“We’re just dealing with a system that continues to fail us.”

Shooters, Fishermen and Farmers Party upper house MP Mark Banasiak said Folbigg’s release from prison “is only partial justice”.

“For her to get full justice in all of this, she needs to be compensated for this traumatic experience. Prolonging it, for any reason, is cruel and unusual.

“My message to the government is: stick your finger out and do it. “This woman has been through enough.”

Upper House National MP Wes Fang said “there is no doubt that the state government should provide him with compensation.”

Charging

“That it took so long only exacerbates the trauma he has suffered.

“If it were my decision, I would seek to correct this mistake the day she was released. “It is extraordinary that (Attorney General) Michael Daley and (Prime Minister) Chris Minns have been sitting around doing nothing, apparently waiting for the problem to go away.”

A spokesman for Daley said Folbigg’s request for an ex-gratia payment, submitted in July, was being “carefully considered” and that “after everything that has happened over the last 20 years, it is impossible not to feel great sympathy for everyone.” those involved”.

“Each ex gratia request is considered on its own facts and context and evaluated on its merits.

“The Attorney General recognizes concerns about timeliness and this matter is receiving the attention it deserves, balanced with the need to carefully consider the important material submitted in support of the application.”

The amount of any payment to Folbigg, who now lives near Newcastle, is likely to make history, but how it will be calculated is opaque.

Lindy and Michael Chamberlain received a combined ex-gratia payment of $1.3 million in 1992 from the Northern Territory government after their convictions for the death of their daughter Azaria were quashed in 1988. Lindy had spent three years in prison.

Former student at New South Wales school to receive more than $1.2 million in damages over violent bullying attack in 2017 after a Supreme Court ruling this year.

Folbigg said it’s not about “wanting money for money,” and she was interested in donating some of the money to genetic research, funding additional halfway houses for women leaving prison and animal welfare.

He considered it a “travesty” that the process to receive an ex-gratia payment had been so complex.

While defending the payment, Folbigg and his lawyer Rhanee Rego were hosted at lunch at Strangers’ restaurant overlooking the Domain at the New South Wales Parliament House on August 27.

In attendance were Shooters and Fishers’ Banasiak and Robert Borsak, Higginson, Fang and upper house Labor MP Stephen Lawrence. Cameron Murphy of the Labor Party also participated.

If Folbigg ever has the money to buy a house, he would like to get a “playmate” for Snowie, who is now about 20 months old. The whip cross was rescued from an RSPCA shelter in Hunter.

“I liked the idea of ​​being able to go to a rescue because to me it’s like a dog jail,” Folbigg said.

“They spend too much time there and sometimes some of them don’t even make it back out. “It is a sad ending for some.”

When asked about his relationship with grief, Folbigg said, “Grief, as far as I’m concerned, is an eternal thing.” But he is aware that “anger is worthless.”

She said she had met women in prison who had not had the opportunity to attend their children’s funerals, something she was able to do.

“I’ve had to let go and let go of the whole issue of where my children’s ashes are,” she said.

She believed they had been “scattered somewhere,” but hoped that one day in her own home “I would create my own space that celebrated them and I could go to them.”

Folbigg’s ex-husband Craig, who remarried and did not support the investigation process, died of a heart attack in March this year.

Former New South Wales Chief Justice Tom Bathurst KC, who chaired the inquiry into Folbigg’s convictions, concluded last year that his diaries, a key element of the prosecution’s case at his 2003 trial, were not They contained reliable admissions of guilt for the couple’s deaths. children, Caleb, Patrick, Sarah and Laura, between 1989 and 1999. They were between 19 days and 18 months old.

“The evidence presented to the inquest, at most, demonstrates that Ms Folbigg was a loving and caring mother who occasionally became angry and frustrated with her children. That does not support the claim that she killed her four children,” Bathurst said.

The inquest heard evidence from experts that a genetic variant Folbigg shared with her daughters could cause cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heart rhythms) and sudden, unexpected death. It was also heard that Patrick may have died as a result of an underlying neurogenetic disorder, such as epilepsy. The genetic variant was discovered after the Folbigg trial.

Rego said the case for an ex-gratia payment “falls into three broad categories, the first being payment for the economic loss Kathleen suffered as a result of her conviction.”

“She lost the opportunity to have a career and will not be able to have one in the future.”

The second category was for loss of freedom for 20 years.

Charging

Rego said this “is not just about her being imprisoned for 20 years, but about how bad those 20 years were for her: the isolation, the torment, the assaults and the psychological trauma, most of which she never saw.” will abandon.” The third category was “exemplary or punitive damages.”

Rego said Folbigg “was convicted based on speculation rather than evidence, then the appeal courts failed to realize that the system made a mistake.”

“A first public investigation failed him. While Kathleen was in prison, the 20-year experience was harrowing. Many people serving time can avoid attention and go unnoticed; “Kathleen couldn’t because she was ‘Australia’s worst serial killer.’”

Folbigg said his life had been full of firsts since his release, including having his first puncture repaired recently. His favorite place is his car.

He said Snowie’s paw pads were “very soft” when he first rescued her “because she had never been running anywhere.” But now they were hard.

“What makes me happy is seeing her happy when she runs, zooms, and plays with toys.”

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