xPanda posted:

There was a front page article on one of the main papers this morning quoting Paul Keating saying that the GST shouldn't be raised, not because it would be unfair and an idiotic step back towards the 19th century, but because it would encourage reckless spending.

Was Paul Keating, not John Howard, our Ronald Reagan?

Birdstrike posted:

Cartoon posted:

The high court judge who desented in the "Let's rape kiddies on Nauru" case was a woman! That's why you can't let them into positions of authority! When the going gets tough they buckle to their hormones and crumble when men stay hard. Lucky there were some clear thinking men around to keep things on the straight and narrow. At least the other two women on the panel did what they were told, or maybe they were just confused and hormonal? Really makes you think about what a crap shoot having them there in the first place is!

Birdstrike posted:

you're alright cartoon, I'm just having a larf

ColtMcAsskick posted:

Granted cartoon but is it okay that they have to pony up $5000 just to avoid being sued for having an opinion which, as far as I can tell, isn't racist? (Apart from the obvious one)

Birb Katter posted:

Was the driver fit though? Be sad if the wanted others to be fit but just drove between work and maçcas

Pages 204 and 205 posted:

]there was little in the attitude of the invaders that was likely to modify the harshness of the meeting or to assist the native in the process of adapting himself to new conditions, while there was much to hinder that adaptation. ..No particular system was tried long enough or thoroughly enough to justify anyone in saying that such-and-such a method was good or bad.
Except for occasional flourishes under the inspiration of an exceptional individual, the white colonists took the way that was easiest for them. When the native did not respond immediately to their attempts to 'civilize' him those attempts ceased.

starkebn posted:

We come from the British, the most violent culture in history

quote:

Life jackets required for rock fishermen in bid to reduce deaths, NSW coroner says By Jayne Margetts Posted 2 Jul 2015, 4:48pm

The NSW deputy coroner is calling for laws to make life jackets compulsory for rock fishermen in an attempt to reduce the enormous "emotional and social" cost of their deaths. Thirty-five people have died while rock fishing in NSW since 2012, with around seven deaths per year. Deputy coroner Carmel Forbes has been investigating eight deaths between 2012 and 2015. "The emotional and social cost of these deaths to family, friends and the community is enormous," she said.
Rescue operations are "dangerous, resource intensive and normally undertaken in treacherous conditions".

In 2011, rock fishing deaths cost the community, on average, between $450,000 and $600,000 per incident. The deputy coroner noted that the current measures in place to protect rock fishermen have not seen any reduction in deaths. She said life jackets should be mandatory and that the cost of the proposed measure would be "far outweighed by the saving of lives and subsequent reduction of social and financial costs associated with the loss of lives in rock fishing". Ms Forbes said consideration should be given to a 12-month grace period, an education campaign and coupons or gift vouchers for free or subsidised life jackets.

She also recommended a review of current signage warning of the dangers of rock fishing and the use of "shock signage indicating the number of deaths associated with rock fishing". Recreational Fishing Alliance president Malcolm Poole said rock fishermen are not reluctant to wear life jackets, but the designs are not suitable for the sport. "Life jackets are currently designed to an Australian standard for boating," he said. "What we're looking for is an appropriate life jacket designed to the Australian standard for rock fishers. "You have to understand that rock fishers are a mobile person on a rock platform, they move around a fair bit."

However, Surf Life Saving New South Wales lifesaving manager Andy Kent said introducing new laws would compel life jacket manufacturers to improve their products. "Manufacturers may start, or should start, making life jackets which are actually suitable for the actual cause of rock fishing," he said.

ScreamingLlama posted:

(I'm not saying they found the best way to go about combating the fraud, either, but I'd like to see you do better.)

ScreamingLlama posted:

ITT people who think there's nothing wrong with welfare fraud

ScreamingLlama posted:

You lot seem to be operating on the assumption that I think underpaying people on welfare is a good thing. I think it's a very bad thing. But that's not the issue at hand. The issue at hand is whether it's appropriate for the Gestapo to spy on social media and watch people in public to catch fraudsters and I think that it is.

True, but unfortunately the other rorts you mentioned are legal because the corporate whores in Parliament made it so. Welfare fraud is illegal. No, not everyone goes to jail; some people just get their payments stopped and/or a debt is incurred. The thing is, how are you going to know who's cheating if you're not trying to find the cheats?

