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Bob Hawke's widow responds to Rosslyn Dillon's rape claims

<p>Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke’s widow Blanche d’Alpuget says that she “didn’t know anything” about shocking claims that Hawke told his daughter not to report an alleged rape as it would negatively impact his career.</p> <p>Rosslyn Dillon alleged in an affidavit that she was raped by Labor MP Bill Landeryou in the 1980s and Hawke covered it up to protect his career.</p> <p>As neither man can defend the allegations due to their passing, it is up to Hawke’s widow to defend her former husband.</p> <p>“I didn't know anything, and I can't say anything,” Ms d'Alpuge said at the launch for her revised book 'Bob Hawke: The Complete Biography' in Sydney's north shore on Sunday,<em> <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/blanche-dalpuget-says-she-knew-nothing-of-bob-hawke-daughters-rape-claims/news-story/7b6a25cc09e07735ed6a070a4c829592" target="_blank">The Australian</a></em> reported. </p> <p>“I don't know what she said.”</p> <p>The 75 year old added that she had been advised by her lawyers to not comment on the incident.</p> <p>She also referred to advice from her lawyers when she was questioned about Rosslyn Dillon’s request for claims to the Hawke estate.</p> <p>D'Alpuget said she is worried about her late husband’s daughter after the death of Hawke earlier this year.</p> <p>“I am very concerned that Rosslyn is grieving so much, I really feel for her,” she said.</p> <p>Rosslyn claims that when she told her father of the allegations in the 1980s, he said “You can’t go to the police”, according to<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/12/07/hawke-daughter-rape-legal/" target="_blank">The New Daily</a>.</em></p> <p>“You can't go to the police. You can't. I can't have any controversies right now. I am sorry but I am challenging for the leadership of the Labor Party,” Hawke is alleged to have said.</p> <p>Rosslyn said that she was “shocked and hurt that her father asked this of me” in the 25-page affidavit.</p> <p>“I thought to myself I could not make any bigger sacrifice to the (my father’s) political career if I had tried,'' the affidavit continues.</p> <p>"He asked me to let the matter go for him and I did so for him.</p> <p>"I am still haunted by the sexual assaults. I feel that I may have had a chance to get over these rapes if I was able to report the incidents to police."</p>

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Bob Hawke’s daughter alleges he told her not to report rape by former Labor MP

<p>The daughter of late former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Rosslyn Dillon, has come out with explosive allegations claiming a Labor MP from the 1980s raped her but was asked by her father not to report it to police.</p> <p>First published on<span> </span><em>The New Daily</em>, the allegations were made in a $4 million legal claim Ms Dillon has made on her father’s estate.</p> <p>In an affidavit lodged with the NSW Supreme Court, Ms Dillon alleged that she informed her dad in the ‘80s about the incident, to which he told her not to go to the police.</p> <p>“You can’t go to the police. You can’t. I can’t have any controversies right now. I am sorry but I am challenging for the leadership of the Labor Party,” he apparently told her.</p> <p>As reported by<span> </span><em>The New Daily</em>, Ms Dillon says in the affidavit that she remains “haunted” by the sexual assaults allegedly committed by late Victorian Labor MP Bill Landeryou.</p> <div> <div class="reply-list-component"> <div class="reply-component"> <div class="reply-body-component"> <div class="reply_body body linkify"> <div class="reply-body-wrapper"> <div class="reply-body-inner"> <div class="body_text "> <p>Labor MP Tanya Plibersek said she could not comment on specific allegations because of the legal action, but said “in the most general terms, anybody who has been the victim of a sexual assault should be encouraged to take the matter to police to have it dealt with properly, to be thoroughly investigated.”</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div class="new-reply-component"></div> </div>

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Meat Free Week Recipe: Braised mushrooms by Rowie Dillon

