Stuart Kelly’s bullies should hang their heads in shame

Blogger Chris Sinclair, who mocked Stuart Kelly for being “a teenage private school boy from Bowral” and other anti-lockout bullies should take a long, hard look at themselves.

The Kelly Kids: Madeleine (L) with her two brothers Thomas (R) and Stuart. (Pic: Facebook)

The saddest story of the past week has to be that of Stuart Kelly.

After losing one son to the senseless, random violence of a one-punch attack in Kings Cross in 2012, the poor Kelly family lost a second in the most unimaginable way.

It’s obvious now that the devastation of losing his much-adored older brother and “best friend” Thomas was all-encompassing for Stuart, who was just 14 at the time.

But compounding that heartbreak were the bullies and it is they who must now hang their heads in shame.

The Kellys were admirable in the face of their eldest son’s death; while it would have been easier to wallow in their grief and do nothing, they managed to bring meaning to something meaningless and in the process, made our streets safer for everyone, but particularly other young people.

Their advocacy led to the creation of NSW’s lockout laws and the corresponding 45 per cent drop in assaults in the Kings Cross area and 25 per cent reduction in serious alcohol-related injuries at the nearby St Vincent’s Hospital’s emergency department.

But the Kelly family soon became victims themselves, receiving hate mail and death threats after the social media backlash to the lockout laws peaked earlier this year.

The Kellys helped shape NSW’s lockout laws and the corresponding 45 per cent drop in assaults in the Kings Cross area and 25 per cent reduction in serious alcohol-related injuries at the nearby St Vincent’s Hospital’s emergency department. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

Blogger Chris Sinclair turned his attacks personal, mocking Stuart for being “a teenage private school boy from Bowral”, as if this had any bearing on his capacity to comment on his brother’s death or society’s problem with alcohol more widely.

Nowhere in the post did Sinclair declare a self-interest, notably that he’d worked as the events manager of a Kings Cross nightclub owned by Cross kingpin John Ibrahim’s girlfriend.

Sinclair then berated the “Kelly’s” (despite fancying himself an investigative journalist, punctuation — like facts — are not Sinclair’s friend) for “revelling” in the public attention and labelled Thomas and Stuart’s father Ralph a “media whore”.

“What was once considered a loving family now more or less Australia’s very own version of the Kardashians,” Sinclair wrote.

After Stuart’s death, Daniel Christie’s brother John honoured the teen for his “strength and courage” and took on his tormentors: “For those of you who are quick to ‘spray’ vitriol about how these lockout laws are diminishing your nights out, please stop and be mindful about the effects your comment(s) can be making.”

In a blog published on July 25, the very same day Stuart’s body was found, Sinclair was still spouting his tinfoil theories about the lockout laws, along with a helpful link to a crowd-funding page to raise $20,000 to defend future defamation action.

Mercifully, only $350 had been contributed at the time of writing.

He and the other anti-lockout bullies should use it to buy a big mirror and take a long, hard look at themselves.

If you or someone you know needs help, phone Lifeline on 13 11 14.