Men of letters

Gerard Henderson writes: Re. “The Australian protects its own” (yesterday). What fun that David Salter wrote to Crikey yesterday (“The Oz protects its own”) alleging that The Australian declined to publish a letter from him in response to my column on Saturday. Mr Salter’s letter was published today.

The lesson is that when I criticise David Salter in The Australian, The Australian is willing to publish a letter from Mr Salter.  Yet, when David Salter criticised me in Crikey on 21 June, Crikey refused to publish my response — so intent was it to protect Mr Salter. I note that David Salter is still throwing the switch to abuse. In Crikey yesterday he compared me to “a witness dog still gnawing a bone”. Pretty clever, eh?

For the record, I stand by what I wrote about David Salter in The Weekend Australian on Saturday.  My point was that pedophiles and those who protect them attempt to hide their crimes — whereas members of the so-called Islamic State boast of their murderous crimes against homosexuals. Also, contrary to Mr Salter’s comment in Crikey yesterday, I have never argued that “attempting to hide a crime such as paedophilia somehow renders the act itself less morally repugnant”.  Mr Salter just made this up.