Key events
Sarah Basford Canales
Greens call for ‘sealed’ chapter of robodebt inquiry report to be made public
A “sealed” chapter of the robodebt royal commission’s final report, containing the names of individuals referred to integrity bodies and the police “for civil action or criminal prosecution”, should be urgently made public, the Greens say.
It comes as the Australian federal police revealed on Wednesday it had finalised an investigation into allegations a witness gave false evidence in a hearing. The AFP said it did not find “sufficient admissible evidence” that the alleged offender had intended to mislead.
The final report, released last July, concluded the robodebt scheme was “crude and cruel”, a “costly failure of public administration” and “neither fair nor legal”.
Upon the final report’s release, commissioner Catherine Holmes recommended an additional chapter “remain sealed and not be tabled with the rest of the report so as not to prejudice the conduct of any future civil action or criminal prosecution”.
At the time, the government services minister, Bill Shorten, said it was not a “sustainable position” to keep the chapter a secret forever. He added he didn’t believe Holmes’ directions on the sealed chapter implied a “forever situation”.
In June, the National Anti-Corruption Commission announced it was no longer investigating the six individuals referred to the new body, saying it was “unlikely it would obtain significant new evidence” because of a separate public service investigation simultaneously underway.
Good morning
Emily Wind
And happy Friday – thanks to Martin for kicking things off for us. I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll be taking you through our live coverage today.
Feel free to get in touch with any thoughts, tips or questions via X, @emilywindwrites, or you can send me an email: [email protected].
Let’s get started.
Berejiklian set to learn if Icac findings ‘invalid’
Nino Bucci
The former New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian is expected to learn later this morning whether she has succeeded in her legal challenge to findings made against her by the anti-corruption watchdog.
Berejiklian filed a summons for judicial review in the NSW court of appeal last September. She argued that Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) findings that she engaged in serious corrupt conduct were invalid because the assistant commissioner in charge of the investigation was no longer at the commission when the findings were finalised.
Andrew Bell, the NSW chief justice, is expected to hand down his judgment in the case at 10.15am. He is only expected to read out brief orders, before a written judgment is published later on Friday.
Icac had initially been investigating former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire, who was also found to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct. Maguire was alleged to have used his position to conduct a business helping property developers.
After Berejiklian was heard on phone taps, she was called to give evidence at Icac and admitted she had been in a “close personal relationship” with Maguire for several years, which she had not disclosed to colleagues or family.
Icac then investigated a number of grants she had been involved in approving for Wagga Wagga as well as her state of knowledge of Maguire’s business dealings. Berejiklian has maintained she served the public interest “at all times” while in office.
The court heard in February that lawyers for Berejiklian argued that viewing a relationship as a “standing potential for impropriety” is a “black, depressing and utterly unrealistic view of human life”.
Welcome
Martin Farrer
Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be flagging some of the best overnight stories before Emily Wind takes over.
Linda Burney has been praised for her “courage” and “dedication” after she resigned as minister for Indigenous Australians. She tells our Indigenous affairs editor, Lorena Allam, that her successor must “listen to people, allow people to get to know you and most importantly, bring people with you”. Meanwhile, our political editor, Karen Middleton, looks at the challenges for Anthony Albanese as he tries to find a replacement for her and outgoing skills minister Brendan O’Connor.
Journalists employed by Nine Entertainment’s publishing division have voted overwhelmingly to strike over pay from Friday for five days, hampering the company’s coverage of the Paris Olympic Games due to officially begin overnight Australian time. Nine is the official broadcaster of the 2024 games, paying $100m for the broadcast rights for this year alone. The stop work action starts at 11am today and includes all newspaper staff covering the games in Paris, but not television.
Gladys Berejiklian’s fight to clear her name of serious corruption findings will be decided in a court of appeal ruling for her and the NSW integrity watchdog. Chief justice Andrew Bell will deliver his decision today as the former NSW premier fights findings she breached public trust through her covert romance with disgraced party colleague Daryl Maguire. We’ll have all the details as they unfold.
