Former prime minister Paul Keating went to court and beat a charge of disobeying a red light. He is crowing that this success vindicates the right of " the ordinary person " to challenge when incorrectly accused of an offense.
Who is he kidding ! Paul Keating is not an " ordinary person ". Those who have held high office in this country are instantly elevated to the status of " celebrity" - and treated as such.
This charge amounted to a conflict of evidence between Keating - and two serving police officers who witnessed the event. The magistrate chose to ignore the evidence of sworn police officers in favour of a driver whose status in life is now simply " citizen ".
In all fairness, this was a humiliating slap in the face for our police. In most circumstances the evidence of police officers takes precedence because observing wrong doing is their job - and they have a right to be believed. Without that credibility our system of law would be unworkable.
In this case we would have to consider whether the magistrate was leaning towards his own political persuasion - or bowing to celebrity status by finding for an important man in preference to police officers.
Whatever the reason - it sends the wrong message to the public !
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