The NSW Attorney General has tabled the advice of leading barrister Noel Hutley SC in Parliament, declaring findings made by a Legislative Council committee about the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sally Dowling, were unfounded.
The Legislative Council’s ‘Inquiry into Identity Protections Involving Children’ made a number of serious findings about the conduct of Ms Dowling.
She was investigated over claims her office leaked confidential details, including the name of an underage offender, to a radio station.
The findings made in the report, described by Attorney General Michael Daley as the worst he had seen in his parliamentary career, were so concerning that the Crown Solicitor was instructed to brief Senior Counsel to review them.
Former Bar Association President and leading Silk, Noel Hutley SC, supported by two other barristers, were briefed to provide an independent and unbiased review of the findings made by the 4-3 majority of the Committee.
Mr Daley said the review is unequivocal: the findings against the Director of Public Prosecution were not justified by the evidence.
The view of three barristers, including leading Senior Counsel, were that the findings and conclusions reached by the Committee had “no basis,” were “wrong,” involved “mere speculation,” were “devoid of reasoning,” and did not “withstand scrutiny.”
The barristers reviewed all of the publicly available evidence before the committee. On 13 July, the Crown Solicitor wrote to the Committee asking whether the Committee had relied on any information other than that which was publicly released on its webpage, requesting a response within seven business days. The Committee has not yet provided a “yes” or “no” answer to that question. A comprehensive 88 page advice was provided to the Attorney General late on Tuesday. That advice has been released in full and tabled in Parliament, the Attorney General said in a statement.
“In light of this advice, recommendations 6 and 7 of the Committee’s Report, which were based on the findings concerning the Director of Public Prosecutions, cannot and will not be supported by the Government,” said Mr Daley.
“I express my gratitude to counsel and the Crown Solicitor’s Office for the prompt provision of the advice. This matter should now be regarded as closed. The Director of Public Prosecutions should be permitted to devote her undivided attention to the important work of prosecuting those who commit serious crime and keeping our community safe.”
