Craig Minogue
Encyclopedia
Craig W. J. 'Slim' Minogue (born 1962) is an Australia
n prisoner, convicted for the 1986 bombing of the Russell Street Police Headquarters
in Russell Street, Melbourne
, Victoria, Australia on 27 March 1986. In 1988, Minogue was sentenced to life imprisonment
, with a non-parole period of 30 years. Minogue is currently serving his sentence at Marngoneet Correctional Centre
, in Lara, near Geelong, about one hour's drive from Melbourne.
The Russell Street Bombing, for which Minogue was initially imprisoned, occurred at 1 pm on 27 March 1986. The blast killed 21 year old Constable Angela Taylor and left 22 people injured and caused massive amounts of damage to the Russell Street Police Headquarters
and surrounding buildings, with damage estimated at over a million dollars.
Minogue has initiated many legal challenges against the Victorian government, mostly concerning his treatment while imprisoned. In 2002 Minogue applied unsuccessfully to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
(VCAT) seeking copies of prison management and operation manuals. His request was refused, but he was granted access to limited information and restricted to viewing such information while within the prison library. This decision has been widely criticized by academics and lawyerS as promoting a lack of administrative transparency in the prison system and creating a situation where the rules that prisoners are supposed to abide by are concealed from them.
Minogue's willingness to institute legal proceedings against prison authorities has not endeared him to them. In 2003 Minogue took action in the Victorian Supreme Court against Group4, the UK based company which operates the Port Phillip Prison
. The action was in relation to the prison's confiscation of his computer and much of his legal and academic materials. Staff of Group4 nearly found themselves in contempt of court when Minogue sought to have contempt charges brought against them, but he agreed to drop his application for the chargers after lawyers for Group4 gave the Court an undertaking not to engage in conduct he was complaining about. Group4 settled the action by returning Minogue's belongings. Shortly after this Minogue was moved to the state run maximum security HM Prison Barwon
where he stayed until his transfer to the medium security Marngoneet Correctional Centre
in 2008, where he remains today.
In 2005 Minogue, who entered the prison system illiterate, completed his Bachelor of Arts
Degree with Honours from Deakin University
. In the same year he was accepted as a PhD
. student at La Trobe University
, the first prisoner in Australia and one of the few in the world to do so. Minogue uses his web site www.craigminogue.org to keep interested parties abrest of his academic work.
Minogue requests a single-bed cell while imprisoned, as is normal for Victorian prisoners, and shares his cell with a large amount of legal texts, hardcover law resource books, academic materials, PC and printer. He has helped many prisoners with legal matters and has authored a series of self help pamphlets explaining in simple terms the workings of the Victorian criminal justice system. These pamphlets are also used in community education programs run by Victorian community legal centers and the "Court Readiness Program" run by Monash University
.
On 29 October 1987, Minogue, along with other prisoners detained in the high security Jika Jika
unit of Pentridge Prison, were protesting against the inhumane conditions in the unit. They began to seal off doors to their cells using a tennis net and bedding. Windows were covered with paper so the prison officer
s were unable to identify prisoners causing damage.
The prisoners emptied water from the S bend of the toilets in their cells. They had planned to use a wet blanket to cover their heads while they attempted to breathe the small amount of air in the sewage
plumbing
system when a fire was lit. Smoke rapidly filled the unit. Jika Jika
was completely free of any fresh air whatsoever as it was a climate control
led division. In spite of the men's attempts to avoid the thick, toxic black smoke by breathing through the plumbing, prisoners Robert Wright, Jimmy Loughnan, Arthur Gallagher, David McGauley and Ricky Morris died in the fire. Minogue and three other prisoners survived. All four spent days on ventilators recovering in the prison hospital.
Attorney General
and Minister for Corrections Jim Kennan
immediately ordered the closure of the Jika Jika maximum security section of Pentridge Prison thereafter saying:
None of the surviving prisoners were charged with any offences. In the ensuing coronial inquest
into the deaths in the fire Minogue gave evidence over three days. At the completion of the inquest the State Coroner found Corrections Victoria
was, in his words, "moribund and corrupt". A book by Monash University
academic and historian Dr. Bree Carlton, Imprisoning Resistance, examines the prisoner resistance which lead to the Jika Jika fire.
's books and biographical film.
Tsakmakis had previously murdered a fellow prisoner by dousing him in an adhesive and then setting him on fire. He stood in the doorway of the room in which his victim, Barry Quinn, was on fire and refused to allow guards to enter. As they approached he threatened them with a guitar held in his hands, when they withdrew he began to play the guitar and sing "Come on baby light my fire"
as Quinn burnt to death.
