Australia's Shame: Senator Charged With Molestation Offered State Funeral

On the 21st of September, the Australian press reported of the passing of Bob Collins, an Australian senator and minister. The press regaled his accomplishments over his time in politics and it was soon announced that he would be afforded the honors of a “State Funeral”.

State funerals are a big affair in Australia. Steve Irwin was offered one and most great politicians are honored in this way. Full parades and press coverage, lots of smart dress uniforms, 21 gun salutes and great speeches, magnificent shouts from the “list of greats” that the person has achieved in their life in the hope that if they embellish and polish the deeds enough, God will hear and allow the dignity into the heavenly realm.

Australia shrugged. As a nation not known for frivolity, it was just another cause for some media coverage.

The media reported that poor Mr. Collins died of cancer and he previously had been involved in a tragic accident in 2004 where he nearly died when his car rolled. It wasn’t until the bottom of the media articles almost in fine print that the story came out and said this wonderful “good deed Bob” was in fact facing charges for child sex offenses. As the next few days passed and the public hububalloo and preparations for the state funeral grew in momentum, the public outcry rose to a crescendo over the sex allegations.

More and more people came forward publicly with their own personal accounts of what Bob had done to them. Apparently, Bob had a preference for Aboriginal boys but the stories from some white children show the monster was not overly fussy about whose lives he destroyed.