Bob Collins: the ugly truth
‘The man is dead. He can’t fight back. Nor could the children he pinned down and molested. Bob Collins was not killed by bowel cancer, as has been widely reported. He had beaten it – though there were complications after he had surgery in Adelaide. Collins is being eulogised as a great fighter for the north. But he did untold damage along the way.
When he had his way with boys, he was consumed by a sickness. But there can be no excuses for Collins. On the times he spoke up for the rights of children, he was the worst kind of hypocrite. And it must be remembered he was smart as a whip, being a minister in both the Bob Hawke and Paul Keating federal cabinets.
Collins was the first former or serving federal minister to be charged with child-sex offences. Police believe his preferred prey was Aboriginal boys, although white boys were not excluded.’