Tsakmakis was a prime suspect in the execution style murder of two men and a young woman during a jewellery store robbery in the Melbourne CBD. He was found beaten to death with gym weights that had been placed in a pillow case as an improvised weight training device by other prisoners. In an interview in 1991 with reporter Brett Quine of the Melbourne based tabloid newspaper the Herald Sun, Minogue stated it was simply a matter of self defence in that if he hadn't killed Tsakmakis then Tsakmakis would have killed him.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n prisoner, convicted for the 1986 bombing of the Russell Street Police Headquarters
Russell Street Bombing
The Russell Street Bombing refers to the 27 March 1986 bombing of the Russell Street Police Headquarters complex in Russell Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
in Russell Street, Melbourne
Russell Street, Melbourne
Russell Street is a north-south street in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia, part of the Hoddle Grid laid out in 1837. At its southern end it intersects with Flinders Street and Federation Square, while at its northern end it becomes Lygon Street, a street famous for its...
, Victoria, Australia on 27 March 1986. In 1988, Minogue was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
, with a non-parole period of 30 years. Minogue is currently serving his sentence at Marngoneet Correctional Centre
Marngoneet Correctional Centre
Marngoneet Correctional Centre is a medium security Australian prison in Lara, Victoria, Australia, located adjacent to maximum security HM Prison Barwon. Marngoneet Correctional Centre officially opened on 3 March 2006.-See also:*HM Prison Barwon...
, in Lara, near Geelong, about one hour's drive from Melbourne.
Russell Street Bombing
Russell Street Police Headquarters
Russell Street Police Headquarters in Melbourne, Australia was for many years the headquarters of the Victoria Police before they were moved to William Street in about 1990. The main multi-storey brick building located on the west of the site was constructed 1940-1943 in the Art Deco style by...
and surrounding buildings, with damage estimated at over a million dollars.
Prison life
In 1992 Minogue established the first ever law library in Pentridge's J Division.Minogue has initiated many legal challenges against the Victorian government, mostly concerning his treatment while imprisoned. In 2002 Minogue applied unsuccessfully to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal is a government agency in the state of Victoria, Australia. The name is pronounced 'vee-cat'...
(VCAT) seeking copies of prison management and operation manuals. His request was refused, but he was granted access to limited information and restricted to viewing such information while within the prison library. This decision has been widely criticized by academics and lawyerS as promoting a lack of administrative transparency in the prison system and creating a situation where the rules that prisoners are supposed to abide by are concealed from them.
Minogue's willingness to institute legal proceedings against prison authorities has not endeared him to them. In 2003 Minogue took action in the Victorian Supreme Court against Group4, the UK based company which operates the Port Phillip Prison
Port Phillip Prison
Port Phillip Prison is a maximum security prison located at Truganina, Victoria, Australia. It is Victoria's largest prison, able to accommodate up to 824 prisoners. The prison is privately operated on behalf of the Government of Victoria by G4S Australia Pty Ltd.-Construction and...
. The action was in relation to the prison's confiscation of his computer and much of his legal and academic materials. Staff of Group4 nearly found themselves in contempt of court when Minogue sought to have contempt charges brought against them, but he agreed to drop his application for the chargers after lawyers for Group4 gave the Court an undertaking not to engage in conduct he was complaining about. Group4 settled the action by returning Minogue's belongings. Shortly after this Minogue was moved to the state run maximum security HM Prison Barwon
HM Prison Barwon
HM Prison Barwon is a maximum security Australian prison located at 1140 Bacchus Marsh Road, 6 km from the township of Lara, , Victoria, Australia. Barwon provides accommodation and services for maximum security mainstream prisoners including a 20-bed facility for high security prisoners and a...
where he stayed until his transfer to the medium security Marngoneet Correctional Centre
Marngoneet Correctional Centre
Marngoneet Correctional Centre is a medium security Australian prison in Lara, Victoria, Australia, located adjacent to maximum security HM Prison Barwon. Marngoneet Correctional Centre officially opened on 3 March 2006.-See also:*HM Prison Barwon...
in 2008, where he remains today.
In 2005 Minogue, who entered the prison system illiterate, completed his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
Degree with Honours from Deakin University
Deakin University
Deakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
. In the same year he was accepted as a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
. student at La Trobe University
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament to become the third oldest university in the state of Victoria. The main campus of La Trobe is located in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora; two other major campuses are...
