Stuart Roberts, now w/ twice the neuro-divergence

🚨 AFP wants MORE powers & budget? Not until they clean house on their 20+ year racism scandal. No more authority over Indigenous lives while commanders like Rowena Penfold skate on unaddressed allegations of evidence planting, theft, and racist abuse. Full stop. 🛑 For two decades @AusFedPolice has failed to confront deep internal racism — and the case of AFP Commander Rowena Penfold is Exhibit A. Back in the early 2000s, Penfold (then a Constable) was involved in the investigation following Angel Marina’s infamous 9 May 2002 racist letter. That letter — written by a mid-level ACT public servant — viciously targeted his Indigenous boss, the Commissioner for ACT Revenue, a Stolen Generations survivor. It branded Indigenous people “compulsive liars and criminals” and demanded his removal purely on racial grounds. Instead of impartial policing, Penfold allegedly crossed every ethical line: •While executing search warrants at the Commissioner’s ACT property, she allegedly made serious racist comments. •She allegedly stole the one and only photo this Stolen Generations man had with his father — a priceless, irreplaceable piece of family history. •She allegedly planted evidence on two hard drives seized from the property. •When challenged, Penfold and the AFP could not produce an unbroken chain of custody for those drives. •When the defence insisted the drives be independently examined by an IT forensic expert at the University of NSW, the AFP immediately dropped all charges relating to the hard drives. Case closed. No accountability. Worse still? Penfold allegedly socialised with Angel Marina — the very author of that vile racist letter — during her “investigation.” Conflict of interest? More like a revolving door of cronyism and bias. Despite formal complaints, audio evidence of the racist remarks, and a Supreme Court acquittal (16-0) that exposed the shoddy “case,” Penfold faced zero consequences. She has since been promoted all the way to Acting Commander. This isn’t ancient history. These allegations remain unaddressed in 2026. The AFP is now pushing for expanded national security powers and fresh funding — including that $74 million Counter Terrorism Online Centre announced days ago. But when the force can’t even police its own racists, when commanders who allegedly steal family heirlooms and plant evidence get rewarded instead of sacked … they forfeit the right to demand more power over anyone, especially First Nations communities. Indigenous Australians have endured enough “just us” from policing. Real justice starts with the AFP admitting the Penfold scandal, investigating it transparently, and holding senior officers accountable — before a single extra dollar or power is handed over. No more powers. No more blank cheques. 
Fix the racism first.