The Anderson Report is the colloquial name of the report of the Board of Inquiry into Scientology, an official inquiry into the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religiou ...

conducted for the State of

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. It was written by Kevin Victor Anderson QC and published in 1965. The report led to legislation attempting to ban Scientology in Victoria and similar legislation in several other States of Australia. No convictions were made under the legislation and Scientologists continued to practice their beliefs, although the headquarters was moved to South Australia. The legislation has been repealed in all States and subsequently Scientology was found to be a religion by the High Court of Australia..

Background

In 1959, L. Ron Hubbard had set up the Church's headquarters at Saint Hill a few miles from

East Grinstead East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, England. The Church of Scientology had spread from its origin in USA to a number of other English-speaking countries and soon attracted attention. Several official inquiries were made into

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a scam, a Scientology as a business, business, a cult, or a religion. Hubbard initially develo ...

in England, Australia, and elsewhere and a number of reports published by respective governments in the late sixties and early seventies. The Anderson Report was the first of these. The

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

appointed a Board of Inquiry on 27 November 1963 in response to a

Private Member's Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

proposed by John Galbally to prohibit Scientology in the State. At this time the Church was represented in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

by the

Hubbard Association of Scientologists International In the 1950s and 1960s, a HASI (short for Hubbard Association of Scientologists International) was an organization where people would go for Scientology training, auditing, books, tapes, and e-meters. There were HASI organizations across the we ...

(HASI), which had premises at 157-159 Spring Street.

The Board of Inquiry

A Board of Inquiry does not have the same legal status as a

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

. It is not necessarily presided over by a

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

or a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

and does not sit in a

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

; witnesses are not

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

ed but appear by invitation. It is not bound by the

rules of evidence The law of evidence, also known as the rules of evidence, encompasses the rules and legal principles that govern the proof of facts in a legal proceeding. These rules determine what evidence must or must not be considered by the trier of fa ...

. The Board of Inquiry into Scientology consisted of Mr Anderson sitting alone, assisted by Mr. Gordon Just who was instructed by the Victorian Crown Solicitor. After an initial sitting on 6 December 1963, the Board sat in the theatrette of the

National Herbarium of Victoria The National Herbarium of Victoria (Index Herbariorum code: MEL) is one of Australia's earliest herbaria and the oldest scientific institution in Victoria. Its 1.56 million specimens of preserved plants, fungi and algae—collectively known ...

from 17 February 1964 to 21 April 1965. The HASI was represented by counsel J.R. O'Shea and I.G. Abraham, who called as witnesses HASI staff members and many individuals who had received Scientology training and counselling. HASI files and publications were also tendered in evidence. Counsel withdrew from the hearings on 12 November 1964 on their clients' instructions. Two former Scientologists, Phillip Wearne and Douglas Moon, appeared as the main witnesses for the Committee for Mental Health and National Security (an ''ad hoc'' unincorporated organisation opposed to Scientology). They were represented by counsel Warren Fagan. Wearne, a publisher from

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populati ...

, told the inquiry that 'Scientologists planned to take over Australia, after establishing a "Scientology Government"' and that 'he first heard of the plan to take over Australia in 1960'. The method to be used 'was to infiltrate Government departments, political parties and other institutions, with scientologists getting jobs in these organisations', then 'after the move to "clear Australia" was completed, the aim was to take over the world'. Wearne said 'he was in a key position to carry out the scientology organisation's work as he had extensive connections in the Labour Party and Trade Union movements'. He also recalled 'a hallucination' that had 'developed after a "scientology processing"' in which he was eaten by a giant spider. Psychiatrist Dr. Ian Holland Martin, honorary federal secretary of the Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, gave evidence that the

E-Meter The E-Meter (also electropsychometer and Hubbard Electrometer) is an electronic device used in Scientology that allegedly "registers emotional reactions". After claims by L. Ron Hubbard that the procedures of Auditing (Scientology), auditing, w ...

'used for Scientology' was a 'psycho-galvano-meter' and was 'dangerous in unqualified hands'. He said that if the E-meter 'was suggested to possess mysterious powers' to someone who did not understand that it had 'been thoroughly discredited as a lie detector' then 'that person would be suggestible to ideas foisted on him by the operator'. As a result, 'This kind of influence would heighten latent paranoic trends in persons who showed no significant emotional disturbance'. He also testified that the then 'world director' of Scientology

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author and the founder of Scientology. A prolific writer of pulp science fiction and fantasy novels in his early career, in 1950 he authored the pseudoscie ...

