FROM THE DESK OF Roland Rocchiccioli – January 3, 2019

“If it’s gossip, I’m not interested,” my late mother, Beria, would say, her cornflower blue eyes flashing, intimidatingly.

IN all the years I’ve worked in radio and television I have never gossiped about those with whom I have worked. I’ve told countless funny anecdotes; I’ve even been honest in my estimation of other people’s behaviour – not all the stars I’ve encountered were sweetness and light; in truth some of them were horrid, and ill-bred; however, the more personal antics, which are known only as a consequence of the job, remain a secret. I have been asked on several occasions to write a ‘tell-all’ book. As if one would be interested! As Sir Robert Helpmann said to me: “Roland, I’ve never told the truth about myself, so why would I tell it about other people?”

I recall on one occasion, when I was working on a daily television show, the host repeated a confidential story. As it happened, the international star, whom he named, had close friends living in Melbourne. Unfortunately for me, they happened to be watching and were livid. They sent me a terse letter. While the story was accurate it created an unfortunate situation and taught me a lesson.

Now, more than ever, we live in a prurient world of celebrity. Every man and his dog is desperate, and determined, to seize their fifteen minutes of fame – even if it’s only for having an oversized derrière. Social media gives everyone a voice – a megaphone to espouse their misinformation, and disinformation, along with all the other ugly attitudes which envelope our lives. There is an odious and determined seeking of salacious yarns; an implacability to destroy other people’s lives.

While I have never witnessed, or experienced, any of the claims currently swirling around the entertainment business, I do understand the vexation of those who have been on the receiving-end of sexual abuse – in whatever form; however, barring the identification of criminal behaviour, I do think we need to be careful not to crush, or destroy, the accused; and we should not forget that while unwanted sexual harassment/banter is inappropriate, it is not a crime. It may prove disagreeable; an impediment to the work; a deep source of irritation; the cause of distress; and a bloody nuisance; but it is not against the law.

Also, we need to remember that some women are equally guilty. I know, for a fact, that one of the loudest voices in the #MeToo movement has behaved inappropriately, as it would now be deemed. After a dinner date with an especially good-looking, well-built associate of mine, she articulated her intentions in the bluntest of terms. She didn’t want to go home: ‘they were going back to his flat, and they were going to have sex’. He offered no resistance. The sexual encounter was of her making, unequivocally; furthermore, she was highly irritated when, several days later, banging on his door in the middle of the night seeking a repeat performance, she caught him in flagrante. Reverse the situation, then ponder for a moment.

One of Australia’s best-known actresses told me how, after the evening performance, she sometimes picked-up men on the bus stop. A male behaving in the same manner could be accused and charged.

It is outrageous that Andrew Broad, the federal member for Mallee, has been hounded out of parliament as a direct consequence of what the press has now cleverly labelled a ‘sex scandal’ – an exemplar of over-egging the pudding, if ever there were one. Setting aside the moral turpitude, the public outrage, and the vicious middleclass morality, Mr. Broad has not broken the law. Justifiably, one could accuse him of hypocrisy, duplicity, and even stupidity, but I reiterate: he has not broken the law. What consenting adults choose to do in their own time, and in private, is their own business. Providing they don’t do it in the street and frighten the horses, we should mind our own business.

We have become a judgemental, mealy-mouthed, self-righteous society, and in the case of some magazines, hell bent on destroying other’s lives, regardless. In the case of Mr. Broad there is no public benefit. He betrayed his wife and children.

His lack of personal judgement may be of scandalous public interest but it is not in the public interest. He did not disclose state secrets, nor did it impair his capacity to perform his public duty. Quite simply, it was a destructive story which was too good to miss; an opportunity to destroy, reminiscent of the insatiable, flesh-eating monsters drawn from the pages of Greek mythology. Let us not pretend that ‘New Idea’ is our last bastion fighting to defend a fragile democracy. It is a shilling shocker, in constant pursuit of a salacious story to boost their sales. No more, nor less. This is the same magazine which flagrantly breached an international embargo, causing the British Government to bring Prince Harry, a fighting soldier, home from Afghanistan.

There is no joy in the unravelling of other people’s lives. That we have arrived at such a pass in society is a sorry state of affairs which behoves us all to contemplate.

Contact Roland via [email protected] and hear him every Monday morning at 10.30 on radio 3BA.