te'eki ai ketau maau mo mateuteu ki hono fakahoko 'ae liliu. Kapau tetau maau ki he 2008 pea fakahoko 'ae liliu 'i he taimi koia. Kapau te tau toki maau ki he 2011 pea toki fakahoko 'ae liliu ki he taimi koia.

Koe fehu'i 'e taha 'e lava ke fakahoko 'ae liliu he vaha'a 'oe 2008 moe 2011? Koe tali kiai 'io 'e lava he 'oku 'osi fakangofua mai pe 'ehe konisitutone ka koe mafai ki he ngaue koeni 'oku 'i he'ene 'Afio pe. 'Oku pehe 'ehe PLT kapau 'e maau 'ae ngaue ki he 2009 pe 2010 pea fai 'ae fakahoko liliu he taimi koia.

Koe me'a koeni ne lea 'aki ' e he PLT 'i he letioo ka 'oku fiema'u pe ke toe fakahoko he ngaahi nusipepa koe feinga pe ke mahino'i 'ehe kakai Tonga 'ae kaveinga 'oku tui kiai 'ae PLT.

Ko 'ene tu'u he taimi ni 'oku 'osi teetee 'ae vaka temokalati 'i tahi, ka 'oku te'eki 'iai hano fanaa, 'oku te'eki ke 'iai hano laa, pea 'oku te'eki ke 'iai hano fohe. Kapau tetau heka kiai he taimi ni te tau palopalema lahi 'amui ange. Koe hee ia ka lahilahi he 'oku te'eki ke 'iai ha fohe kene pule'i mo leva'i lelei 'ae folau 'ae vaka.

Koe fehu'i leva koe ha 'ae ngaahi me'a 'oku te'eki ke maau?

Koe taha 'oe huitu'a 'oe Pule'anga fakatemokalati koe Lao ki he Fili Falealea. Koe Lao ko 'eni kuopau ko 'ene taumu'a ke ta'ofi 'ae hanga 'eha taha 'o fakaloto'i ('i ha founga hala mo 'ikai totonu) 'ae tokotaha fili (voter), ke fili ki ha Paati pe koha tokotaha 'oku ne loto ke hu ki Falealea, kae fai 'aki 'ene fili 'i hono loto tau'ataaina mo 'ene lelei taha.

Koe Lao 'oe Fili Falealea 'i Nu'usila koe toe 'ae uike 'e 1 pea fai 'ae fili kuo ta'ofi 'ehe Lao ke 'oua 'e toe fai 'ae kamipeini pea koe ngaahi bill boards na'e tukituki he ngaahi hala kuopau ke to'o ia 'i he 12 tu'apoo Tokonaki uike 'e 1 ki mu'a pea fai 'ae fili.

Koe ha nai hono taumu'a 'oe Lao koeni?

Koe tali kiai ne fai 'ae ngaahi fe'au'auhi lahi 'aupito ki he fili falealea he na'e lele he letioo, TV, ngaahi fakataha'anga pea na'e takitaha malanga'i ai 'ae ngaahi tui moe ngaahi policies 'ae kau kanititeiti fakafo'ituitui pe koe ngaahi Paati Politikale. 'Oku fiema'u ha ki'i taimi (cooling off) kimu'a pea fai ai 'ae fili ke fakakaukau 'ae tokotaha fili (voters) ki he ngaahi policies ne malanga'i pea ke fai pe 'ene fili 'o fakatatau ki he'ene tui tau'ataaina pe 'a'ana.

'Oku fiema'u ke fa'u 'ae lao fili falealea (Electoral Act) ke 'oua na'a hanga 'eha ngaahi pisinisi lalahi 'o uesia 'ae fili. 'Oku tonu ke lao'i 'ae taimi 'oku fai ai 'ae ngaahi lea he TV moe Letioo ke fea (fair) 'oua 'e lelei ia ki ha fa'ahinga kae kovi ia ki ha fa'ahinga. Koe fakataataa eni ke vahevahe tatau pe 'ae taimi 'oku tukuange mai ai 'ae ngaahi fe'auhi fili falealea he TV moe letoo. Koe fa'ahinga koee 'oku lahi ange 'enau pa'anga tenau totongi 'e nautolu 'ae taimi kotoa pe he TV moe Letioo kae si'i hala 'ae fa'ahinga 'oku masiva 'ikai ke ma'u ha silini ke totongi 'aki 'a 'enau fe'auhi.

