Narelle Fraser Interviews

In 1998 Bags (Bagally) woke up and felt like painting – nothing in particular, just buying a brush and painting. And something clicked.Painting became his passion and Policing began to take a back seat. Bags loved being totally absorbed in what he was painting where he thought of nothing else. Knowing very little about art & its history, Bags educated himself through reading books, listening to arty CD’s and when he eventually retired from Policing, the transition to Painter was smooth sailing.Bags is now a renowned landscape and seascape painter, is an exhibiting member on the Council of the Victorian Artists Society, the Watercolor Society of Victorian, the Australian Guild of Realist Artists and the Contemporary Art Society & National Vice President and Treasurer of the Australian Society of Marine Artists to name a few.

In this episode we are discussing, in detail, the reasonably new offence (In Victoria) of Non fatal strangulation moreso in a DV situation – its pretty confronting, so just consider if today’s subject matter is right for you.TODAY I WANTED TO TALK MORE ABOUT STRANGULATION IN A DV SENSE, NOT WHAT SOME MAY DEEM PLEASURABLE. TODAY IS ABOUT THOSE WHO STRANGLE AS A FORM OF CONTROL, AS A FORM OF FEAR, USED AS A THREAT WHICH WE CALL NON FATAL STRANGULATION

Esther McKay served 17 years with the NSW Police where the majority of her career was spent in Forensic Services, where her expertise in crime scene, vehicle and document examination was often called upon from colleagues and the courts. What Esther was confronted with is often difficult listening, but they are stories which need to be told, to help in understanding the situations Police are so often confronted with in their quest to keep us all safe and assist in convicting those who have no concept or care of that safety we seek. Esther shares an amazing insight into some of the more memorable crime scenes she attended and the toll those crimes scenes eventually took upon her, particularly when a contract was put on her life, such was her level of knowledge and expertise.

Parole was a much talked about subject back in 2023 when there was a possibility Paul Charles Denyer could be released from prison after 30yrs behind bars for the brutal, sadistic murders of 3 young innocent women.This was a patreon episode where I explain a little about the parole system, the role of The Parole Board and Community Corrections Victoria in assessing whether someone is suitable for release into the community or too high a risk to community safety.I then share some of my thoughts on Paul Denyer and his obsession with vulnerable women and my hope he is NEVER released.

Rosemary Harwood, is as genuine, honest and raw as you can get. Rosie doesn’t own a computer, so we had to settle for a phone interview. The sound isn’t great, but if you can persevere, it’s well worth a listen. I’d rather you hear our interview than not. Rosie’s trans daughter Marjorie (who has since passed away due to kidney disease) alleged horrific sexual abuse during custodial sentences she served in a Tasmanian prison for shoplifting, bail breaches and other relatively minor offences. Rosie states the prison ignored protocols and procedures regarding transgender, transexual and Intersex prisoners, in placing Marjorie in a male prison. ‘Marjorie’s Law’ is Rosie’s campaign to highlight the inadequacies of prison systems which ignore basic human rights such as dignity and respect and her wish for better recognition and protection of transgender people in Australia’s prison services

Dr. Leith Middleton’s expertise is primarily in psychology, psychological health and safety safety organizational development where she supports workplaces to build mentally healthy workplaces. Part of this is about identifying safety managing psychological hazards in the workplace. That whole term (psychological hazards in the workplace) brings a smile to my face because it was an unknown term for so many of us who began work in the 70’s safety 80’s. It’s a term which wasn’t in our vocabulary back then……We’ve come a long way. A bit like the term ‘coercive control’ or gaslighting – they are terms many of us had never heard. The majority of Leith’s work is advising workplaces leaders on psychosocial risk mitigation. This includes industries with workers routinely exposed to potentially traumatic material or events safety finding more rigorous ways to mitigate risks to their workers. There is increasing expectations under elevated WH&S legislation to respond to risks in a more systemic way. In saying that, I feel we may have gone to the other extreme as managers often feel unsure or hesitate in acknowledging someone may not be coping, for fear of being accused of delving into someone’s personal life safety overstepping their responsibilities. I’m looking forward to drilling down with Leith in relation to the tendency of many to blame violent or aggressive actions on ‘mental health’, helping people to understand the difference between mental illness and mental health safety how the term “mental health issues” is becoming over-used safety often misunderstood.