Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro has pulled out of today’s parliamentary inquiry, citing mental health reasons.
Key points:
John Barilaro was set to face questions about what his girlfriend knew about the US trade job
He withdrew from the lucrative position in June after intense media scrutiny over his appointment
Mr Barilaro took a month of mental health leave in 2020
The upper house inquiry has been investigating Mr Barilaro’s appointment as senior trade and investment commissioner to the Americas.
He was scheduled to give his second day of evidence today, after first facing the inquiry on Monday.
“John Barilaro has informed the committee that due to mental health reasons he is unable to attend today’s hearing,” a statement from the inquiry said.
Mr Barilaro was due to face questions about what his girlfriend, Jennifer Lugsdin, knew about the lucrative US trade job he was awarded earlier this year.
Ms Lugsdin worked for Investment NSW — the body responsible for hiring people for overseas trade roles — when the Americas job was advertised.
Last December she was copied in on discussions about a media release calling for applications for the trade envoy position.
Before taking the role with Investment NSW, Ms Lugsdin was the senior media advisor for Mr Barilaro between 2019 and 2021.
Jennifer Lugsdin was awarded a short-term role with Investment NSW in August 2021. (Supplied: Linkedin)
On Monday, Mr Barilaro expressed frustration about facing questions about his personal life.
Labor’s Penny Sharpe said she did not enjoy asking “uncomfortable” questions, but said it was necessary.
“Someone you were in a relationship with… was clearly aware of the various processes associated with the advertising and the nature of [the US trade] position,” she told the hearing on Monday.
Mr Barilaro withdrew from the New York-based trade role in June, saying intense media scrutiny made his appointment “untenable”.
The controversy surrounding his selection is now the subject of two inquiries and it led to the resignation of trade minister Stuart Ayres last week.
Although Mr Ayres is adamant he did nothing wrong, an inquiry by Graeme Head raised concerns he might have breached the ministerial code of conduct.
The upper house inquiry has heard Mr Ayres was not at “arm’s length” from the selection process.
Mr Barilaro resigned as deputy premier in October 2021, saying the pressure of public life had “taken a toll”.
He took a month off for his mental health in 2020 and said he thought he would never come back to politics.
A former Logan councilor has described how fraud charges laid in the wake of an investigation by Queensland’s corruption watchdog destroyed her life and led to a barrage of public abuse.
Key points:
The Logan City councillors who were sacked are considering pursuing compensation from the state government
Trevina Schwarz says the reputational damage she suffered is irreparable
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk would not say if an apology would be issued
Trevina Schwarz was one of eight former Logan City councilors who in 2019 were charged with fraud and sacked following a Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) investigation.
The charges were dropped last year due to insufficient evidence.
Ms Schwarz said the ordeal took a major toll on her family, saying it copped relentless abuse from the public.
“My son was abused in Bunnings and asked to come outside so the fellow could fight him. It really was awful,” Ms Schwarz told ABC Radio Brisbane.
“You’d walk in a home where you’d lived for 30 years and people would look at you and point as you were walking down the street.
“You couldn’t escape from it. It was on the news, it was on the radio, it was in the papers.
“It absolutely destroyed my life. And the toll that it also takes on your family is huge.”
Her comments came after leading Queensland corruption fighter Tony Fitzgerald yesterday handed down a report into how corruption is investigated in the state.
It included a string of recommendations.
Among them was the need for the CCC to consult with the state’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) before laying charges to avoid “unwarranted impact” and to rebuild public confidence.
The report also found the Logan City Council probe damaged the public’s perceptions of the CCC.
Calls for an apology
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk would not say if her government would issue an apology to the councillors.(ABCNews)
When Ms Schwarz received a call from the CCC notifying her that the charges had been dropped, she initially “thought it was a hoax”.
She said the CCC had failed to comply with its own rules during its investigation of the Logan City Council.
“Although there should be great and high protection for whistleblowers, first and foremost, you need to ensure that those complaints are factually correct and not malicious.”
While she is pleased with the recommendations in Mr Fitzgerald’s report, Ms Schwarz is hoping for an apology from the state government after cabinet meets on Monday.
“Wrongfully charging us has destroyed our lives, our careers and the reputational harm is irreparable,” she said.
“We’re all disappointed that we have not received an apology, a meaningful apology. That should be forthcoming,” Ms Schwarz said.
Former councilors considering legal action
Ms Schwarz also told ABC Radio Brisbane the eight sacked Logan City councilors were considering pursuing compensation from the state government.
“We’ve all been looking at it with the legal team but we’re just not too sure how that’s going to go at the moment,” she said.
Ms Schwarz said she had been unable to find work since being sacked from the council, despite the charges against her being discontinued.
“You’ve got all of this this baggage that’s sitting on you, that you’ve been charged with fraud. They’re not going to employ you,” she said.
“The reputational harm is irreparable and the stigma is going to stay.”
Ms Schwarz said she would never consider running for council again after the ordeal.
The inquiry’s report said it would not revisit or re-litigate the investigation of the Logan council.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk did not comment on whether the former councilors would be issued an apology.
“No-one would like to see what happened to those particular councilors happen again,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“That report is very clear about a path forward … so we would probably not see the likes of that happening again. That would be my expectation.”
