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It’s brutal, but Tom Phillips brought this whole thing on himself.

Yes, he was killed and that is a very hard and sad fact his kids are going to have to live with for their rest of their lives.  

Their father is dead.

But, he shot a cop - an innocent local Constable who was trying to do his job.

Tom Phillips also deprived his children of their mum, of any professional medical attention, of any formal education, for four years.

Ember was five when they were taken to the bush and hasn’t been to school since - she is now 9.

The kids were essentially used as helpers as their dad carried out bank robberies, burglaries, and break-ins. 

These are not the actions of a father who wants the best for his kids. Any parent who loves their children knows you don’t put them in harm's way.

Much will be made of the custody situation in the coming days, but the fact is we don’t know much detail about this. and likely never will. The full story won’t come out.

When he went bush the second time, Tom was in breach of a custody order.

But that’s about all we know because Family Court cases are wrapped up in suppression like Fort Knox in this country to protect the kids.  

Fair enough too.

But whatever happened in court, before court, no matter how unfair or unjust a case may be, if you take the law into your own hands, run away with your own kids, deprive them of an education and contact with society for four years, then the outcomes are yours to own. And yours alone. 

The outcomes here are bittersweet. 

A father is dead. A police Constable is in hospital lucky to be alive. 

And three children have survived, at least physically, a dangerous situation they should never have been out in in the first place.