1 hour ago
3
Laxon recorded that he had replied: “I act for Judge Wass, so I can’t act for your friend.”
Dowling told the inquiry on Friday that she gave “no such instruction” and there had been no breach of the law.
The submission is the latest outbreak of warfare between Dowling’s office and the judiciary.Credit: Nick Moir
‘Personal grievance’
The top prosecutor accused the committee of gross unfairness in airing what she described as Wass’ “personal grievance with me and my office”.
She said the dispute arose “from a single case which has already been subject to extensive scrutiny and examination, including a police investigation that uncovered no breach of the law”.
That police investigation had also been leaked to the media, but Dowling said she was unaware of the source.
“Allowing these grievances to be examined under the guise of a committee inquiry is not appropriate use of this committee’s powers and privileges and amounts to a de facto parliamentary inquiry into the conduct of officers of the ODPP,” Dowling said.
Wass said in her submission that the upper house committee might consider whether it was appropriate to refer senior members of the ODPP “to the Governor ... for removal from office”.
Fresh outbreak of warfare
The submission is the latest outbreak of warfare between Dowling’s office and the judiciary. A number of District Court judges, including Wass, have taken aim at the ODPP over its handling of sexual assault prosecutions.
Those criticisms prompted Dowling to make complaints against two District Court judges, Robert Newlinds and Peter Whitford, to the Judicial Commission. The watchdog issued reports critical of both judges.
Although Dowling did not make a complaint to the watchdog about Wass, the pair have been at loggerheads in different forums.
Dowling denies authorising leak
Appearing before the committee on Friday, Dowling said the submission contained “multiple factual and legal inaccuracies”.
Loading
She said the ODPP’s media manager had informed her shortly before the 2GB broadcast that Fordham “might be interested in the story” but “at this time, I did not know how 2GB knew” about it.
Of the allegation that she instructed a member of the ODPP staff to leak confidential information to 2GB, Dowling said: “I gave no such instruction.”
She told the inquiry she only became aware after the broadcast that the manager had given a screenshot of “the ODPP case management system to someone associated with 2GB”.
“That screenshot contained details of the case, including the young person’s name,” she said.
“At no time did I direct, or ask, that the media manager provide the story to 2GB.”
Police investigation
Dowling said that providing the screenshot “did not involve any offence” and the media manager “was relatively new in her role and had only worked at the ODPP for about ten weeks”.
The manager was later cautioned for misconduct over the incident following a process that involved an independent law firm conducting an investigation and a report by a former Supreme Court judge, who was then an acting deputy director of the ODPP, Dowling said.
Dowling said she was “not even aware of the provision of the screenshot” by the media manager until after a police investigation into the incident started.
NSW Police had advised the DPP in March this year that their investigation had concluded. They took no further action, Dowling said.
Wass said in her submission that she raised concerns that the investigation by the law firm was not “independent and external”.
The inquiry
Dowling said the bulk of issues canvassed by Wass “could not possibly fall within the terms of reference” of the upper house inquiry.
Wass’ submission, dated November 28, was published on the inquiry’s website about 5pm on Thursday. Dowling said the circumstances in which she became aware of the submission involved a “gross denial of procedural fairness”.
Loading
“The evening before I was due to give evidence, a previously confidential submission was released,” she said. “The submission is 68 pages in length. That submission includes serious allegations against me and my staff.
“The fact that this submission has been in the possession of this committee since [November 28] … but has never been provided to me, and instead was made public out of hours the day before I was to give evidence is extraordinary.”
She said the failure to provide the submission to her and Craig Hyland, the solicitor for public prosecutions, was “deeply unfair”.
“Indeed, I go so far as to say the denial of procedural fairness by this committee is disgraceful.”
She said that the ODPP was invited to give evidence before the committee on Friday last week, and she was not told until Wednesday that she was likely to be asked about this case.
The inquiry, chaired by the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party’s Robert Borsak, was set up in October.
The general terms of reference include examining existing protections for preventing the identity of children accused of criminal offences being made public, as well as “any examples” of cases and “any other relevant matters”. There is no reference to the ODPP or Dowling.
The committee is expected to report by February 20.
The offender
In October 2024, an Indigenous young person was sentenced by Wass for two offences of aggravated break and enter, one of which involved the sexual touching of an elderly woman.
Dowling told the inquiry that senior lawyers informed her after the hearing that Wass had invited the young person to conduct a “Welcome to Country ceremony”.
“This was a highly unusual event, which as far as I’m aware had not occurred previously in any court of NSW and has not occurred since,” Dowling said. It was widely discussed among the legal community and it “rapidly became notorious”, Dowling said.
She agreed during her evidence that this was not in fact a Welcome to Country but an “acknowledgement of country”, conducted via videolink, but said she was using the language Wass had used to describe the statement.
Judge received threats
Wass said in her statement that she “received derogatory public statements and threats from consumers of the 2GB story almost immediately after it was aired”.
“I was called ‘woke’ and ‘out of touch’ and called on to be ‘disbarred’. The public called for my sacking and accused me of being drug affected.
“I am extremely disappointed and saddened by what has occurred, particularly knowing that the
information came from within the ODPP and that the NSWPF, the court and I were unable
to adequately respond.”
Wass said it “has been galling that despite the broadside attack on my professional reputation, as a Judge I was in no position to defend myself or explain publicly what had occurred”.
She said the “Welcome to Country statement” took place with “prior notice to, and the consent of, both parties”.
Wass said the offender “had committed serious crimes and received the maximum sentence available”.
She said that, by the time of his sentencing proceedings, the offender “had served more than his non-parole period and was immediately released to parole”.
“No one from within the ODPP expressed any concern to me ... Instead, the ODPP moved to disclose information to 2GB and a ‘trial by media’ ensued.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
