Fanatics - and their tactics !

There is an old adage that applies to presenting a case to the public.   "  Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story ! "

A Senator claims to have a statutory declaration that the celebrated video footage of animal cruelty in an Indonesian abattoir was a set-up.   Money was paid to abattoir workers to abuse the animals under their control to create the sensational scenes that  brought this $ 220 million industry to it's knees.

Live exports have resumed - and Animals Australia - the organization probing the treatment of animals in the export trade is adamant that it has no knowledge of any money paid to embellish the video, and the Senator accepts this assurance.

Unfortunately there are fanatics in all walks of life who adhere to the credo that "the end justifies the means ".

Honest, well meaning organizations can be infiltrated by those who are determined to bring about the result they desire - and who are prepared to employ subversive tactics to achieve that result.

We have seen this in the newspaper industry in Britain, where phone hacking was used to create " scoops " to advance careers.  We see it often in politics, where mock outrage about a story released from an un-named source is designed to create public appeal - and even in the serious business of waging war.

In many parts of the world people are dead because one side claims to be putting down a terrorist uprising - and the other side if merely trying to achieve a better life by unseating a tyrant.

Hopefully, the truth will eventually emerge from this Indonesian abattoir claim, but the sad fact is that Indonesian integrity has been questioned - and in northern Australia a lot of road trains and ships designed to transport stock have been idled.    Ordinary men and women have lost wages and whole communities have been  dealt a severe financial blow - and it is possible that all this is the result of a blatant lie !