<p><strong>Serves</strong>: 4</p> <p><strong>Prep time</strong>: 5 minutes,</p> <p><strong>Cook time</strong>: 15 minutes</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These gorgeous braised mushrooms are especially delicious when served with creamy polenta. They’re an all year round winner! </span></p> <p><strong>Ingredients:</strong></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil</span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">680g mixed wild mushrooms or shittake, trimmed</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">½ tbsp marsala (optional)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">125 ml water </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sea salt</span></li> </ul> <p><strong>Method:</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a large braise pan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add ⅓ of the mushrooms, pressing down firmly to sear them. Add marsala if desired. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Transfer to a plate and repeat with the next tablespoon of oil and mushrooms and then repeat again. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Return all the mushrooms to the pan, add the water, reduce heat, over and simmer until tender. Season with salt and serve with creamy polenta.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">This recipe was supplied by Rowie Dillon for Meat Free Week 2019. The campaign runs from 23-29 September in support of Bowel Cancer Australia. See </span><a href="https://www.meatfreeweek.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">meatfreeweek.org</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to sign up. </span></em></p>

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The major brawl brewing over Bob Hawke's will

<p>Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke’s daughter and his widow are currently battling it out over his multi-million dollar will.</p> <p>His daughter, Rosslyn Dillion, is preparing to take legal action against Blanche d’Alpuget and let her stepmother know of her intentions in a tense phone call.</p> <p>The contestation of the will comes after Dillon discovered that after the payout of $750,000, which includes the proceeds of the $15 million sale of a Northbridge home, there are no further provisions for his three children in the will.</p> <p>The rest of the estate will be going to d’Alpuget, his wife and biographer, according to <a rel="noopener" href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2019/07/16/bob-hawke-will/" target="_blank"><em>The New Daily</em></a>.</p> <p>The current arrangement that was struck up separately to Mr Hawke’s will has his three children, Susan Pieters-Hawke, Stephen Hawke and Rosslyn Dillon being awarded around $750,000 immediately upon his death in a payment from d’Alpuget.</p> <p>The payment was also awarded to d’Alpuget’s son, Louis Pratt, upon the death of Mr Hawke.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 258.385px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7828669/1563191989-screen-shot-2019-07-15-at-94113-pm.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/336f1b0b04b34e2e993ba38cc103a07c" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Rosslyn Davis talking to ABC's 7:30</em></p> <p>Unless a private agreement is struck between the parties, the matter will proceed to the NSW Supreme Court. It will be on the grounds of inadequate family provision.</p> <p>Mr Hawke’s three children were estranged from their stepmother for many years after their father remarried in 1995, but had repaired the relationship in recent years.</p> <p>However, there was a hint of family issues at the memorial of Mr Hawke, as d’Alpuget mentioned his “eldest daughter Sue Pieters-Hawke” twice in her speech but did not mention her two siblings.</p> <p>d’Alpuget also hinted at family issues in her book<em> Hawke: Prime Minister</em> as she outlined that Rosslyn first ran away from home as a 15-year-old schoolgirl. She was later found by her father and his friend in a drug den in Sydney.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7828671/blanche.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/2124f4e2c2b3468989855dbba5ad7149" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Bob Hawke and Blanche d'Alpuget at the book launch of Hawke: The Prime Minister</em></p> <p>“It was obvious to everyone who knew Rosslyn and her husband, who partied with the Brett and Wendy Whiteley crowd, that they were using heroin; everyone, that is, except her parents, who clung steadfastly to the belief that their daughter did not use hard drugs,” d’Alpuget wrote.</p> <p>“The news from the hospital in the first week of August that the new mother was so wasted by heroin she could soon be dead fell on Hawke like a blow from an axe.”</p> <p>In 2011, there was also reports of an “airport brawl” between Sue Pieters-Hawke and d’Alpuget.</p> <p>“I approached her to say a friendly hello, but she slapped me hard three or four times, and yes, I was shaken,” Ms Pieters-Hawke said to ABC’s <em>7:30</em>.</p>

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