First, congratulations to Finland on its success in dropping the wholesale price of electricity by 75 per cent after opening its newest nuclear power plant (which produces 15 per cent of that country’s energy needs).
Congratulations also to Peter Dutton for finally saying in his budget reply speech that nuclear energy has to be in the mix if we are ever to get to net zero by 2050.
Many people have commented on the federal budget already, but one big disappointment was the lack of any additional expenditure for defence over the next four–year budget cycle. Indeed, the army had big cuts made to its armoured fighting vehicle replacement, reducing it to one-third of what was originally intended.
The Sofronoff inquiry into the ACT’s criminal justice system is fascinating to watch. I rarely have cause to congratulate Green Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury, but in picking Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff KC to conduct this inquiry, he has selected a man with an impeccable record as a judicial officer and whose forensic skills are of the first order. Well done, Shane Rattenbury!
It was sad to see Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold give his evidence and, under questioning, change that evidence on a number of occasions. It is not uncommon for very good advocates to not make the best witnesses, and the DPP should not be too hard on himself when assessing the evidence he gave.
It does, however, look to me as if he has breached one of the most basic rules for any advocate: never get emotionally and personally involved in the matter you are acting in. His various statements in support of Brittany Higgins and his obvious issues with the investigating police seem to have led to his almost having an emotional stake in the matter. If so, that is a shame.
I know it is sometimes hard not to. I recall doing it myself. I once acted for an abused wife in Muswellbrook in the late 1970s. She was trying to escape from her horrible husband, who would not let her take their seven-year-old son. I very much sympathised with her, to the extent it clouded my judgment of the case. Apart from stuffing up an adjournment, luckily no lasting damage was done, and the lady ultimately got custody, but my personal feelings for her predicament and dislike of her husband affected my judgement. It did not help my client. Fortunately, apart from sometimes being annoyed at various members of the bench for their weak sentences, I never got personally involved as an ACT prosecutor.
As we know, Mr Drumgold has taken leave, and his deputy Anthony Williamson SC has become acting DPP. Should Mr Drumgold not return to his job for whatever reason, the ACT government could do a lot worse than appoint Mr Williamson as the next DPP. He has had extensive legal experience, has been a member of Civil Liberties Australia, and has prosecuted since 2009. He is certainly no bleeding heart, but he has a reputation for being firm but fair.