When asked about the Logan councillors, Queensland Agricultural and Rural Communities Minister Mark Furner said the cabinet ministers would need to review the report before decisions were made.
“It is important that I, myself, and every other cabinet minister has an appraisal of what the report means and will make a decision based around those outcomes,” he said.
“I think there is an opportunity now, where the report will identify significant changes to the way the CCC operates.
“We need to work through those changes, what it needs.
“But what we do need is stable leadership in terms of the way the CCC operates into the future with the chair.”
The ink is dry on Tony Fitzgerald’s report into how corruption is investigated in Queensland, but it remains unclear how the state government will deal with a long list of “additional issues” that weren’t within the inquiry’s terms of reference.
Key points:
The report aims to steer the CCC away from mainly criminal investigations, Professor AJ Brown says
Misconduct law specialist Calvin Gnech says a lack of public hearings was a missed opportunity
Protection for whistleblowers was not covered by the terms of the inquiry and still needs to be addressed, critics say
Mr Fitzgerald, who led the historic Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption 30 years ago, co-chaired the inquiry with retired Supreme Court justice Alan Wilson.
Their findings on rebuilding public trust in the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) were released yesterday.
As the authors noted, the report was “not Fitzgerald 2.0”, and was charged only with examining and reporting on “quite specific aspects” of the CCC’s operations.
The 10 “additional issues” outlined in the report’s appendix include how the CCC should be funded, the need for a clearing house for corruption complaints, and the need for certain legislative reforms.
The report was commissioned by the Queensland government after a string of high-profile failed prosecutions, and the finding by the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee (PCCC) that the CCC had erred in its decision to charge eight Logan City councilors with fraud in 2019.
One of the key recommendations is that fewer police be seconded to the CCC, in favor of training up “civilian investigators” from a range of other professional backgrounds.
Griffith University public policy and law Professor AJ Brown said this was to allow the CCC to pivot away from predominantly criminal prosecutions.
Two of the key recommendations from the report on improving operations in the CCC. (abcnews)
He said there were many instances of corruption and misconduct being raised that did not meet the benchmark of a criminal offence, but nonetheless needed to be stamped out.
“The remedy may not be a criminal prosecution, it might be disciplinary action in relation to individuals, or it might be system reform in relation to procedures and institutions,” he said.
“When the CCC looks at serious misconduct issues that are high corruption risks, like acting in the presence of undisclosed conflicts of interest or alleged favoritism or nepotism, the threshold that’s being used to judge those things is not necessarily simply whether a criminal offense has been committed.”
Professor Brown said the report was not suggesting civilians were better placed to judge corruption matters.
“There’s a range of different disciplines and skills that have to be brought to bear potentially, whether they’re a lawyer, or a police investigator or a forensic accountant or a policy person – they all need to see the big picture of corruption and what’s involved in addressing it and stopping it through all sorts of different angles.
One officer told the inquiry there should be more of a focus on education, rather than police enforcement.(ABC News: Patrick Williams)
“This is potentially a big turning point — not just in Queensland, but for anti-corruption investigations and training right around the country — to actually recognize that we need to have the skills that deal with that full complexity,” Professor Brown said.
Among the 87 submissions that the inquiry received, which were only publicly released when the report was complete, former Queensland police commissioner Bob Atkinson submitted his view that “unless there is clear criminal and/or corrupt activity, an educational approach is better than an aggressive prosecutorial approach”.
Mr Atkinson highlighted the prosecution of police Superintendent Michelle Stenner as an example of what he saw as misuse of the CCC’s powers on telephone intercepts, search warrants and covert methods to gather evidence.
Superintendent Stenner was acquitted of perjury in a retrial in October last year, after initially being prosecuted over allegedly giving false testimony to a CCC hearing in 2017.
Mr Atkinson argued that evidence-gathering techniques should only be used in the most serious matters.
Superintendent Michelle Stenner was acquitted after being charged with giving false testimony to a CCC hearing.(Supplied)
“The Stenner case, which was never more than a HRM [human resource management] matter, is an example of the misuse of such powers [phone intercepts and coercive hearings],” he said.
Lack of public hearings a ‘missed opportunity’
Brisbane-based lawyer Calvin Gnech, who specializes in professional misconduct law, said the inquiry had missed the opportunity to reset the bar for transparency and the CCC.
“Only in recent times have the submissions of everyone been disclosed on the website, so the practical effect is there has been no contradiction to any of the submissions,” Mr Gnech said.
“And we now know that the CCC themselves submitted four separate submissions to the inquiry, and no stakeholder or no community member has been able to contradict those submissions in any way because of the way it was conducted.”
Professor AJ Brown says legislative change to protect whistleblowers is “the unresolved issue.” (Mark Leonardi, ABC News.)
Mr Gnech said Mr Fitzgerald and Mr Wilson should have allowed public hearings as part of the review.
“This was the first reform in regards to corruption that was considered in Queensland since 1989, and ultimately a concerning feature of the whole inquiry that has been disappointing is the lack of any public hearings or transparency in regards to the submissions.
“At the moment, you’ll see the benefit of a public inquiry right here in Queensland by looking at the meticulous way that Commissioner Richards has conducted the inquiry into policing and domestic violence in a public way, to allow for public comment, and contradiction of any statements made by – in that inquiry – the police service or any other stakeholder.