Laserface posted:

So we should just bail out every fuckwit who gets in over their head? why dont we help gamblers, drug addicts, and criminals?

bowmore posted:

I'd prefer they go after the corporations that pay no tax rather than the welfare cheats

A sub-human piece of filth posted:

'This is not an easy issue to manage, but it has to managed with a very cool head and a very big heart,' he told reporters in Canberra.

A sub-human piece of filth posted:

'If we give those people smugglers any marketing opportunity, let me tell you they will use it and there will be more deaths at sea, more children put at risk.'

ScreamingLlama posted:

(I'm not saying they found the best way to go about combating the fraud, either, but I'd like to see you do better.)

quote:

Kate Carnell quits business lobby to become first small business ombudsman February 1, 2016 James Massola

A business lobbyist and advocate for cutting penalty rates has been appointed Australia's first small business and family enterprise ombudsman. Small Business Minister Kelly O'Dwyer has chosen Kate Carnell, who until recently led the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry [ACCI] and who is also a former ACT chief minister, to fill the newly created position for a five year period. Ms Carnell will lead a small team and the independent office has been allocated a budget of about $6 million to offer a range of services to small and medium sized enterprises with employees of less than 100 people.

Ms Carnell told Fairfax Media that, in her view, the new Ombudsman's position had two key roles.

"First of all, it is to act as an advocate for small and medium business and to be a conduit to government for them and a single point of entry," she said. "It's also to focus on alternate dispute mechanisms, so small businesses don't get caught up in lengthy and expensive court cases. I will be working with organisations like the ACCI, to ensure they have a voice in government. So in some ways it's similar to what I've been doing, as an advocate for small to medium business, but inside the tent." Ms O'Dwyer said Ms Carnell would bring extensive experience and knowledge to the role of Ombudsman, given her background in business, and was "well-positioned to translate the voices of small Australian businesses and family enterprises into targeted policy messages for government". The appointment was "a major win for small business owners who will have access to advice and support, and an independent advocate to ensure the government creates the right conditions for small businesses to grow. The government acknowledges small businesses make a substantial contribution to Australia's economy with over two million small businesses generating around a third of economic output."

Ms Carnell's appointment comes as the government considers its response to the Productivity Commission's report on Australia's work laws and what, if any, industrial relations changes it will take to the next election. The Commission recommended in its report that the independent Fair Work Commission consider cutting some Sunday penalty rates to the same level as Saturday rates, a position backed by Ms Carnell in the ACCI's submission. She leaves the ACCI, one of the largest business lobby groups in the country, after a little less than two years with the organisation and will begin in her new role on March 11.

quote:

Closing the Gap 'doomed to fail' without more Indigenous input, activist Patrick Dodson says By the National Reporting Team's Natasha Robinson Updated about an hour ago

Aboriginal leaders are calling for a new compact with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull amid warnings the Government's signature Closing the Gap policy has slipped seriously off track.

Key points:

Activist Patrick Dodson says it is probably time to scrap the Closing the Gap policy
He says it will not work unless Indigenous groups have more involvement Quell surprise!
The eighth Closing the Gap report comes out on Wednesday
Yawuru leader Patrick Dodson has questioned whether the policy aimed at dispelling Indigenous disadvantage should continue, a day ahead of the release of the Prime Minister's eighth report on progress under Closing the Gap.

"Closing the Gap hasn't got a buy-in from Indigenous communities," Mr Dodson said. "There's a lot of aspiration and maybe good intention, but unless you get participation from Indigenous entities at a local level and community level, it's not going to work. Without Indigenous participation it's going to be doomed to fail and all we'll see is another record of some achievements in some minor areas, but we're basically just changing the tablecloth on a table without really realising that the white ants are eating the legs out of the table, and we have to restructure the whole nature of our relationship." Asked whether it was time to scrap the policy, Mr Dodson said: "I think it probably is."