'Oua 'e faka'ataa noa'ia pe ke tu'uaki pe 'eha taha ia ha taha pe koha Paati'ihe Letioo pe koe TV he'e 'ikai ke palanisi tatau ai 'ae ngaahi fe'auhi fili falealea. 'I he fili falealea ne toki 'osi 'i Nu'usila ne hanga ai 'ehe kautaha lotu (Exclusive Brethren) 'o fakamoleki 'ae laumiliona he kamipeini ke 'oua 'e toe foki 'ae Paati Leipa 'o Pule'anga. Na'e 'ikai ke nau maumau'i 'ae lao fili falealea, ka koe lesoni eni ki Tonga ke fai ha sio kiai pe 'oku tonu ke ta'ofi pe 'ikai.

'Oku 'iai 'ae Lao fili falealea (Electoral Act 1989) 'a Tonga ka 'oku fiema'u ke fakalelei'i lahi 'aupito ia kimu'a pea tau fakahoko 'ae liliu. Teu fakataataa 'aki eni 'oku 'ikai ke tau'ataaina he 'oku fili 'ehe Palemia 'ae Supavaisa faifili pea toki fili 'ehe tokotaha ni fakataha moe loto kiai 'ae Palemia'ae kau 'ofisa faifili (returning officer).'Oku lelei pe mo maau 'ae ngaue 'ae Palemia ka koe mafai 'oku 'oange 'ehe lao kiai 'oku palopalema pea koia 'oku tonu ke fakalelei'i.

Koe lao koeni Electoral Act 1989 'oku tonu ke lesisita ai 'ae ngaahi Paati fakapolitikale koe 'uhi ke lao'i fakalelei. Ko 'ene tu'u he taimi ni koe paati fakapolitikale 'oku lesisita ia he Incorporated Societies Act.

Koe me'a foki 'e taha 'oku te'eki ai ke tau maau ai koe tokolahi 'o Falealea. Koe taha foki eni e me'a 'oku fu'u mahu'inga 'aupito ke tonu he ka 'ikai he 'ikai pe tetau ma'u 'e tautolu 'ae Temokalati 'oku tau feinga kiai.

'E fai 'ae ki'i lave si'isi'i atu pe kiai. Ne 'iai 'ae fika ne 'asi mai he nusipepa Taimi 'o Tonga 'aia koe 17 e kakai, 9 e Nopele pea 4 'ae fili ('ae) 'a 'Ene 'Afio. Mahalo kuo 'osi 'iai pe 'ae ngaahi tali ia ki he ngaahi fehu'i ko 'eni ka 'oku te'eki ke ha mai ia meihe Pule'anga. Koe toko 4 tenau hangatonu pe 'o Minisitaa pe koe hu pe ki Falealea pea toki kaka mei ai ki Kapineti? Koe fili 'oe kapineti 'e fai pe meihe toko 17 ne fili 'ehe kakai pea 'e 'ikai kau ai 'ae Nopele moe toko 4 ne fili 'ehe 'Ene 'Afio ? Feefee kapau 'e 'osi ange 'ae fili kuo (kuo) 9 'ae PLT kae 8 'ae Temokalati? Kuopau leva ke Pule'anga 'ae PLT he koia 'oku toko lahi 'ene memipa kuo fili 'ehe kakai? 'E tukuange pe ki he paati 'oku tokolahi taha kene alea moe kau memipa falealea kehe ke fa'u 'ae Pule'anga?

'Oku toe lahi pe moe ngaahi fehu'i kehe ke tanaki atu ka 'oku fakahaa heni 'ae lahi 'oe ngaue ke fai pea mo te'eki ke tau maau ke fakahoko 'ae liliu 'ihe vave ni mai pe.

Kuopau ke fa'u 'ae ngaahi lao ke maau pea toki fakahoko 'ae liliu. Kuopau ketau sivisivi'i fakalelei 'ae fa'unga 'o falealea mo 'ene felave'i moe Kapineti ke ma'u 'ae lelei taha.