, the first prisoner in Australia and one of the few in the world to do so. Minogue uses his web site www.craigminogue.org to keep interested parties abrest of his academic work.
Minogue requests a single-bed cell while imprisoned, as is normal for Victorian prisoners, and shares his cell with a large amount of legal texts, hardcover law resource books, academic materials, PC and printer. He has helped many prisoners with legal matters and has authored a series of self help pamphlets explaining in simple terms the workings of the Victorian criminal justice system. These pamphlets are also used in community education programs run by Victorian community legal centers and the "Court Readiness Program" run by Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
.
On 29 October 1987, Minogue, along with other prisoners detained in the high security Jika Jika
HM Prison Pentridge
HM Prison Pentridge was an Australian prison built in 1850 in Coburg, Victoria. The first prisoners arrived in 1851. The prison officially closed on 1 May 1997....
unit of Pentridge Prison, were protesting against the inhumane conditions in the unit. They began to seal off doors to their cells using a tennis net and bedding. Windows were covered with paper so the prison officer
Prison officer
A prison officer , also referred to as a corrections officer , correctional officer , or detention officer , is a person charged with the responsibility of the supervision, safety and security of prisoners in a prison, jail, or similar form of secure...
s were unable to identify prisoners causing damage.
The prisoners emptied water from the S bend of the toilets in their cells. They had planned to use a wet blanket to cover their heads while they attempted to breathe the small amount of air in the sewage
Sewage
Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
plumbing
Plumbing
Plumbing is the system of pipes and drains installed in a building for the distribution of potable drinking water and the removal of waterborne wastes, and the skilled trade of working with pipes, tubing and plumbing fixtures in such systems. A plumber is someone who installs or repairs piping...
system when a fire was lit. Smoke rapidly filled the unit. Jika Jika
HM Prison Pentridge
HM Prison Pentridge was an Australian prison built in 1850 in Coburg, Victoria. The first prisoners arrived in 1851. The prison officially closed on 1 May 1997....
was completely free of any fresh air whatsoever as it was a climate control
HVAC
HVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...
led division. In spite of the men's attempts to avoid the thick, toxic black smoke by breathing through the plumbing, prisoners Robert Wright, Jimmy Loughnan, Arthur Gallagher, David McGauley and Ricky Morris died in the fire. Minogue and three other prisoners survived. All four spent days on ventilators recovering in the prison hospital.
Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
and Minister for Corrections Jim Kennan
Jim Kennan
James Harley "Jim" Kennan SC was an Australian politician and later Adjunct Professor of Law at Deakin University.He earned a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne...
immediately ordered the closure of the Jika Jika maximum security section of Pentridge Prison thereafter saying:
- "The level of deaths in Jika Jika has become unacceptable".
None of the surviving prisoners were charged with any offences. In the ensuing coronial inquest
Inquest
Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove"...
into the deaths in the fire Minogue gave evidence over three days. At the completion of the inquest the State Coroner found Corrections Victoria
Corrections Victoria
Corrections Victoria is the Victorian government department established in 2003, responsible for Victoria's corrections system. Corrections Victoria manages approximately 50 Community Correctional Centres in Victoria and is also responsible for the management of the states public prisons as well as...
was, in his words, "moribund and corrupt". A book by Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
academic and historian Dr. Bree Carlton, Imprisoning Resistance, examines the prisoner resistance which lead to the Jika Jika fire.
Second murder conviction
Minogue received a second murder conviction in 1988 for the murder of fellow prison inmate Alex Tsakmakis. This sentence is to run almost totally concurrent with the bombing sentence. Minogue will serve an additional three months for Tsakmakis's death. The sentencing judge, Justice George Hampel, stated at the time words to the effect that Tsakmakis's life was not worth any more than that. This murder occurred in the notorious H division of Pentridge, which later figured in Chopper ReadChopper Read
Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read is an Australian ex-criminal, who wrote a series of semi-autobiographical and fictional crime novels. The 2000 film Chopper was based on his life.-Early life:...
's books and biographical film.
Tsakmakis had previously murdered a fellow prisoner by dousing him in an adhesive and then setting him on fire. He stood in the doorway of the room in which his victim, Barry Quinn, was on fire and refused to allow guards to enter. As they approached he threatened them with a guitar held in his hands, when they withdrew he began to play the guitar and sing "Come on baby light my fire"
Light My Fire
"Light My Fire" is a song by The Doors which was recorded in August 1966 and released the first week of January 1967 on the Doors' debut album. Released as a single in April, it spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and one week on the Cash Box Top 100, nearly a year after...
as Quinn burnt to death.