The Yawuru leader said Aboriginal people wanted substantive recognition as part of a settlement process or treaty, rather than a government accounting exercise on reducing disadvantage. But Mr Dodson said there was currently a vacuum in Indigenous policy, with Mr Turnbull affording the area a relatively low profile. "I think it's a problem if the leader of the country is not paying attention to these significant issues that are affecting Indigenous peoples in this country," Mr Dodson said. "So unless Mr Turnbull and his Government has some other methodology, they need to put it on the table so that Indigenous participation can take place. Without that, the ideas around improving the quality of life for Indigenous peoples are going to be fraught with difficulty. "We haven't had a political expression around treaty since Bob Hawke made the announcement back at Barunga back in the '80s. There's been no political leader prepared to come out and say 'we want to enter into a treaty with the Indigenous people'. But the Indigenous people are now saying 'we want some kind of settlement, some kind of treaty with you', but where's the political will about that? That doesn't exist at the moment, or it seems to be very tentative."

Former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma was one of the original architects of the Close the Gap campaign, which aimed to eliminate the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. That movement is an Aboriginal-led campaign, as distinct from the Government's Closing the Gap policy. The Aboriginal Close the Gap campaign is celebrating its 10th year. "Ten years we've been going, and we've only increased our work, some of the same people that joined me in 2006 are still with us today," Mr Calma said. "We will still go on, we know it's a generational target we need to look at." But Mr Calma said goodwill between Aboriginal people and governments had suffered damaging blows over the past decade.

Whilst politicians procrastinate, people still die.

Tom Calma, former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner: "Governments have waxed and waned over time, there's been inconsistent policy application, funding for programs has stopped and started and that is not good," Mr Calma said. "When there's changes in policy directions, it might be the stroke of a pen in Canberra, but that has a massive effect out in communities, and they've got to go and cope with that change. We need to get them to sign up again to the statement of intent and say they are going to work together on these policies and programs, and they are going to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people."

Mr Calma said there had some good progress under the Closing the Gap policy, especially in infant mortality and Year 12 completion. But progress in other areas had stalled. "It's stalling in some regards and in other regards it's very positive," Mr Calma said. "The gains that we were seeing have in the past six or so months maybe stalled because of changes of government policy and funding. "That's why I urge government, as we do in the Close the Gap campaign, to have a steady keel, and let the programs come out." Mr Calma singled out a national policy on suicide prevention — proposed and funded with $17.8 million by the Gillard government and now on hold — as one example of stalled progress. "We don't have an implementation of the suicide prevention strategy," Mr Calma said. "Whilst politicians procrastinate, people still die."

Aboriginal former magistrate Sue Gordon headed the Northern Territory intervention into remote Indigenous communities in 2007. She is now president of the board of the Polly (Graham) Farmer Foundation, and believes Closing the Gap does not take account of grassroots progress. "I think the community get a bit tired of hearing closing the gap this or closing the gap there But people in the community don't really understand what it's about. It's really aimed at those people who work in the Aboriginal industry for want a better word," she said. 'All members of the Government are out listening'

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said Mr Turnbull "has met and spoken to several Indigenous leaders and people, and will continue to seek a diverse range of views as we progress Indigenous policy matters. This includes on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians," the spokesman said. "The Prime Minister has met with and spoken to Mr Dodson several times in the months since becoming Prime Minister. We acknowledge that Closing the Gap is a long-term agenda, and we need to work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to get the best outcomes. All members of the Government are out listening, and responding, to the needs of their communities. This includes Indigenous people."

The Prime Minister's Closing the Gap progress report 2016 will be tabled in Parliament tomorrow.

Book published in 1942 about WA in the 19th Century posted:

]there was little in the attitude of the invaders that was likely to modify the harshness of the meeting or to assist the native in the process of adapting himself to new conditions, while there was much to hinder that adaptation. ..No particular system was tried long enough or thoroughly enough to justify anyone in saying that such-and-such a method was good or bad.

Except for occasional flourishes under the inspiration of an exceptional individual, the white colonists took the way that was easiest for them. When the native did not respond immediately to their attempts to 'civilize' him those attempts ceased.

katlington posted:

Jesus loving christ ian mcdonald at the senate legislation committee. SHY called him a joke lmao.

UrbanLabyrinth posted:

Doesn't an ombudsman usually act as an advocate against that industry (e.g TIO, FOS, Commonwealth Ombudsman) rather than advocating for that group?

quote:

AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN

The Government is establishing the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman. This role will supersede the existing Australian Small Business Commissioner.

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman will be a:

Commonwealth-wide advocate for small businesses and family enterprises;
contributor to the development of small business friendly Commonwealth laws and regulations; and
concierge for dispute resolution.
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman will also seamlessly link with business.gov.au, operated by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, to help small businesses easily find out about other Government services and programmes.