'Oku lolotonga ngaue atu 'ae PLT ki hono fa'u 'ae Lao ki he fili falealea moe fa'unga politikale pea 'e vave ni (atu) pe hono tuku atu 'i he ongoongo ki he Media.

Extracts:

Some 12 years ago, I received a letter from the NSW Liberal Party head office. I had been selected to sit on the panel for the hottest federal preselection for the seat of Bradfield, in Sydney's upper North Shore. The sitting member and shadow minister for retirement incomes, faced a daring challenge from former AMA president Dr Brendan Nelson.

A few weeks into the preselection, I received a short videotape. On the tape, I saw Nelson use a loud hailer and shout out to a crowd of protesters these immortal words: "I have never voted Liberal in my life!" Nelson went on to win the preselection. Sadly, he could not rely on my vote. I was in the NSW right wing, and our mufti had issued a fatwa declaring that anyone caught voting for Nelson would be excommunicated.

Years later, Nelson became education minister. In August 2005, he insisted that Muslim independent schools teach Australian values or be excommunicated (to use Nelson's exact words, "to clear off"). Strangely enough, Nelson was quite happy 12 months earlier to meet with the Exclusive Brethren and promise it policy exemptions. The Brethren insisted it limit students' access to learning about computers and the internet. Nelson obviously thought it was OK to provide $6.6million in funding to schools that teach their students that computers are instruments of the devil.

The Tasmanian Greens today responded to revelations that the Liberal Party colluded closely with Exclusive Brethren members in an anti-Green smear campaign which vilified minority groups at the last state election, saying that this year’s Federal election would feature similar attacks on the Greens.

Greens Acting Leader Nick McKim MHA said that Liberal Director Damian Mantach, and the Liberal Party’s advertising agent Mr Chris Guesden, previously attempted to claim that three Tasmanian newspapers billing Mr Guesden’s Liberal Party account for Exclusive Brethren advertisements had been ‘an administrative error’, but that the Mercury and the Advocate newspapers have both confirmed that in fact specific instructions were issued to that effect.

Mr McKim said that the episode reinforced the need for stronger disclosure laws in Tasmania so that voters know exactly who is paying for political advertising.

“Moderate Liberal supporters should be outraged that their party would vilify minority groups by colluding secretly with an organisation like the Exclusive Brethren which does not allow its members to vote or use computers.”

Mr McKim called on Liberal Leader Will Hodgman to come clean on the full extent of the collusion between the Exclusive Brethren and the Liberal Party.

“Mr Hodgman needs to explain exactly why the Liberal Party effectively outsourced their smear campaign to the Exclusive Brethren at the last state election, and commit to ensuring that it does not occur next time.”

Mr McKim said that the Greens are proud of their policies of tolerance, inclusion and respect for diversity, and that attacks from organisations like the Exclusive Brethren and the Liberal Party would only strengthen the Greens’ determination to continue to promote these policies.

The Tasmanian Liberal Party has confirmed it advised members of the Exclusive Brethren on how to design election material targeting the Greens, but denies funding the sect's advertising.

Liberal state director Damien Mantach told The Australian yesterday there was nothing improper about his assistance to sect members in the lead-up to last year's March state election.

"Did we discuss brochures and strategies as to how you might target the Green vote? Yeah, we did. Absolutely," he said. "Some of the advice I gave to the Brethren was pretty straight up and down, and that is: Green policies don't stack up and one of the best techniques is to highlight what their policies are and what those policies mean.

"Compare and contrast. That was some of the advice I was providing to them. Did I say you should use this language or that language? No. We didn't get into that sort of detail. They were very concerned about the Greens' social policies."

Mr Mantach said while he did not support the form some of the resulting Brethren election material took, he would not hesitate to meet sect members again.

Hobart woman Martine Delaney has complaints before Tasmania's Anti-Discrimination Tribunal against sect member and pig farmer Roger Unwin, the Liberal Party and its advertising agent, Chris Guesdon.

Ms Delaney's complaint alleges that ads authorised by Mr Unwin incited hatred by claiming policies recognising the rights of transgender people would "ruin families and societies".

