Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury needs to sack the Director of Public Prosecutions in the wake of reported damning findings from a board of inquiry, the ACT's Opposition Leader has said.
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Elizabeth Lee said Mr Rattenbury was "sitting on his hands" while the Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold SC, was on leave and "paid $2000 a day".
"If the findings of misconduct around this trial are as accurate as is being reported, and we've got no evidence to suggest otherwise, then absolutely the Attorney-General of the ACT should sack him immediately," Ms Lee said on Thursday.
Ms Lee also called on the ACT government to immediately release the findings of the board of inquiry that examined the Parliament House rape trial, led by Walter Sofronoff KC.
"An independent inquiry is exactly that - an independent inquiry. There is absolutely no justification for Andrew Barr to hide this report from the public," she said.
In a 600-page report leaked to The Australian, the board of inquiry chairman, Mr Sofronoff, reportedly describes being "deeply disturbed" by the actions of Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Drumgold.
Ms Lee said it was also extraordinary Mr Rattenbury had not commented on the inquiry and the leak of its findings in the 12 hours since The Australian reported on its findings.
"It is absolutely critical for the ACT's Attorney-General, the first law officer of our jurisdiction, to step up and take some leadership," she said.
Ms Lee said if the allegations made about Mr Drumgold were made about any lawyer, they would be fired and likely struck from the roll.
"This is no doubt that as a holder of a statutory position, there is an even greater duty on the Director of Public Prosecutions when he comes to his duties, not only as an officer of the court but of course his prosecutorial duties to the people of the ACT," she said.
Mr Rattenbury has been contacted for comment.
A spokeswoman for Chief Minister Andrew Barr late on Wednesday night confirmed the government would not rush to release the report after it was leaked.
"The ACT government received the report on Monday and has commenced the cabinet process that we outlined last week. The report and the ACT government response will be released publicly once this process has been finalised and it will be tabled in the Legislative Assembly at the end of the month," the spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman said the leak did not come from the territory's cabinet.
Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry declined to comment on the contents of the report or its release to The Australian, except to say the government would respond in an timeframe and make it public at the end of the month after a cabinet process.
MORE A.C.T. POLITICS NEWS:
The board of inquiry found Mr Drumgold lied to a court and "preyed on a junior lawyer's inexperience", the inquiry report said, according to the report in The Australian published on Wednesday night.
Mr Barr on Monday, the day he was handed the report, indicated he was not concerned about leaks from people named in the report while the territory's cabinet considered its findings.
"That's a matter for those individuals, if there are any and if they want to come forward. But I don't think they will," he said.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