The functions and powers of the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman are set out under the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Act 2015. This legislation is currently being implemented after receiving Royal Assent on 10 September 2015.

The Australian Small Business Commissioner
The role of the Australian Small Business Commissioner is to:

provide information and assistance to small businesses, including referral to dispute resolution services;
represent small business interests and concerns to the Australian Government; and
work with industry and government to promote a consistent and coordinated approach to small business matters.
During the transition to the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, the Australian Small Business Commissioner will continue to operate and service the needs of small businesses around Australia.

Please visit the Australian Small Business Commissioner’s website for further information on their activities.

hooman posted:

Piss from within.

Frankly posted:

actually it comes from a dumb Lano & Woodley joke that stuck with me.

Too young to even know the quote everyone assumes it is outside of ~top ten movie moments~ countdowns haha

e: Thanks so much magic gun person, that helps reinforce what I was already slowly coming to realise

quote:

Even for refugees who are in need of resettlement, there is no orderly resettlement “queue” to join. In reality, the resettlement system works more like a lottery than a queue. Very few resettlement places are available globally and, while UNHCR aims to prioritise those in greatest need, most refugees – even people in very vulnerable situations – cannot realistically expect to be resettled in the near future, if ever. Many refugees lack access to UNHCR’s resettlement processes altogether and simply do not have resettlement available to them as an option. It is unreasonable to expect refugees to remain indefinitely in situations of danger and insecurity, or to penalise them for seeking their own solutions, when the international community fails in its responsibility to provide effective protection.

quote:

Senator Fiona Nash has been elected as deputy leader of the Nationals. "Within the next few years we will continue to build on the exceptional work that has been done by the most recent giant of our party, Warren Truss," Mr Joyce said.

"It is going to be a slightly different National Party, quite a different National Party," Senator Nash said. "And we would be doing the same things we have always done, focusing on those people outside the major capital cities, who need us to fight for them."

SKY COQ posted:

Got him, yes

Stuart Robert is out

quote:

Stuart Robert to resign from Turnbull ministry following probe into China trip By political correspondent Anna Henderson Updated 13 minutes ago

Stuart Robert is resigning from the Turnbull ministry following an internal report into his conduct, the ABC has confirmed. The move will add to the complexity of the Prime Minister's reshuffle, which is expected this weekend. Labor has been calling for Mr Robert to be sacked over a trip to China in 2014, where he appeared at a signing ceremony for a mining deal between Australian company Nimrod Resources and a Chinese business. The Opposition argued the trip was inappropriate because Nimrod's executive chairman Paul Marks was a generous Liberal Party donor. Mr Robert also met Chinese Government officials during the visit.

The Prime Minister ordered an internal investigation earlier this week, tasking the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Martin Parkinson, with considering Mr Robert's actions. Mr Robert previously said he travelled to China in a personal capacity and not as a Government representative. He said he was confident he did not act inappropriately. The ABC has also been told Mr Robert has routinely used his ministerial office for fundraising events. His response to questions about it was that he uses his office for parliamentary business.

Yesterday the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) says Chinese officials believed they were meeting Mr Robert in an official capacity when he travelled to Beijing last year. Labor senator Penny Wong pressed DFAT head Peter Varghese about the trip during Senate estimates. Senator Wong asked whether it was appropriate that a minister "rock up to one of these meetings" without informing the department first. Mr Varghese said they were questions of judgement for the Minister. Senator Wong also pressed the matter with Graham Fletcher, First Assistant Secretary of the North Asia Division. "It's plain that the company and the Chinese Government thought they were dealing with Mr Robert in his ministerial capacity?" she said. Mr Fletcher responded: "Yes".

Zenithe posted:

Oh yeah, QLD Whooping Cough rates are like five times above last year.

Anidav posted:

Isn't all these resignations exactly what Turdball wants? A reshuffle with a bunch of small L no names so he can sail into an election without a face the public can hate?