Documents show the ads were placed on the direction of a senior Brethren member, Graham Lewis. They also show that while three newspapers billed the ads to an advertising account held by Mr Guesdon on behalf of the Liberal Party, the bill was ultimately paid by a shelf company set up by three Brethren members 11 days before the poll.

This is a similar method to that in which sect members funded ads during the last federal campaign in a number of states.

The Brethren denies co-ordinating a campaign. However, federal police are considering investigating a Brethren company, Willmac Enterprises, for possible breaches of federal electoral disclosure laws.

Tasmania does not have comprehensive third-party election funding disclosure laws and mysterious front groups are not uncommonly cited as authorising agents for advertising.

Documents from the advertising departments of three daily newspapers confirm that, as revealed in The Australian in January, the newspapers were all led to believe the ads were to be paid for by the Liberals. Mr Guesdon has insisted this was due to an administrative error.

Ms Delaney said yesterday while she accepted the Brethren shelf company, TRADTAS, ultimately paid the accounts, she felt several parties were being "less than honest". "This has confirmed in my mind that there appears to be some link between the Liberal Party and the Brethren in this that they're not being honest about," she said.

She said the involvement of Mr Lewis contradicted Mr Unwin's previous claim that neither the Brethren nor its leaders were involved in the ad campaign. However, Mr Unwin stood by his statements last night.

Mr Mantach said he believed the Brethren, a fundamentalist Christian sect that believes in separation from the wider community and bans voting by its followers, were being unfairly characterised by the Greens and others as an "evil sect".

Extracts:

The controversial book that triggered the end of Don Brash's career with the National Party is about to be made into a play - thanks to a $38,000 grant from Creative New Zealand an organisation funded by the Government.

The play, written by Auckland's Dean Parker, is an adaptation of Nicky Hager's book The Hollow Men: A Study in the Politics of Deception.

The Hollow Men, based on emails to and from former National leader Don Brash and other political figures, documents the goings-on behind the scenes in the lead-up to the last election. It suggests that Brash and other senior National MPs - including new leader John Key - did not disclose the extent of their contacts with the Exclusive Brethren and notes the influence that the far right - Roger Douglas, Michael Bassett, Brian Nicolle, Catherine Judd, multi-millionaire Diane Foreman and Matthew Hooton - had on Brash's rise.

Parker said Hollow Men was a faithful adaptation of Hager's book and focused on the way politics "were waged by political parties rather than about the people who make up those parties".

Growing up in the Exclusive Brethren meant missing out on a lot of things other children took for granted. It meant no TV, radio or recorded music, no pets, parties, school outings, plays or sports, no cinema, novels, magazines, no make-up or haircuts, and strict clothing rules. I was used to living a life different from those of my friends.

Even so, it struck me as strange, one morning when I was eight, that Mum wasn't trying to get me ready for school. Instead she was frantically stuffing clothes into cases. She told me I was going away. Downstairs I saw my elderly grandmother wringing her hands and protesting, but she was ignored as I was pushed through the front door and my hand taken by one of the Brethren from our local Meeting. He led me to a van in which were several other Brethren, including one of my uncles.

After what seemed like hours, we arrived at the suburban home of the Brother, his three spinster sisters, bachelor brother and ancient mother. I was taken down to the basement, which was to be my home for the foreseeable future.

I felt anxious - where was Mum? She would be along later. Where was Dad? He was unclean; I should not wish to be with him. Later, as I was tucked up on an old settee, I tried not to cry. One of the sisters read me Bible stories to help me fall asleep.

A few days later Mum arrived. She told me that the Brethren were rescuing me because Dad had left them after a disagreement over doctrine. The "Ministry" from the latest leader, Jim Taylor Jr in the US, stated Brethren could no longer eat or drink with outsiders. Dad thought it wrong that he could not share even a cup of tea with his elderly widowed mother, who lived with us but belonged to a milder sect. When he stood up in the Meeting and said he disagreed, he was excommunicated.

As the weeks passed, I missed my father dreadfully. Unknown to me, he had made me a ward of court, so the family became uneasy at giving us refuge and eventually Mum took me home. I can remember Dad returning early from work, bringing a punnet of strawberries to welcome me back. I sat on his lap and sobbed.