“That’s been denied here in regards to the way the process of the inquiry was conducted, and it’s disappointing,” he said.
“I think looking back on this, for a number of reasons, this may well be a missed opportunity.”
Whistleblower protection still an open question
It’s the areas the CCC report didn’t examine that have attracted a lot of commentary, including those outlined in its appendix.
Professor Brown said the key unresolved issue remained how whistleblowers were to be protected under the Public Interest Disclosure Act.
“The parliamentary committee separately recommended that there needed to be a review of the … whistleblower protection laws and the government accepted that as a separate recommendation,” Professor Brown said.
“So I think everyone has been waiting for the government to say how it’s going to progress that review separately — it was never included in the terms of reference for this inquiry.”
Professor Brown said a legislative review remained critical because the commission of inquiry was a result of the CCC’s attempted intervention in support of the whistleblower who made the original Logan Council corruption allegations.
“So that’s sort of the unresolved issue at the heart of this,” he said.
“As part of the wash-up, it’s going to be very important that the Queensland government indicate how that review [of the Public Interest Disclosure Act] is going to happen so that the true root causes that really began this whole saga can actually be addressed.”
Queensland’s corruption watchdog needs to consult with the state’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) before laying charges to avoid “unwarranted impact” of its investigations and rebuild public confidence, a new report has recommended.
Key points:
The inquiry finds the Logan City Council probe damaged perceptions of the CCC
It identifies risks associated with the CCC employing former police as investigators
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the recommendations are “very sensitive”
It is one of a string of recommendations from a Commission of Inquiry relating to the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).
The inquiry’s report, handed to the Queensland government today, also recommends the CCC reduce its reliance on police officers as staff.
It identifies “two key risks” associated with the employment of seconded police in the CCC.
The inquiry was co-chaired by retired Supreme Court justice Alan Wilson QC and Tony Fitzgerald, who is best known for heading the Fitzgerald Inquiry, which uncovered systemic corruption in Queensland 35 years ago.
It was announced by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in January.
The inquiry was commissioned as a result of a recommendation from a Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee report into the CCC’s investigation and decision to charge eight Logan City councilors with fraud in 2019.
The charges were dropped in court due to a lack of evidence and today’s report found those events adversely affected Queenslanders’ perceptions of the CCC.
Mr Fitzgerald’s extensive and distinguished legal career dates back to the 1970s.
The original Fitzgerald Inquiry’s recommendations led to the creation of the Criminal Justice Commission, the precursor of the CCC.
The new inquiry made 32 recommendations about the CCC’s structure and operation “that must be implemented collectively” to bolster public confidence.
Upon receiving the report, Ms Palaszczuk said the recommendations were “very sensitive”.
“On the face of them, there is nothing here that I cannot see our government implementing,” she said.
What has been recommended?
The inquiry heard 87 submissions from stakeholders and members of the public including from the former chair of the CCC Alan MacSporran.
Its recommendations focus on refining the CCC’s process of laying charges and reducing its reliance on police staff.
They highlight risks of “institutional capture” by the Queensland Police Service (QPS) – in which the interests of the QPS are prioritized over the interests of the public – and a risk that corruption investigations might place an “undue emphasis on law enforcement”.
The report makes clear the use of seconded police officers by the CCC is appropriate and should continue, but recommends the watchdog predominantly employs people outside of the police and armed services.
It also recommends creating a Corruption Strategy and Prevention Unit within the CCC, as well as a dedicated training and development officer.
The inquiry urges the CCC to employ more investigators from outside the police service.(ABC News: Patrick Williams)
Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman has focused on another recommendation — amending the Crime and Corruption Act to make the CCC consult with the DPP before laying charges to ensure the charges can be properly brought to court.
“I think that is a really key recommendation, particularly as this commission of inquiry arose from the PCCC’s inquiry into what happened in Logan City Council,” Ms Fentiman said.
She said the specialist team would be created within the DPP.
“That will review all of the evidence collated by the CCC and make a recommendation to the CCC.
“It then goes back to the CCC once the matter then comes to be prosecuted a different team of prosecutors will looks at it.
“We’ll take advice from the DPP about the kind of resources they need in order to do this work.”
Shannon Fentiman says DPP consultation is a key recommendation of the report. (AAP: Jono Searle)
What about the Logan councillors?
The inquiry’s report said it would not revisit or re-litigate the investigation of the Logan council.
Ms Palaszczuk did not comment on whether Logan City Council would be issued an apology.
“No-one would like to see what happened to those particular councilors happen again,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“That report is very clear about a path forward … so we would probably not see the likes of that happening again – that would be my expectation.”
The report also raises additional issues outside its scope, including the potential of delaying the suspension or sacking of councilors until they have pleaded guilty or are committed to trial.
Ms Fentiman said the government would also consider those issues.
The report will be considered by cabinet on Monday.
The Premier said it would take some time to implement the recommendations.
“On the face of them, there is nothing here that I cannot see our government implementing,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
CCC chair Bruce Barbour said the watchdog would immediately commence implementing the recommendations.
“We thank the Commission of Inquiry for the opportunity to participate in the review and its engagement with the CCC,” he said.
