Survivor of 'elite paedophile ring' speaks
A survivor from an alleged elite pedophile ring has spoken to media following Liberal senator Bill Heffernan's claim he has a police list of 28 people.
Fiona Barnett has alleged she was prostituted at dozens of paedophile parties, which were attended by at least three former Prime Ministers at Parliament House Canberra.
Ms Barnett also claims she witnessed "hundreds of crimes" - including murder, rape, abduction and torture - at the hands of the so-called elite pedophile ring 40 years ago.
Senator Heffernan didn't share any names on Tuesday but called on Attorney-General George Brandis to expand the child abuse royal commission so that it includes the legal fraternity, including a former Prime Minister.
Mr Heffernan told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra he had provided the commission with documents, one naming the alleged pedophiles including "a whole lot of prominent people".
He is a vociferous campaigner against paedophiles, but in 2002 he used parliamentary privilege to falsely accuse a judge of using Commonwealth cars to procure young men for sex.
The network, which Ms Barnett maintains still operates today, included high-ranking politicians, and police and judiciary members.
The 45-year-old said she had reported the allegations to multiple health professionals, NSW Police in 2008 and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2013.
"My experiences were horrific beyond words... but the way I've been treated for reporting the crimes I witnessed and experienced has been far worse than my original abuse experiences," she said.
Child sex abuse advocacy group, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests Australia (SNAP), said it has heard from several other alleged victims who say they have witnessed similar offences of rape, torture and murder perpetrated by the most senior people in Australia.
"We're not talking about an isolated incident and an isolated survivor. It's a pattern, it's widespread and it's continuing today," SNAP leader Nicky Davis said.
She claimed many survivors had spoken and given evidence to police and the abuse royal commission but were mostly ignored.
The group has urged the federal government to launch an investigation into the elite pedophile network.
Morning news break – October 22