The nightmare was not over, though. For the next decade, life carried on much as before, but with one big difference: Mum would not eat or sleep with Dad and would barely speak to him. I was often used as an intermediary, with each trying to persuade me the other was wrong. My best friend comforted me when I was desperate with worry that my mother would die during her "fasts", when she didn't eat for days in the hope that the Lord would answer her prayers and bring Dad back to the path of righteousness.

My "worldly, unclean" schoolfriends were very sympathetic and tried to bridge the gaps in my experience by carefully recounting theirs. Sometimes I secretly watched TV or listened to records with them on the way home from school. Once they daringly arranged for me to see a film - To Kill A Mockingbird - at the local cinema during school hours.

Meanwhile Jim Taylor Jr's edicts became increasingly bizarre - Sisters had to wear their hair hanging down their backs, covered in a headscarf; all adult Brethren must be married - and then he started to go to bed with married Sisters, supposedly showing how pure he was. Eventually, in 1970, at a Meeting in Aberdeen, he appeared drunk and stated that his word was of such consequence that the Bible was no longer necessary - a bombshell that caused a number of clearer-sighted Brethren to protest and break away.

By this time, it was too late for me to care. I was in my late teens and, to the horror of my family, left for university shortly afterwards. There I ate chips and curry for the first time, openly read newspapers and novels, drank wine, wore "normal" clothes, listened to pop music and cut my hair. Being unclean was delicious.

My mother may have disapproved but she, too, left the Taylorites then, joining instead the same sect as my father and grandmother. She is still alive, still strictly religious, but she does not shut me out of her life.

In the cult I left behind, Taylor died an alcoholic. Another "Universal Leader" stepped into his shoes, and the Brethren now even run their own schools. My heart bleeds for those children.

The latest paid defender of the shadowy Exclusive Brethren sect left a trail of debt during his sojourn in the Northern Territory. By Paul Toohey.

Ton McCorkell, Brisbane-based official spokesman of the Exclusive Brethren, turned up again last week. He was answering on behalf of the sect, whose members ran a pro-John Howard pamphlet campaign in the prime minister's seat of Bennelong in the lead-up to the 2004 election.

It is claimed a $10 company, Willmac, was set up by Brethren members to conceal their heavy spending in political advertising in Bennelong, and in South Australia and Tasmania. McCorkell has denied the Brethren was a stakeholder in Willmac. The Australian Electoral Commission has referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police.

McCorkell has been busy in New Zealand this year, defending the New Zealand chapter of the sect over allegations of sexual abuse and political interference against the government.

As questions are asked of the federal government's links to this obscure, deeply conservative and cashed-up group, there are also questions to be asked of McCorkell. The Bulletin has found numerous small businesspeople and associations who are owed money by him or his companies.

McCorkell, 27, is a huge, engaging man who wins friends easily. He also loses them.

His Grosvenor McCorkell website promises "Straight and trusted advice and service" in international management and consultancy, with images of Hong Kong, London and Sydney. It boasts "talented and dynamic staff who are committed to providing comprehensive, timely and practical advice and service". McCorkell admitted he was, at this time, the only staffer.

He said he recently removed a photo from his website of himself with John Howard because "there was some comment about it from some ex-Exclusive Brethren people". He said it was "an old one, taken at a function back in 2003. I'm no big-time friend of the PM."

McCorkell's family was excommunicated from the Brethren when he was a boy but he said there is no bitterness. He was not a current member and worked for them as a contracted spokesman.

Before McCorkell arrived in the Northern Territory in late 2003, he'd acted as consultant or executive for the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) and the Australian Multiple Births Association (AMBA), both non-profit organisations. McCorkell took $10,000 from AMBA, part of a federal grant, on the promise he would find more than that amount in sponsorship. He did not.

"Yes, the money for sponsorship is outstanding," he said. "That was McCorkell & Co. Morally, the money is owed and there's no dispute." After this was raised by The Bulletin, McCorkell contacted the AMBA and offered to pay on a "three-month plan".

As for the breastfeeding association, treasurer Dr Julie Smith provided this statement: "In response to your question about whether Mr Tony McCorkell ever repaid money owing to ABA and [trading company] MD [Mother's Direct] … the answer is no, the money was never repaid. We sought unsuccessfully to pursue the debt and eventually wrote off an amount of around $10,000. The matter was the subject of a formal complaint to ASIC."