A parliamentary inquiry has found the government agencies in charge of preparing for and responding to major flooding in New South Wales this year failed affected communities.
Key points:
A NSW parliamentary committee has found lead agencies failed to warn and protect communities
It is recommending the SES restructure to harness local knowledge, and that Resilience NSW be abolished
The weather bureau is also being told to consider reviewing its data
Seven people died and thousands of people were displaced or cut off when floodwaters devastated the Northern Rivers region twice since late February.
Despite calls from authorities to stand down, residents took to boats and jet skis to rescue each other from rooftops, and took with them axes and other equipment to cut open roof cavities in which people were stuck.
Led by Labor’s Walt Secord, the parliamentary committee took evidence at a series of hearings across the state’s north as well as Western Sydney, where floods also became deadly.
“The committee found that the [State Emergency Service and Resilience NSW] failed to provide leadership and effective coordination in the community’s greatest time of need,” Mr Secord told parliament as he tabled the report.
The NSW Parliamentary Flood Inquiry held hearings on the north coast in May.(ABC North Coast: Bruce MacKenzie)
The report found that information from the State Emergency Service (SES) and Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) was “incorrect and out of date”, leaving the community with “no other option but to ignore government advice and save lives”.
It made 37 recommendations, including that the SES, the state’s lead agency in a flood event, undergo a restructure to harness local knowledge and employ more salaried staff.
It urged the weather bureau to review its rain data infrastructure and flood modeling tools.
The report found the state agencies and BOM were “not prepared for, nor did they comprehend the scale” of the floods and that “some agencies were criticized for treating it as a nine to five business operation”.
Lismore resident Billy Curry was one of many in the “tinny army” who took it upon themselves to rescue people the day his home town went under.
He agreed there did not seem to be enough resources to assess and respond to the situation, and that without the impromptu volunteers “the community would have been in a lot of trouble”.
“There were scenes there where you were ducking under power lines and street lights in a boat,” he said.
“We lifted 64 older people from an elderly aged care place into a boat, so that’s something you don’t forget.”
Billy Curry wants a database created to better manage willing and able volunteers.(ABC North Coast: Bruce MacKenzie)
Mr Curry said he wanted the State Emergency Service to adopt a database of volunteers who had lifesaving skills and equipment such as jet skis, who could be quickly briefed via SMS in an emergency.
“Also, there was no management of knowing who was in the water and how many people were volunteering,” Mr Curry said.
“SW [no] database of managing the demand of incidences, that definitely stood out, it was absolute chaos.”
The committee has also recommended the NSW Government consider abolishing Resilience NSW, the disaster recovery agency set up in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires, currently led by former Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.
The inquiry is separate to an independent report, that the government has received but not made public, which the ABC understands will also recommend dismantling Resilience NSW.
Both the SES and Resilience NSW told the ABC they would consider the findings before responding to parliament.
A spokesman for the NSW Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said they did not know when the report would be tabled and that the minister would not be able to comment “until the NSW Government actually receives the report and has an opportunity to review and respond”.
The report findings include:
SES and Resilience NSW failed as lead agencies
SES was hindered by centralization and shortage of volunteers
SES issued out of date, inaccurate and confusing messages
Community members had no other option but to ignore government advice and save lives
Grants process was insensitive and compounded trauma
NSW Government agencies lacked coordination, created confusion
Demarcation disputes between NSW Government agencies slowed the roll-out of support
NSW Government failed to adequately prepare effective temporary and long-term housing solutions
Recommendations for NSW Government include:
Consider a restructure of SES to harness local knowledge, coordinate more closely with other rescue agencies, increase salaried staff and drive volunteer recruitment
Consider abolishing Resilience NSW
Appoint a senior police officer to lead recovery efforts
Prioritize the rebuild of Cabbage Tree Island
Significantly increase investment in flood mitigation and preparation
Betty Taylor has been fighting the scourge of domestic violence in Queensland for more than three decades and even she was shocked by the explosive testimonies she heard at an inquiry into police culture.
Key points:
Leading advocate Betty Taylor is calling for a domestic violence and sexual assault commissioner
Current officers told the inquiry unconscious bias was a major issue and misogyny “ran wild” in the force
Tuesday marks the final day of public hearings, with a report to be handed down in October
WARNING: This story contains strong language that some readers may find offensive.
The chief executive of the Red Rose Foundation has been closely following the inquiry into the Queensland Police Service’s (QPS) response to domestic and family violence, which has spanned five weeks and heard from dozens of witnesses, including current and retired police officers.
With Tuesday marking its final day of public hearings, the inquiry has painted a damning picture of police culture and problematic attitudes in the ranks towards domestic violence survivors.
Misogynistic attitudes towards women, policy and procedural failures as well as serious allegations of police inaction to protect domestic violence survivors have all been laid bare.
Ms Taylor said officers’ response to domestic and family violence in Queensland was the worst she’s ever witnessed in her 34 years of advocacy.
“This inquiry is incredibly important. I’ve worked across the domestic violence field for 34 years and … the response by police is the worst it’s ever been,” Ms Taylor said.
“Not even just by police — I think women are getting a rough deal in the community and through the courts.
“Victims have to have confidence in the police. They’ve got to know they can call and… be taken seriously.”