Skellybones posted:

This government will stay in as long as Howard did

quote:

Federal Cabinet is getting dumber with each reshuffle. Those promoted today weren’t good enough 6 months ago. They were only promoted because Minister’s stuffed up or bailed out. So many have training wheels (Ciobo has Robb, even Joyce has Nash to help him bite his tongue, and she has training wheels herself). Turnbull is great at spinning this as rejuvination, but it’s just desperation. And the team probably won’t last to the election. For starters, Pyne and Roy are also under investigation by the AFP along with Brough.

quote:

Scott Morrison says Labor's plan to scrap negative gearing will raise 'very little' revenue By political reporter Matthew Doran Updated about an hour ago

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has criticised the efficacy of the Opposition's plan to scrap negative gearing on established houses, arguing it will not help the budget bottom line as much as Labor is claiming it will.

Key points:

Scott Morrison says scrapping negative gearing will not raise as much revenue as Labor claims
The Treasurer said the plan was "like their famous mining tax"
->Parliamentary Budget Office said measures could save $32 billion over 10 years<-
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's announcement on Saturday proposed scrapping negative gearing for established properties from July next year.

The changes would not affect the tax arrangements for investment properties purchased before July 2017.

"Like their famous mining tax, Labor's proposed change to negative gearing promises big, but raises very little revenue," Mr Morrison wrote in an opinion piece published in News Corp newspapers. "It could also have some very nasty consequences for everyday mum and dad investors just trying to get ahead." (Note the non sequitor which was also like the one used against the Mining Tax. Won't do anything - will ruin everything).

Parliamentary Budget Office costings show the measures could save the budget $32.1 billion over 10 years once they come into force. "The less than $600 million their changes will raise over four years, not $30 billion, does not even pay the monthly interest bill on the debt Labor gave us, let alone the higher spending they have planned," Mr Morrison wrote. "The first priority for any revenue derived from changing any taxes should be to reduce taxes on those who are earning in our economy to support jobs and growth."(which famous economist said this? none of them because it is entirely neo-con bullshit)

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen hit back, arguing only Labor was putting forward policy proposals for the tax system. "We look at structural saves over the long-term which do take a while to build up but the budget needs long-term repair and so this is a change which doesn't have a huge impact in the first four years, we want it to build up," Mr Bowen told the ABC's Insiders program. "The reason for that is because we have grandfathered everything now, Scott Morrison in his consideration is not going to grandfather. If he's going to get bigger returns to the budget in the first four years by whacking into existing investments he should say so. He should rule out doing that because that's the clear implication of his criticism."

BBJoey posted:

so is there any source for his $600 million claim or is he literally just making poo poo up and getting away with it

e: also shouldn't the first priority of tax revenue be fixing THE DEFICIT? he refers to LABOR'S DEBT in the immediately previous sentence, then immediately says that any revenue they get from tax changes they'll offset with tax cuts. what happened to the BUDGET DISASTER

TheMightyHandful posted:

If alp's negative gearing gets up, won't investors just start knocking down and rebuilding properties?

Recoome posted:

that is some horrifying poo poo right there

i mean it's on the level of "heh, primitive savages. we are exterminating them for their own good" level

quote:

Cunneen puts committee on notice over leaked transcripts THE AUSTRALIAN FEBRUARY 15, 2016 12:00AM Chris Merritt Legal Affairs Editor Sydney

Lawyers for prosecutor Margaret Cunneen SC, above, have issued warnings.

Prosecutor Margaret Cunneen SC has warned every member of a committee of the NSW parliament that they risk criminal penalti­es if they release details of her taped telephone calls, which she says have been unlawfully supplied to the committee. Her lawyers issued the warning after an extract from a transcript of the phone taps was leaked to Sydney newspapers on Friday soon after it was given to the committee­ by the Independ­ent Commission Against Corruption. “Every member of the parliamentary committee has both a responsibility and a statutory duty not to disseminate or leak any transcript or audio recording of the taped conversation provided to him or her by ICAC,” the letter says. “It is a criminal offence.”

The letter, which has also been sent to NSW Premier Mike Baird, accuses ICAC of committing a criminal breach of the ICAC Act by providing the material to the committee. It gives notice that the incident is being referred to federal and state police for a possible criminal investigation. This is sharply at odds with statements by ICAC commissioner Megan Latham and is set to complicate the task confronting the committee, which is seeking advice of its own on whether it is legally entitled to receive and publici­se the telephone intercepts. The committee, which meets today, is also expected to consider calls from ICAC’s independent inspector­ David Levine for an investiga­tion of the leak, which he has described as appalling.