Tsakmakis was a prime suspect in the execution style murder of two men and a young woman during a jewellery store robbery in the Melbourne CBD. He was found beaten to death with gym weights that had been placed in a pillow case as an improvised weight training device by other prisoners. In an interview in 1991 with reporter Brett Quine of the Melbourne based tabloid newspaper the Herald Sun, Minogue stated it was simply a matter of self defence in that if he hadn't killed Tsakmakis then Tsakmakis would have killed him.
Other publications
- Craig Minogue, 'Legal Professional Privilege?', Alternative Law Journal, Vol. 17, No.6, December 1992.
- Craig Minogue, 'Human rights and excursions from the flat lands', Alternative Law Journal, Vol 25, No.3, June 2000, pp. 145–146.
- Craig Minogue, 'Frustrated Access to Educational Programmes', Abolition, Vol. 1, August 2001, pp. 12–24.
- Craig Minogue, 'Downsizing', Winnowings, School of Literary & Communication Studies, Deakin University Geelong, Victoria, 2002, pp. 146–150.
- Craig Minogue, 'An Insider's View: Human rights and excursions from the flat lands', in BROWN, David and WILKIE, Meredith, (eds) Prisoners as Citizens: Human Rights in Australian Prisons, The Federation Press, Annandale, NSW, 2002, pp. 196–212.
- Craig Minogue, 'Welcome Home Dad', Crossfire (Deakin University Student Association Magazine), No. 15, 7 October 2002, Deakin University Geelong, Victoria, p. 8.
- Craig Minogue, 'Post-Apocalyptic Landscaping and Keeping Your Head Down: Tertiary Study Behind Bars', Crossfire (Deakin University Student Association Magazine) Issue 4, August 2004, Deakin University Geelong, Victoria p. 14.
- Craig Minogue, 'The Use of a Military Level of Force on Civilian Prisoners: Strip Searching, Urine Testing, Cell Extractions and DNA Sampling in Victoria', Alternative Law Journal, Vol 30, No.4. August 2005, pp. 170–173.
- Craig Minogue, 'Dealing with the Criminal Justice System: A Practical "How To" Handbook, Darebin Community Legal Center Inc., October 2006.
- Craig Minogue, 'Then and Now, Us and Them: A Historical Reflection on deaths in and out of Custody', Social Justice: A Journal of Crime, Conflict & World Order, Vol 33, No.4, 2006, 107-117.
Human Rights Test Cases
- Minogue v Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (1998) Vol. 54 Administrative Law Decisions, p. 389, and at (1998) Vol. 84 Federal Court Reports, p. 438
- Minogue v Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (1998) Vol. 166 Australian Law Reports, p. 29; and at (1999) Vol. 57 Administrative Law Decisions, p. 23.
- Minogue v Williams (2000) Vol.60 Administrative Law Decisions, p. 366
- Minogue v Australia 2004 UNHRCR 52 (11 November 2004)
See also
- Stan Taylor, a former actor, was also convicted over the Russell Street BombingRussell Street BombingThe Russell Street Bombing refers to the 27 March 1986 bombing of the Russell Street Police Headquarters complex in Russell Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
and is serving life imprisonment without parole.
External links
- Craig Minogue's website
- United Nations Human Rights Committee, (CCPR/C/82/D/954/2000) 2004 UNHRC 52 (11 November 2004)
- Jika-Jika Prisoner Rebellion Memorial
- 'Prisoners As Citizens' review by Craig Minogue
- Craig Minogue v Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission, Human Rights Library, University of Minnesota
- Prisoners as Citizens: Human Rights in Australian Prisons, Brown and Wilke (eds), Federation Press.
- Craig Minogue, Justice Action Article Listings
- 'When Class is A Prison: Education Behind Bars' Sharon Mascall, The Age 2005
- Prisoners, Privatisation & Human Rights, Brownwyn Naylor, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash University
- Civil Liberty Journal, review of 'Prisoners as Citizens'
- 'Prisoners As Citizens', Brown and Wilke (eds), Index, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
- Imprisoning Resistance: Life and Death in an Australian Supermax, Bree Carlton, Federation Press, 2007
- Richard Edney- Senior Law Lecturer, Deakin University
- Bree Carlton- Criminology Academic and Historian, Monash University
- Jude McCulloch - Criminology Professor, Monash University