‘Time for really significant reforms’
Ms Taylor said she hoped the inquiry would provide momentum for meaningful change and reform.
“We’ve got women potentially being murdered and police aren’t taking the time to do thorough investigations. It really concerns me,” she said.
“My hope is [that] we really step up and look at what domestic violence really is: one of the worst crimes in our community.
“It’s time to step back and reflect and put in place some really significant reforms.”
There are calls for ongoing face-to-face domestic violence training for police.(ABC News: Patrick Williams)
Headed by Judge Deborah Richards, the landmark inquiry’s goal is to determine whether cultural issues are negatively impacting how police handle domestic violence cases, as well as the experience of Indigenous domestic violence victims and the way corrupt conduct and complaints against police are dealt with.
A key recommendation of the Women’s Safety and Justice taskforce, the inquiry follows urgent calls for action after several high-profile domestic violence murders, including the deaths of Doreen Langham, Hannah Clarke and her three children.
Among the explosive evidence, one service officer — who cannot be identified for legal reasons — told the inquiry that misogyny “ran wild” within the force as he detailed hearing male colleagues frequently making derogatory remarks about female survivors and avoiding domestic violence incidents altogether.
“Domestic violence is just foreplay”, “she’s too ugly to be raped”, “rape is just surprise sex” and “I can see why he does it to her — if I was in his position, I’d do that,” the officer told the inquiry, recounting comments he had heard made by seasoned male officers.
The officer became emotional as he told the inquiry “the core business in his station was misogyny, dehumanization and negligence.”
‘She’s just blowing hot air’
Retired officer Audra Pollard — who was a coordinator officer in police call centers — told the inquiry she witnessed police deliberately driving away from a suburb to avoid responding to a domestic violence incident.
Ms Pollard said her colleagues would often make derogatory comments about “repeat” domestic violence complainants, saying things like: “Oh — that f**kwit has called again” “That spoon is on the line again”, “Don’t bother sending a crew to that job, she’s just blowing hot air, that sort of thing.”
Officers told the inquiry that misogyny and unconscious bias are major issues throughout the force.(ABC News: Luke Bowden)
The inquiry also heard from Sergeant Paul Trinder, a shift supervisor, who recalled a time where two officers, including a senior constable, downplayed a serious domestic violence incident, despite “clear photographic evidence” of assault and threats made against the victim.
“There was a statement from the aggrieved person that the respondent had threatened to decapitate the family dog in front of her and her children,” Sergeant Trinder told the inquiry.
“That victim had been failed by that officer. There was clear photographic evidence that she had been assaulted, like a punch-sized bruise around her rib cage and so on.
“That information was not provided to me at the time.”
The inquiry was told of another instance where a police officer did not investigate the suspicious death of a domestic violence victim because she and her husband were a “pair of scumbags who lived in a sh*t area in a sh*t house”.
Sergeant Trinder said “unconscious bias” was a major problem.
The inquiry was also told Indigenous domestic violence victims were turned away from police stations or misidentified as perpetrators.
‘DV fatigue’ blamed for police inaction
Several witnesses told the inquiry that officers were “DV fatigued” and fearful of scrutiny over their response to a large volume of cases, with police spending more than 40 per cent of their time responding to domestic violence matters.
As part of the inquiry, consultant and former detective Mark Ainsworth interviewed more than 50 police officers and found there was a culture of “taking shortcuts” to avoid doing DV orders because of their “convoluted nature”.
The inquiry heard there was a culture of doing the “bare minimum” when investigating DV complaints as a way of coping with burnout.(AAP: Dan Peled)
Mr Ainsworth was told the “culture of doing the bare minimum might be a coping mechanism to deal with being overworked and DV-fatigued”.
The inquiry also heard from the state’s most senior officer in charge of DV investigations, Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd, who said officers were overwhelmed, fatigued and reporting high levels of burnout and psychological distress.
He did concede that there were “significant issues of police culture at play.”
“We may have some members, albeit I hope very few, who do have some deeply misogynistic attitudes,” Assistant Commissioner Codd told the inquiry, although he did not say the issue was systemic.
Police unsurprised by officers perpetrating domestic violence
The inquiry also revealed 38 Queensland police officers were currently subject to domestic and family violence orders as of June 30.
Queensland Assistant Police Commissioner Cheryl Scanlon says police perpetrating domestic violence is concerning but expected given the size of the force.(Supplied: Queensland Police Service)
One officer, the inquiry was told, who was served wiith a Police Protection Notice (PPN), allegedly breached it just 33 minutes after being served a copy of it, while another allegedly used the QPS database to try to locate the crisis shelter of his ex-wife, who had lodged a DV complaint against him.
Assistant Police Commissioner Cheryl Scanlon — who heads the internal affairs division within the ethical standards command — said police-perpetrated DV was not surprising, given the size of the force.
“We’re a large organization of 17,000 people … it is not something that you can expect we won’t see in our organization given the size of it,” Assistant Commissioner Scanlon told the inquiry.
“There will be officers who will find themselves in a relationship that breaks down or where there are allegations of domestic violence unfortunately.
“Could we pick up some of these things earlier? I dare say we should have and could have.”
Will the inquiry lead to meaningful change?