McCorkell did not accept this was the case but was "happy to look into it".

In December 2003, McCorkell became CEO of Walangeri Ngumpinku community, better known as Yarralin, in the Victoria River District. An investigation by the NT government conducted after McCorkell left in 2005 included the following:

The council was supposed to meet monthly. Records identified minutes from only six meetings in 18 months and demonstrated "a serious lack of administrative control".

The Walangeri store, owned by the council, lost $5000 a week while McCorkell was CEO. Deloitte auditors could give no reasons for the loss. The investigation's suggestions included "theft of monies or stock or both".

During one five-day visit to Knotts Crossing Resort in Katherine, in April 2005, "McCorkell spent $1224 in the restaurant/bistro alone".

On April 4, 2005, a month before McCorkell resigned as CEO, he "raised council purchase orders with Harvey Norman in Darwin for linen, bedding, furniture and whitegoods to the value of $15,059" that were delivered to his Darwin home.

The investigation concluded that McCorkell showed "weak administrative and financial skills that have resulted in serious losses to council and his personal integrity must be called into question in relation to the misuse of substantial council funds for personal gain".

Debt collectors were brought in over the $15,000 spent at Harvey Norman and in May 2006 a judgment was made against McCorkell in Darwin Magistrates Court. McCorkell has repaid most of that money.

McCorkell insists he had a written agreement with Yarralin that the council purchase orders would be billed to him, not the council. He said he wanted to take advantage of council trade discounts. Of the Knotts Crossing expenses, he says he went with "about five Aboriginal people. They would have eaten there and it would have gone to my bill".

As he was leaving Darwin, McCorkell said, he sold most of the Harvey Norman furniture to pay outstanding rent to his flat's owners.

Ron Strachan runs the National Flags shop in Darwin. Early last year McCorkell took delivery of a stand of 15 flags for his Darwin office, to give it that multinational feel. Payment was due in seven days. When McCorkell left town last year, Strachan found his flags for sale in a second-hand shop.

As of Friday last week, Strachan still hadn't seen the money. "Well, yes, that probably still is outstanding," said McCorkell. "I can make that payment. There's a few people who never got paid when we left."

McCorkell agreed that when he used the word "we" he actually meant "I".

In late 2005, after leaving Yarralin, McCorkell began promoting a service for Aboriginal councils offering recovery management for organisations in financial distress, governance training and the temporary placement of CEOs in communities. McCorkell took $10,000 upfront from the Nganmarriyanga community near Port Keats to place an executive. The executive never arrived.

"We were given payment in advance for an essential services officer, and that officer didn't come because they were held up in the desert," McCorkell said. "I hadn't given [Nganmarriyanga] a thought. But now you raise it, I'll look into it. That money is still outstanding. We accept we owe that money. There's no issue with that."

Darwin businessman George Kapetas rented out business premises in Cavanagh Street, Darwin, to McCorkell Grosvenor Pty Ltd. Kapetas rues the gentleman's agreement and says he is owed at least $23,000.

"George has an email from me which indicates very clearly we are in a position to pay the money back and I haven't heard back," said McCorkell. Kapetas said that was incorrect. McCorkell had verbally offered to pay, but after numerous emails and faxes, nothing had been done.

"If anyone's got a valid claim against my company or me personally, my hand is up," said McCorkell. "There's no running away, no shyster activity. I mean that in all honesty. I'm the sort of bloke who would much prefer to pay something off slowly than wind everything up and pay no one."

On the question of Brethren politics, McCorkell said the sect run private schools and were worried during the lead-up to the 2004 election that then Labor leader Mark Latham planned to cut government funding to private schools.

McCorkell said some senior Brethren lived in Bennelong. "As to the anti-Labor sentiment, Labor were bringing out questions on funding private schools. They were nervous about that. That's where it comes from."

It has been reported that in 2005 the Brethren received $6.6m in federal school funding.

McCorkell spoke to Brethren about whether they planned to campaign for the Liberals in this year's election. "They said they hadn't any plans to do so but haven't said they won't. The people involved last time said they wouldn't categorically say no."