'showed paranoid delusions in his claim to have visited Venus and been in the Van Allen radiation belt around the earth'. Dr Eric Cunningham Dax, Chairman of the Mental Health Authority of Victoria, and one of his staff, Dr. M.B. Macmillan, coordinated the evidence given by expert witnesses in medicine and psychiatry. Dax also conferred with Wearne before the latter gave evidence at the Inquiry. In his own evidence to the inquiry Dax stated 'The Mental Health Authority did not wish to attack people for their belief...whatever they were, so long as they did not try to influence other people for purposes injurious to mental health'. '"Scientology adherents' were 'sincere believers who were uncritical of the scheme's principles' and '"Scientology subjected them to a form of blackmail' and 'brain-washing methods'. Dax described Scientology as 'a calculated money-raising scheme by false propaganda' and that 'Since 1961 he had been increasingly concerned by information reaching the Mental Health Authority about people paying large sums of money for "Scientology" courses'.

The Report

The Anderson Report concluded that "Scientology is a delusional belief system, based on fiction and fallacies and propagated by falsehood and deception" and that it "is not, and does not claim to be, a religion".He continues: Anderson acknowledged the emotional tone of his report, justifying it as follows: Responses from government representatives across Australia to both to the findings of the report, and on the subject of scientology in general, were reported the following day. The

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Vic ...

Henry Bolte Sir Henry Edward Bolte ( ; 20 May 1908 – 4 January 1990) was an Australian politician who served as the 38th premier of Victoria from 1955 to 1972. He held office as the leader of the Victorian division of the Liberal Party of Australia ...

, who had set up the inquiry, described it as 'conclusive enough for action to be taken'. In

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, the Minister for Health said that scientology 'had no proper background or scientific basis' and he would 'take such steps as are necessary to stop this organisation from taking root and gaining influence in the community'. In

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, Dr. A. S. Ellis, Director of Mental Health Services, described scientology as 'a dangerous pseudo-science which catered for emotional cripples'. He added that scientologists were 'credulous, insecure and neurotic people who were looking for a prop' and scientology gave this to them 'at a price' but raised 'false hopes' and delayed 'proper psychiatric treatment'.

Scientology response

In October 1965, Scientology founder

was quoted as saying that the Board of Inquiry into Scientology was a 'kangaroo court' because 'They had their conclusions drawn long before they held the first hearing'. He suggested that the inquiry was 'illegal in its conduct under common law' and that anything similar in England would be 'laughed out of existence'. He put this down to Australia being 'young'. He added: The 'Hubbard Communications Office' at Saint Hill Manor in England also issued a statement criticizing the inquiry process and threatening legal action. They claimed Hubbard 'was forbidden to appear at the hearing' and that testimony from him and 'our witnesses' were not heard. They argued 'The people investigating it are religiously biased' and that 'witnesses of the opposition' had been allowed to collude 'before the hearing'. They also stated 'We intend to sue any paper publishing the findings as an accessory to libel and slander'. In 1967 the Church of Scientology published ''Kangaroo Court'', a critique of the conduct of the Board of Inquiry, alleging collusion between witnesses and alleging bias by Anderson and Dax. A suit was brought against Anderson and his assistant Gordon Just who produced the report, in 1971. The citations in the Victorian Reports are: Hubbard Association of Scientologists v Anderson

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) attacks the Bulgarian frontier, perso ...

VR 788; Hubbard Association of Scientologists v Anderson

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recently held by the Kievan Rus', into six ...

VR 340 (appeal from

VR 740); Hubbard Association of Scientologists International v Anderson and Just (No 2)

VR 577. The Victorian Parliament passed special legislation to give the two immunity from these writs. Jane Kember, a senior Scientologist who was later convicted on several criminal charges in relation to Scientology's '

Operation Snow White Operation Snow White was a criminal conspiracy by the Church of Scientology during the 1970s to purge unfavorable records about Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. This project included a series of infiltrations into and thefts from ...

' tried to get the report removed from a library. She wrote a memo about 'handling' Paulette Cooper (and her critical book about Scientology) in 1972. Part 12 of the memo asks:

Controversy

The Anderson Report is regarded by some as controversial, as evidenced in the Australian Government's

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of the Commonwealth of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body ...

report regarding freedom of religion and belief.Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (1998) ''Article 18 Freedom of Religion and Belief''. Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra. p.85 The Anderson Report was the basis of the '' Psychological Practices Act, 1965''. However, this Act was amended in 1982 to remove all references to Scientology and was repealed in 1987.

References

* State of Victoria (1965
Report of the Board of Inquiry into Scientology.
173 pp., plus 19 appendices. Government Printer: Melbourne. * State of Victoria (1965) Transcript, Board of Inquiry into Scientology. 8920 pp. Government Printer: Melbourne. * Church of Scientology of California (1967) Kangaroo Court: An investigation into the conduct of the Board of Inquiry into Scientology. 48 pp. Hubbard College of Scientology: East Grinstead, England.

Notes

External links

Anderson Report
scanned image on Archive.org

HTML version on David S. Touretzky website
mirror

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission "Article 18 Freedom of Religion and Belief"
{{Scientology Scientology-related controversies Works critical of Scientology Government reports