There have been some notable absences from the public hearings, including QPS Commissioner Katarina Carroll, Queensland Police Union chief executive Ian Leavers and Police Minister Mark Ryan, yet none was asked by the inquiry to give evidence in person.
A common theme throughout the public hearings was the need for thorough and ongoing face-to-face DV training for police.
Almost 100 per cent of interviewees told Mr Ainsworth the “whole system” needs to be reviewed and streamlined to address cultural issues across the force.
Ms Taylor said her organization was calling for a domestic violence and sexual assault commissioner to ensure survivors were protected.
“I really would like to see a domestic violence and sexual assault commissioner that has an external role in not just overseeing complaints, but [also] policy advice to government, overseeing … how support is given to victims by both police and external agencies,” she said.
“The recommendations [to be handed down at the end of the inquiry] need to reflect the seriousness of what’s been heard.”
The inquiry will hand its final report to the state government in October.
In a statement, the QPS said it was committed to working with the inquiry to ensure “organizational values, standards of practice and responsibilities are being maintained and, where the opportunity arises, enhanced”.
“We are committed to strengthening and improving our response to DFV matters to ensure the service is supporting all victims and holding perpetrators to account,” a spokesperson said.
Two former NSW MPs were given “last-minute” interviews for overseas trade commissioner roles despite there already being preferred candidates, according to an email from inside Investment NSW.
Key points:
Former NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay was interviewed for a senior trade role in India
Former NSW Liberal minister Pru Goward also interviewed for the India role and one based in Singapore
Neither Ms McKay nor Ms Goward was appointed to a role
On August 14, 2021, Investment NSW CEO Amy Brown said she had been “asked” to include the two candidates in interviews for the India and Singapore-based roles.
The email, sent to Ms Brown’s assistant and the recruiter, shows the candidates were included despite the recruitment process already being well underway.
“We’ve been asked to interview two last-minute candidates for the Senior Trade and Investment commissioner roles … Jodi McKay — India/Middle East (and) Pru Goward — India/Middle East or Singapore,” she wrote.
The release of the email is likely to place more pressure on NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet over whether there was political interference in the recruitment of trade commissioner roles, after sustained scrutiny over a similar job based in New York which was given to former deputy premier and Nationals leader John Barilaro.
The Premier has launched an independent inquiry into the New-York-based role, which is expected to be finished within days.
Mr Barilaro will appear on Monday before a parliamentary inquiry, where he is expected to be questioned about his involvement in the recruitment of trade commissioners, and his appointment to the New York position.
John Barilaro successfully applied for the New York job after leaving politics last year.(AAP: Joel Carrett)
He has since withdrawn from the role, and much of the focus has turned to how involved he and another minister, Stuart Ayres, were in the hiring process.
Last week, Mr Ayres stood down as trade minister and deputy leader of the NSW Liberal party, after a draft review raised concerns about his involvement in the recruitment process for the Americas role and whether he might have breached the ministerial code of conduct.
Mr Ayres denies any wrongdoing.
“However, I agree it is important that this matter is investigated appropriately and support the Premier’s decision to do so,” he said in a statement.
Mr Barilaro has maintained he always followed the proper process.
The email from August last year — seen by the ABC — shows how Investment NSW hastily sought to accommodate the last-minute interviews.
“It’s important we do this ASAP as there are already preferred candidates waiting for confirmation as to whether they have the role,” Ms Brown wrote.
Ms McKay is a former NSW Labor leader, while Ms Goward is a former NSW Liberal minister and sex discrimination commissioner.
The ABC understands Mr Barilaro approached Ms McKay about the India trade role.
Both women were interviewed but neither was appointed.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on behalf of either Ms McKay or Ms Goward.
“My interest in the role was very well known and supported by the Indian Australian community,” Ms McKay told the ABC.
“I went through the interview process, I wasn’t told where the process was up to, I was obviously unsuccessful.”
Ms Goward, whose husband died over the weekend, declined to comment.
Amy Brown has been giving evidence at the parliamentary inquiry into John Barilaro’s appointment as trade commissioner.(AAP: Bianca De Marchi)
The ABC sent detailed questions to the Premier and Investment NSW about who was asked by Ms McKay and Ms Goward to be interviewed at such a late stage. The Premier’s office deferred the questions to Investment NSW.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the agency said details about candidates applying for public service roles were private and confidential.
A nearly identical email was included in a large tranche of documents released through the NSW parliament late last year.
However, in that version neither woman’s name is listed.
The ABC has seen the version which includes both names.
“In order to ensure the names of potential candidates were kept confidential outside of the recruitment process, Ms Brown’s executive assistant removed candidate names from her email to a third party while trying to organize interview panel members,” an Investment NSW spokesperson said.
“A full candidate information pack was provided to panel members ahead of each interview.”
Penny Sharpe, Labor’s leader in the upper house, who has been involved in the parliamentary inquiry into Mr Barilaro’s appointment, said they would seek to investigate beyond the New York role.
“Serious concerns about the appointment of other trade commissioners have been raised,” she said.
“This is why we will be seeking to widen the terms of reference to the inquiry.”
In response to questions about whether the independent inquiry commissioned by the Premier had looked at who asked for Ms McKay and Ms Goward to be interviewed, a spokesperson from the Department of Premier and Cabinet said the terms of reference were focused on the New York position.
