Cult inquiry: Parliament of Victoria, last chance to have your say
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock.
12:00 Sat, 28 Feb 2026
In 2025, the Parliament of Victoria commenced an inquiry into cults and organised fringe groups. The inquiry is ongoing. The committee has had a series of public hearings where people have been invited to give evidence.
It is creepy to look over their questionaire (below) and see how many of these cult characteristics are appearing in certain free, open source software groups.
The inquiry decided to exclude major religions and subsidiaries such as monastic orders. There are some logical reasons for looking at such groups in a separate inquiry, even if they share some traits with standalone religious sects.
The definition of fringe groups is quite broad and includes yoga schools and other groups who exercise mind control practices, control over dating between participants, communal living or an appeal to philosophical pursuits.
There have been occasional news reports about the inquiry. The ABC has recently announced the inquiry will only publish the names of organisations who attract more than three submissions.
Out of all the free, open source software organisations who have exhibited cult behaviour, I feel the example of Debianism is the most compelling because it has the Debian suicide cluster, the Debian pregnancy cluster and a whole lot of other things, like publicly humiliating people, that make it much closer to other cult groups. Debian has communal living at DebConf, strict controls on what people can say and severe punishments. There is an obsession with what the "behaviour" of a good cult member should be.
This is not just about Debianists wearing tartans / kilts. The Code of Conduct gaslighting is a much more compelling proof of social engineering and a firm foundation for running a cult.
Look at the Debian family fallacy, that is, people telling us "we are a family" while spreading rumours behind our backs. Groups that are obsessed with being a "family" or a "community" and use these expressions over and over again are at least borderline cults.
One of the reasons cults are so dangerous is because people who are part of the cult don't usually realise it is a cult until it is too late.
This is why it is important for people on the periphery of Debianism to make submissions to the inquiry.
Here I provide the list of questions from the online form. People can cut and paste the questions into a document or an email and send it to the address COFG@parliament.vic.gov.au.
[Your contact details, including your address, email and phone number, will not be published. We ask these questions for verification purposes only.]
Where did you hear about this inquiry?
- Parliament of Victoria website
- Newspaper
- Email from secretariat
- A community group
- An organisation other than Parliament
- Other
My submission is on behalf of an organisation YES / NO
First name:
Last name:
Phone or mobile number
Email:
Address
Postcode
Your age group [12-17] [18-24] [25-34] ......
Are you sharing this story based on:
(Please select one)
- My own personal experience
- The experience of someone close to me (e.g., friend, family member)
- Prefer not to say
How did the group or leader first make contact with you (or the person you know)? (Select all that apply)
- Through a friend or family member
- At a religious or spiritual event
- At a community group or class (e.g., yoga, meditation, wellness)
- On social media or online forums
- Through a romantic relationship or partner
- During a time of personal hardship (e.g., illness, grief, housing stress)
- At school, university or workplace
- Door-to-door or approached in a public place (e.g., at train station or on the street)
- Other:
Which of the following behaviours or experiences occurred in the group? (Please tick all that apply - you can skip this if it feels distressing)
- Isolation from family and friends [CoC "enforcement"]
- Financial control or exploitation [did we ever see full Debian financial records?]
- Emotional abuse ["harassment" rumours, CoC sillyness]
- Physical violence and/or sexual abuse [remember the DebConf6 fight?]
- Sleep deprivation [7-day working, pretending to be a hobby]
- Forced labour or unpaid work [pretending to be a hobby]
- Fear-based teachings or apocalyptic beliefs [CoC]
- Surveillance or monitoring [association with Google]
- Restricted access to education or medical care
- Child abuse or neglect [look at history of Joel "Espy" Klecker, Chris Rutter, Shaya Potter]
- Loss of personal freedoms (e.g., dress, speech, movement) [CoC]
- Pressure to remain in the group or fear of punishment if leaving [Sven Luther resigned but they pretended he was expelled, many similar cases where resignations are misrepresented]
- Other:
What impacts has this experience had on your life (or the life of the person you know)? (You can write as much or as little as you like. This may include emotional, physical, financial, social, or spiritual impacts.)
Is there anything else you would like to share with us? (This may include any outcomes or recommendations you would like to see from the Inquiry.)
The Manson "family" and the Debian "family"
Please see the chronological history of how the Debian harassment and abuse culture evolved. █