Christie keeps up cult battle

Mercury/November 4, 2000
By Hariet Binet

Former Hobart City Council alderman Ron Christie has vowed to continue his campaign to expose the Infinity health cult and will press for a counselling service to be set up in Tasmania.

Mr Christie, who lost his council seat in this week's local government elections, said he had received another three calls from people who had been approached by cult members and offered miracle cures.

The Mercury revealed yesterday a registered nurse in the psychiatric ward of the St Helens Private Hospital, in Hobart, carried Infinity magical wands and pendants during her rounds.

Salsa Headrock Junior - who changed her name by deed pole - said she would only supply information and products from Infinity Forms of Yellow Remembrance outside the hospital.

However, she said many patients would ask her questions about items she carried and she would tell them they could contact her outside of work.

Mr Christie had written to the State Government with his concerns patients were being enticed into the cult, by first being offered miracle cures during hospital stays. A State Government spokesman said there was no evidence of the group's activities in the public hospital system.

"We are confident there is no activity by this group being undertaken in the Royal Hobart Hospital," he said.

Executive director of the Hobart Private and spokesman for St Helens Hospital Neil Beers said nurse Junior did not bring cult items into the hospital and had no case to answer.

Mr Christie and Hobart man Bill Rollinson said they had been introduced to Infinity by Ms Junior when they were psychiatric patients at the hospital.

Ms Junior admitted she supplied items to Mr Christie outside the hospital, but not to Mr Rollinson. Mr Christie said once sucked into the cult, victims needed the support of family and professionals to escape.