The NSW Public Service Commissioner has told an inquiry she would never have signed off on former deputy premier John Barilaro’s appointment as New York trade commissioner had she known of the level of ministerial involvement.
Key points:
Ms Lo said she was not aware of the level of ministerial involvement
Mr Barilaro’s former chief of staff said he had never shown interest in the roles
Mr Barilaro will face the inquiry on Monday
Kathrina Lo was on the selection panel but said she was unaware that then-minister Stuart Ayres had played a role in deciding which candidates should be shortlisted and that he had provided an informal reference for his former colleague, Mr Barilaro.
Ms Lo said she had only learned of these interventions through evidence given to the inquiry and media reports.
She said she’d also been unaware that Mr Ayres had held a Zoom meeting with the other leading candidate, businesswoman Kimberley Cole.
“Had I known on 15th June what I know now, I would not have endorsed the report,” she said, referring to the final report of the selection panel.
The other independent member of the selection panel was former Liberal MP Warwick Smith.
He has not been called as a witness but Ms Lo said he would like it placed on the record that he would not have endorsed the report had he known the full picture.
The commissioner said no pressure had been placed on her personally to achieve a particular outcome but she expressed her displeasure at the way the process had been conducted.
“As Public Service Commissioner, I should not be viewed as cover for a recruitment process or a way for other panel members or the hiring agency to avoid accountability,” Ms Lo said.
Earlier today, Mr Barilaro’s former chief of staff Siobhan Hamblin told the inquiry that she had been given no reason to believe that he stood to benefit personally from any changes to the way the trade commissioners were appointed.
In the days before Mr Barilaro announced his plans to leave politics, emails show bureaucrats discussing changing the rules for the recruitment of new trade commissioners, then deciding the plum US role would be handled “as an internal matter”.
Ms Hamblin today said Mr Barilaro “never raised with me any personal interest in these roles”.
If he had, she said, she would have had no hesitation in flagging it as a concern.
Siobhan Hamblin today gave evidence to the inquiry.(AAP: James Gourley)
Ms Hamblin told the inquiry that in September last year, Mr Barilaro spoke to her about his intention to resign from politics.
She agreed that those conversations took place around the same time as he had asked his staff to prepare an urgent submission to cabinet seeking to change the trade jobs into ministerial appointments.
Ms Hamblin said the discussions were not unusual and were not confined to that period as he had been talking about leaving parliament since he took a month of mental health leave the previous year.
“Sometimes it was quite a flippant and at other times it was more serious,” Ms Hamblin told the hearing.
Former deputy premier John Barilaro resigned from politics last year.(AAP: Joel Carrett)
Labor’s Daniel Mookhey pressed Ms Hamblin on the timing of Mr Barilaro’s request for his staff to prepare an urgent submission to cabinet to turn the New York-based role into a ministerial appointment.
“Was it the case that the reason why Mr Barilaro wanted this cabinet submission produced ASAP and considered urgently was because at that point of time he had already started contemplating a resignation?” Mr Mookhey asked.
“That is a question for him, Mr Mookhey,” Ms Hamblin replied.
Mr Barilaro is due to appear before the inquiry on Monday.
The acting managing director of Investment NSW Kylie Bell gave evidence that the position of New York trade commissioner has been placed on hold pending the conclusion of the hearings.
She told MPs that there were currently four people working in the NSW government’s New York trade office, earning a total of $900,000 in salaries.
In addition, there are two staff based in San Francisco and one other in Washington, who is employed through Austrade.
Chief executive of Investment NSW Amy Brown gave evidence earlier this week for a second time. (AAP: Bianca de Marchi)
Labor has said it would scrap the international trade roles, saying revelations in recent weeks have raised questions about whether they are delivering value for money for taxpayers.
“With our hospitals overstretched and teachers under-resourced, the Government has failed dismally to demonstrate value for money of its senior trade commissioners,” NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns said.
Mr Barilaro’s appointment has been put under the microscope for several weeks and is the subject of two separate inquiries.
It has been six months since a devastating bushfire ripped through WA’s Wheatbelt region, and impacted farmers are still counting the cost.
Key points:
A fire started after a permitted stubble burn reignited in “catastrophic conditions”
The blaze destroyed 45,000 hectares and multiple homes
Locals say a permit should never have been issued and are calling for a public inquiry
The Shire of Corrigin, 220 kilometers east of Perth, was among the regions hardest hit.
About 45,000 hectares of land was burned, four homes, and dozens of buildings destroyed, and more than 1,000 livestock perished after a prescribed stubble burn reignited in what authorities labeled “catastrophic conditions”.
One farmer caught in the fire’s path was Steven Bolt, who estimated millions of dollars in losses from the February blaze.
Mr Bolt is deputy chief of Corrigin’s Volunteer Fire Brigade and said the fire, which engulfed his property, could have been prevented.
“We all knew the risk coming that weekend, and for a permit to be issued is absolutely staggering, and the fire should never have happened, and the permit should have never been issued,” he said.
A shed burns in Corrigin during the February bushfires.(Twitter: Ashley Jacobs)
The neighboring Shire of Bruce Rock permitted the stubble burn several days before the blaze started on February 6.
An investigation by the WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) found the authorized burn-off was reignited in 43-degree temperatures before it spread rapidly in strong winds.