Soon after it came to light, committee chairman Damien Tudehope said: “On the face of it, it is my belief that it is a contempt of parliament.” The day before, Mr Tudehope had told a public hearing of his committee that had been presented with the telephone intercepts: “I would urge those members of the media not to publish material that is the subject of the direction that the material not be publicly released at this time.” Ms Latham gave the committee her legal advice and said ICAC was entitled to hand over the telephone intercepts, which she referred to as “TI product”, because it would not breach the Telecommunications Interception Act. “These proceedings qualify as exempt proceedings under the TI Act and that is the basis upon which we seek to make this materi­al available to the committee,” Ms Latham said. In written submissions, she urged the committee to make the intercepts public because it was in the public interest and “failure to do so will unfairly damage and undermine public confidence in the commission”.

However, the letter from Ms Cunneen’s lawyers, Cockburn & Co, takes a different view of the law. It says protecting public confidence in ICAC or the reputation of its officers is not a proper purpose for the publication of materia­l, which includes phone conversations of private citizens, and is not a proper exercise of the agency’s functions or powers. It says section 111 of the ICAC Act imposes criminal penalties on ICAC officers who divulge inform­ation obtained during their duties for purposes that are not connected with the functions of the statute. “There are limited exceptions to the general secrecy restraint under s. 111 of ICAC Act ... None of those exceptions can legitimately have any application to the inform­ation which has been provided to the parliamentary committee and now leaked to the press,” the letter says. “You are hereby on notice of our client’s contention that the officer or officers of ICAC who provided this material to the parliame­ntary committee has contravened section 111 of the ICAC Act and has thus committed a criminal offence.”

The telephone intercepts were one of the key elements in ICAC’s failed inquiry into what Ms Cunneen was alleged to have said after a traffic accident involving Sophia Tilley, her son’s girlfriend. That inquiry, known as Operation Hale, was terminated after the High Court ruled that the allegat­ion against Ms Cunneen, if proved, would not amount to corruption and was therefore outside ICAC’s jurisdiction. The intercepts have already been considered by NSW Solicitor-General Michael Sexton SC and Victoria’s Chief Crown Prosecutor, Gavin Silbert QC, who concluded there was no basis for criminal proceedings. In an article said to be based on a leaked transcript of the intercepts, The Sydney Morning Herald has quoted Ms Cunneen as telling a smash repairer she had advised Ms Tilley to fake chest pains. “My only reservation, between you and me, is that that naughty girl had alcohol had, oh no that’s all right, I can cover that ... But she had drunk, she’s on her P plates. But it had been some time ago which is why I sent her the message to start having chest pains and get the ambulance because it’s bought her a few more hours,” the article says.

ICAC had refused to provide the intercepts to Mr Levine, a former judge of the NSW Supreme Court, who obtained them independently from the Australian Crime Commission. He produced a report in December on ICAC’s handling of Operation Hale, in which he accused it of abuse of power and maladministration. After the High Court found ICAC had exceeded its jurisdiction, parliament changed the ICAC Act. The agency’s jurisdiction is now smaller than Ms ­Latham believed when she launched the Cunneen inquiry. The letter from Ms Cunneen’s lawyers notes that Ms Cunneen is acutely aware that the majority of the members of the parliament­ary committee understand their responsibilities and she regrets the need to write to them because most would be entirely innocent and would be “sufficiently decent and fair minded not to be complicit” in the leak. “Nevertheless, it is necessary for our client to demand, and she hereby does demand, that each member of the parliamentary committee refrain from directly or indirectly providing any audio or transcript of the taped conversation, or the substance of it, to any journalist or any other person­,” the letter says. It says disclosure of the telephone intercepts has caused prejudice against the prosecutor that cannot be remedied. “The imputation deliberately put forward by the ICAC is that, after all, despite the High Court confirming that ICAC did not have the jurisdiction to conduct Operation Hale and despite our client being cleared of unlawful conduct by the Solicitor-General on advice from an independent and eminent Victorian criminal lawyer, that somehow she is nevertheless guilty of corrupt conduct or some other offence. There is an apprehension that Ms Latham has released information about Ms Cunneen in what appears to be in retribution for the fact that a complaint was lodged with the Inspector which led to an adverse report against the ICAC. Such conduct has the tendency to undermine the confid­ence in any member of the public lodging a complaint.”

Lizard Combatant posted: