Hoddle Street killer Julian Knight fronts the Federal Court in squabble over government cash
Mass murderer Julian Knight has fronted court after being denied reparation payments in a case he says has “gone for far too long”.
Police & Courts
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Hoddle Street mass murderer Julian Knight spent his birthday squabbling over government cash amid claims he suffered abuse in the defence force before committing one of Australia’s worst ever massacres.
The killer swapped his prison greens for a black suit and red tie to front the Federal Court on Monday, where he represented himself against the Defence Force Ombudsman after his claim for reparations was rejected almost a decade ago.
Knight, who turned 56 on Monday, murdered seven people and injured a further 19 in August 1987 – just 16 days after the junior cadet was discharged from the Royal Military College Duntroon for stabbing a company sergeant major.
He claimed he suffered bastardisation at the hands of other defence officers during his seven-months at Duntroon, later pointing to a smiling photograph of himself in March 1987, then aged 18, and asking “What the hell happened?”
“As a number of people have said … they either accepted a psychopath into Duntroon or Duntroon turned me into one. Which is it?” he told News Corp last year.
On Monday, Knight told the court his application for government reparation payments had been considered “plausible and in scope” in 2015, meaning he could have been paid up to $50k.
He’d lodged a 94-page statement to the scheme, identifying seven alleged abusers he said bullied him at Duntroon.
But in 2016, a ministerial decision ruled him out, directing that people charged with serious crimes couldn’t receive payments from the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce (DART).
Justice Catherine Button heard that Knight made a complaint to DART after he was informed by letter that he was “not eligible to receive reparations”.
“Am I also precluded from receiving other outcomes?” Knight replied to the rejection.
Her Honour said, “As I understand no-one ever really replied to that question.”
Knight, who carried his folders of documents in a plastic bag, sat at the bar table beside the Australian Government Solicitor’s chief counsel Tim Begbie KC.
Flipping through his papers with unshackled hands, two prison guards sat immediately behind him, watching closely.
Knight was ordered to put further written material to the court specifying what he’s seeking from his action.
The mass murderer – who has previously been declared a vexatious litigant by a Supreme Court judge – told Justice Button he doesn’t want the dispute to drag on any longer.
“My intention is to resolve this matter, put a line under it … it’s gone for far too long,” the killer said while standing at the bar table.
Justice Button will determine the case at a later date.
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