The Board of Inquiry into the conduct of criminal justice agencies involved in Bruce Lehrmann’s trial for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins will report to ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr today.
The Sofronoff report into the Higgins/Lehrmann trial will not be released for another month, but the Canberra Liberals have called on the ACT Government to release it immediately.
A spokesperson said the ACT Government will consider the report through “a proper Cabinet process”, taking three to four weeks.
Subject to the contents of the report, and any legal implications, Mr Barr intends to table all, or part, of the report during the August parliamentary sitting of the ACT Legislative Assembly. Subject to the recommendations of the report, the Government may provide an interim response to some, or all, of the recommendations when the report is tabled in the Legislative Assembly. A final Government response may take several months.
But the Canberra Liberals and others expected the report to be released immediately. Acting party leader Jeremy Hanson called on Mr Barr and Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury to release the inquiry into the Higgins/Lehrmann trial without redactions, and immediately.
“This has been one of the most important inquiries in the history of the ACT,” Mr Hanson said. “It goes right to the core of our justice system.
“The public rightly expect this inquiry to be conducted without prejudice and released without interference.
“In fact, it is the only way to restore faith in the system. The inquiry was called for under accusations of political interference, and the hearings appeared to raise very serious questions. For Mr Barr to now interfere with the release of the report is outrageous.
“For the public to have faith in the system, justice must be impartial and open – not kept secret and only made available to Labor and Greens cabinet ministers.
“We have respected this process throughout. I now call on Mr Barr to also respect the process and the result, and release this report to the public in full and without delay.”
The West Australian suggested last week that the ACT Government has held back the report because it contains unfavourable findings against Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold, who is on extended leave until 30 August.
Mr Lehrmann’s trial in October was derailed due to juror misconduct; he was due to face retrial in February, but Mr Drumgold announced that he would not proceed with a second trial due to an “unacceptable risk” to Ms Higgins’s life and mental health.
Mr Lehrmann has always denied the rape allegation.
Walter Sofronoff, former Solicitor-General of Queensland, was appointed in February to chair the Board of Inquiry to investigate how police and prosecutors handled Ms Higgins’s rape allegations, and if police, Mr Drumgold, and Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates breached their duties.
Mr Drumgold has argued that politicians and police interfered in the trial, and that police had pressured him not to prosecute Mr Lehrmann over Ms Higgins’s allegation. For their part, police have said the prosecutor’s office dismissed their concerns about the strength of the case, while the Australian Federal Police Association “firmly believes” Mr Drumgold compromised Mr Lehrmann’s trial.
Ms Yates had been criticised for her public support of Ms Higgins, including accompanying her to the trial each day and standing next to her at press interviews.
