'Criminal' Scientologists face Aussie inquiry

Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd will consider calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the Church of Scientology after a scathing attack by a Senator calling it a criminal organisation.

New South Wales police have also confirmed they are considering what steps to take after Australian Senator Nick Xenophon tabled documents in Parliament which he claimed showed tax evasion and former followers alleging extensive criminal activity.

The letters - tabled in the Senate - allege abuses including coerced abortions, assault, imprisonment, the covering up of sexual abuse, the embezzlement of church funds and blackmail.

But Mr Rudd said the evidence must be looked at carefully before proceeding.

Xenophon used parliamentary privilege to attack the church, after being contacted by a number of former Scientologists who accused the organisation of shocking crimes.

"Scientology is not a religious organisation, it is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs," he told the Senate.

"... The letters received by me which were written by former followers in Australia contains extensive allegations of crimes and abuses that are truly shocking - crimes against them and crimes they say they were coerced into committing.

"These victims of Scientology claim it is an abusive, manipulative, violent and criminal organisation, and that criminality is condoned at the highest levels."

The South Australian parliamentarian said he had been contacted by a number of former Scientologists, after questioning the organisation's tax exempt status in a recent television interview.

Senator Xenophon said their correspondence implicated the organisation in a range of crimes, including forced imprisonment, coerced abortions, embezzlement of church funds, physical violence, intimidation and blackmail.

"I am deeply concerned about this organisation and the devastating impact it can have on its followers," he told the Senate.

He tabled in parliament a number of letters from former members of the organisation, which he said he has passed on to the police.

In one, Paul David Schofield said his first daughter Lauren had died after she was allowed to wander one of the Church of Scientology's Sydney buildings and fell down some stairs.

"My wife and I were actively discouraged from seeking compensation from the church," he wrote.

"I was also encouraged by church executives to request no coronial enquiry (sic) into her death, something I stupidly agreed with at that time."

Schofield's second daughter Kirsty also died, in this case after ingesting potassium chloride at the family home - a substance he said was used widely in the organisation's purification programs.

In another letter, Aaron Saxton said as a member of the organisation he participated in the forced confinement and torture of others.

He wrote that Scientologists considered to be underperforming were placed on diets of beans and rice for up to two weeks at a time, and they were also not allowed to access medications or undergo procedures such as pap smears.

Senator Xenophon said many names had been erased from the letters he had tabled.

"But those names haven't been removed from copies I am providing to the police," he said.

"This organisation must be investigated."

Senator Xenophon also called for a Senate inquiry into the Church of Scientology's tax exempt status in Australia.

The Church of Scientology said the comments were an outrageous abuse of parliamentary privilege.

"Senator Xenophon is obviously being pressured by disgruntled former members who use hate speech and distorted accounts of their experiences in the church," the organisation said in a statement.

"They are about as reliable as former spouses are when talking about their ex-partner.

"This is a propaganda campaign that would suit a totalitarian regime, not Australia, a country that recognises freedom of religion."

- AAP / NZ HERALD STAFF