No total fire ban was in place at the time, but Mr Bolt contacted authorities with his concerns.
He said his pleas were ignored.
“I told [them] this was going to happen and now it has, and we need all the resources we can find, particularly air support, because we were never going to stop that fire,” he said.
‘We don’t like coming out here anymore’
Tim and Shannon Hardingham survey the damage on their property.(ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Sam McManus)
Tim and Shannon Hardingham run a farm 10km east of Corrigin.
Between paddocks of vibrant yellow canola crops now lies a metal scrap yard.
The Hardinghams said the past six months had been the hardest of their lives, and much of the recovery was still ahead of them.
“People who haven’t been through it have a lot of empathy, but there’s a daily struggle in what to do next because there’s just so much to do,” Ms Hardingham said.
“The single biggest cost that is shocking to us is the asbestos clean-up, which we’ve been quoted around $250,000 to clean up.”
More bushfire destruction on the Hardingham’s Correcting property.(ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Sam McManus)
The couple now avoids coming out to the farm and have chosen to keep their kids away.
“It doesn’t even resemble the same farm,” Mr Hardingham said.
Please for answers
The burning permit that led to the fire was issued by the Shire of Bruce Rock, which declined to comment on the issue.
Shire president Stephen Strange said it had been a difficult time for the region, but praised the work of local authorities, volunteers, and the state government.
“The recovery will be ongoing for years and years to come… the farmers themselves have done a good job getting the landscape back into pretty good condition,” he said.
“The communication has been very good between affected landholders, community members, and the shire.”
In a statement, DFES acting deputy commissioner Jon Broomhall said the Bruce Rock Shire was within its rights to grant the burning permit, and an “after-action review is currently underway, focusing on the four bushfires that occurred across the state that day.”
Mr Bolt with one of his sheds destroyed by bushfire.(ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Sam McManus)
But local farmers and firefighters said they had so far been left in the dark.
Mr Bolt was calling for a separate investigation into the Correcting fire.
“This needs to be a standalone inquiry. The issue of the permit being given is different to what occurred in the other fires,” he said.
“We haven’t even come close to being able to discuss the issues that have led to this catastrophe through this area,” he said.
Law firm Hall & Wilcox has been engaged by insurers representing impacted landholders, with inquiries still in the early stages.
Ms Hardingham said a thorough investigation could help prevent similar incidents in the future.
“We don’t find ourselves privy to much information about what went wrong,” she said.
“It would be nice to think it will never happen to anyone again and that people could learn from our loss and what we’ve gone through.”
A senior NSW government bureaucrat has told an inquiry the lucrative New York-based trade job given to John Barilaro was “put on a slightly separate path” to similar roles.
Key points:
Amy Brown is giving evidence for the second time at the parliamentary inquiry
Trade Minister Stuart Ayres this morning resigned
John Barilaro has withdrawn from the $500,000 a year role
Investment NSW CEO Amy Brown is being grilled for a second time at a parliamentary inquiry into the appointment of the former deputy premier as the state’s senior trade and investment commissioner to the Americas.
This morning, Ms Brown told the inquiry she had a meeting with former trade minister Stuart Ayres on October 12 last year.
The inquiry was shown an email sent by one of Ms Brown’s staff shortly after that meeting, which included the line “the Minister would like to leave the New York post vacant for now”.
Former deputy premier John Barilaro is due to give evidence at the inquiry next week.(AAP: Joel Carrett)
But Ms Brown told the inquiry it had actually been her decision to leave the post open, because of various factors, including tax hurdles and “serious performance issues” with a candidate who had initially been successful in applying for the role, Jenny West.
“I didn’t go into any particular detail about some of the performance issues I was starting to become aware of with regard to Ms West,” she told the inquiry.
“That was more conversations I was having with her team, as at that point, they were directly reporting to me because she was on extended leave.
“I said, ‘well, in light of the fact that we can’t offer anyone the job for some time, is it your view that we should keep that recruitment process closed and reopen it at another time?'”
She told the inquiry that Mr Ayres agreed.
“Any conversation I had with Minister Ayres were, therefore, to a degree, influential on my decision but in my view, it did not amount to undue influence because at all times, I felt that the decision was mine, ultimately mine to make, she said.
Ms Brown was required to give evidence in person this morning. (abcnews)
Labor MLC Daniel Mookhey Ms Brown asked whether this meant the Americas position was put “on a slightly separate path” to other similar roles around the globe, to which she replied “yes”.
“I think it was a pragmatic piece of advice from me that we couldn’t fill the role for some time and his response was, ‘well then it makes sense to keep it vacant,’ she told the inquiry.
“I think we both concluded, given everything that had happened, it would be sensible to go back to market when we were ready to put a contract on the table and when we could take stock of where things were at.”
Mr Ayres, who maintains he has done nothing wrong throughout the process, this morning resigned from the NSW ministry, after weeks of being linked to Mr Barilaro’s appointment.
Mr Barilaro’s appointment has been put under the microscope for several weeks and is the subject of two separate inquiries.
He has since withdrawn from the $500,000-a-year position.
Mr Barilaro is due to appear before the inquiry on Monday.
Premier Dominic Perrottet has also ordered a separate review into the recruitment process for the role.
