MANY A COMMON INTEREST IS FOUND in the narrow confines of an aircraft cabin carrying its crammed constituents from somewhere to elsewhere. Often experienced travellers opt for a good book and vodka to while away the tedium. Others of a more gregarious nature talk to whomever chance and the airline computer places next to them. Politicians and Private Eyes always talk. Good for business. Amazing how many people randomly open up to a stranger, but with my sleuthing stories, many a fellow passenger suddenly realizes the solution to their particular problem is seated right next to them. But what a twist of fate when two politicians of opposing philosophies are joined at the hip on the Sydney flight to Perth. One of them was the distinguished Western Australian Senator Andrew Murray, a key member of the Democrats. Next to him was fellow Western Australian Senator David Johnston, a Liberal Party member of the coalition Government holding the esteemed position of Minister for Justice.
As a genetically endowed optimist I had posted copies of The Fifth Estate to all Senators and members of the House of Representatives, seeking to find a chord of co-operation in the fight against the injustices of the secretive cabals of power about whom I had written. At last, I thought, the moral and legal dilemmas addressed in my book would go straight to the very top of the power pyramid, the Government of Australia. Indignation would arise and heads would afall. Optimists tend to project like that. However, something of a stunned silence ensued until, to my surprise and joy, I received an email from Senator Murray which began a series of exchanges which to this day still astonishes me and taxes my burgeoning optimism. For convenience I have laid them out in date form, much like a diary.