Q&A’s ‘national hero’ Duncan Storrar convicted for kill threats, by Caroline Overington, in The Australian.
The man the ABC presented as a “new national hero” has a long criminal history, including making threats to kill, unlawful assault and multiple counts of breaching intervention orders taken out by his ex-partners. … His rap sheet, which runs to 20 pages, dates from 1992, when he was convicted of multiple counts of intentionally damaging property, possession of a drug of dependence and being unlawfully on premises.
Hmmm. So, as the PC might say in a different context, he partook in the war against women, and is a domestic abuser. The criminality and violence means he isn’t hero material. How come the ABC didn’t notice?
Duncan Storrar … prompted Australians to open their hearts and wallets when he appeared on the ABC’s Q&A program on Monday, pleading for a tax break so he could take his two young daughters to the movies…
Samuel Fawcett, a Community and Public Sector Union member who works with CSL in Victoria, set up the GoFundMe page after seeing Mr Storrar on Q&A and initially asked the public to donate $6000. He is now in the awkward position of figuring out how to get the $60,000 in small donations to the man with a past drug problem and a significant criminal history.
Mr Storrar rocked the public’s conscience when he asked the Q&A panel: “If you lift my tax-free threshold, that changes my life. That means that I get to say to my little girls, ‘Daddy’s not broke this weekend. We can go to the pictures.’ Rich people don’t even notice their tax-free threshold lift. Why don’t I get it? Why do they get it?” He received a thunderous round of applause.
Mr Storrar’s stepdaughter, Tamika Drew, came in for harsh criticism online when she warned people against giving Mr Storrar money on the GoFundMe page. She told The Australian yesterday: “The online abuse doesn’t worry me because I’ve been through a lot worse. I just want people to know. He has a long criminal history. Kids shouldn’t have to go through that.’’
UPDATE: Q&A ‘battler’ Duncan Storrar undeserving of cash, says son.
Geelong truckie Duncan Storrar has been hailed Australia’s “new national hero” for his appearance on Q&A, but to his son he is a deadbeat fraudster undeserving of sympathy. …
Mr Storrar later admitted he never pays tax, as he earns below the threshold and collects Austudy payments.
hat-tip Matthew