Commissioner of Police v Maccaul

[1997] AFPDT 3

I N THE FEDERAL POLICE	FPDT 3 o f 1997
DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

FEDERAL AGENT D . MACCAUL

TRIBUNAL

SPECIAL MAGISTRATE J.J.DAINER AM, RFD,

MEMBER.

DATE

2nd OCTOBER 1997.

PLACE

CANBERRA, ACT

FINDINGS.

On Charge AFP:WEDM001, a l l e g i n g t h a t Federa l

Agent D . Maccaul commit ted t h e d i s c i p l i n a r y

o f f e n c e o f a c t i n g i n a manner unbecoming an

AFP appo in tee , c o n t r a r y t o Regu la t i on 1 8 ( l ) ( e )

o f t h e Regu la t i ons , A u s t r a l i a n Federa l Pol i c e ( D i s c i p l i n e )

t h e T r i b u n a l f i n d s him GUILTY,

and, under Sec t i on 67 (3 ) (b ) o f t h e Compla in ts

( A u s t r a l i an Federal Pol i c e ) Act 1981, r e m i t s

t h e proceedings t o t h e Commissioner f o r t h e

i m p o s i t i o n o f a p e n a l t y .

On Charge AFP:SMWDM002, a l l e g i n g t h a t Federal

Agent D . Maccaul commit ted t h e d i s c i p l i n a r y

o f f e n c e o f improper conduct , c o n t r a r y t o

Regu la t i on 1 8 ( l ) ( d ) o f t h e A u s t r a l i a n Federal

P o l i c e ( D i s c i p l i n e ) Regu la t i ons , t h e T r i b u n a l

f i n d s him NOT GUILTY.

On Charge AFP:SMWDMOOB, a l l e g i n g t h a t Federa l

Agent D . Macca,ul commit ted t h e d i s c i p l i n a r y

o f f e n c e o f a c t i n g i n a manner t h a t b r i n g s , o r

i s l i k e l y t o b r i n g , d i s c r e d i t t o t h e AFP,

c o n t r a r y t o Regu la t i on 18 (1 ) (g ) o f t h e

A u s t r a l i an Federal Pol i c e ( D i s c i p1 i ne) Regul-

a t i o n s , the T r i b u n a l f i n d s h im NOT GUILTY.

V J.J.DAINER,

MEMBER.

I N THE FEDERAL POLICE	FPDT 3 o f 1997
DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

v .

FEDERAL AGENT D. MACCAUL

TRIBUNAL

SPECIAL MAGISTRATE J.J.DAINER AM, RFD,

MEMBER

DATE

2nd OCTOBER 1997.

PLACE

CANBERRA, A.C.T

REASONS FOR DECISION

F e d e r a l Agent D a v i d Maccaul ( t h e d e f e n d a n t ) was c h a r g e d w i t h

t h r e e o f f e n c e s . A1 l t h r e e were p r e f e r r e d u n d e r R e g u l a t i o n

18 o f t h e A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e ( D i s c i p l i n e )

R e g u l a t i o n s . The b a s i s f o r t h e c h a r g e s c o n s i s t e d o f

s t a t e m e n t s i n c e r t a i n p a r t s o f a l e t t e r w h i c h t h e d e f e n d a n t

s e n t t o t h e Commiss ioner o f t h e A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e

(AFP) unde r d a t e o f 1 1 t h June 1996. I t was b r o a d l y a l l e g e d

i n each o f t h e cha rges t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t had sough t " t o

i n a p p r o p r i a t e 1 y i n f l u e n c e " t h e Commiss ioner t o r e c o n s i d e r an

e a r l i e r d e c i s i o n by h i m n o t t o a p p l y t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f

S e c t i o n 26E o f t h e A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e A c t and

t e r m i n a t e t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s a p p o i n t m e n t .

The f i r s t c h a r g e a l l e g e d t h a t he a c t e d i n a manner

unbecoming an AFP a p p o i n t e e ; t h e second t h a t h e was g u i l t y

o f i m p r o p e r conduc t ; and t h e t h i r d , t h a t he a c t e d i n a

2 .

man~~er . t h a t b l - o ~ ~ g h t , o r was l i k e i y t o I - g d i s c i - e d i t t o

till;,	A F P .
P .

2er;l: i o ~ i 2 f i E o f t l i e A, ! . ; t i ,d l i i l r ? Feder-. i l Po! i c? A t , l i S

-. F \. h a

., , .. AFP Itlay have h i s or- Ii2r. Fi;<-.rJ ~SI-III :>f a p p o i n t m e n t

I:?r, l r l i	in&:zd	e a r l y b y ti;?	So~i~mi	ssiol 'e: . ;	$ v .	h i s d ~ l a g a t ? .
- I _ . _	C

c . i n )nay b app l i s d e r e .i oren:bsr- i 5 j ub jec ! : t o

:. A ~ J u n d a n c y S a c t i o n , or- f c r o ther- i a u s e s , sii,:h as where i t i s

:on5 i del-ed t h e member i s i ~ n s i i t a b 1 e t o con t i ncie ser-,di ng i n

t i l e AF?, e . g . , where t h e member has l o s t t h e c o n f i d e n c e o f

t h e Commiss ioner o r h i s d e l e g a t e .

I n t h e p r e s e n t c a s s , t h e b r o a d f a c t s were t h a t t h a de fendan t

had a p p i i e d f o r , and had Seen r e f u s e d , t e r m i n a t i o n on t h e

b a s i s o f r edundancy . He had t h e n i n f o r m e d t h e Con~miss ione r

by l e t t e r t h a t h i s w i f e had p u r c h a s e d a b r o t h e l , and t h a t i t

ma:/ be a s o u r c e o f embarrassment t o h i m s e l f and t h e AF? i f

:ha	media became awara o f t h e s i t u a t i o n .
The	Commiss ioner a d v i s e d t h e d e f e n d a n t t h a t , as t h e b u s i n e s s
was	a l e g i t i m a t e one, he d i d n o t c o n s i d e r t h e s i t u a t i o n such

as t o w a r r a n t t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f S e c t i o n 26E i n h i s c a s e .

A f t e r t h i s , t h e de fendan t :vrote a n o t h e r l e t t e r , d a t e d 1 l t h

June 1996, ( t h e s u b j e c t o f t h e c h a r g e s ) , i n *which he s a i d

t h a t he had s p e n t a c o n s i d e r a b l e amount o f t i m e a t t h e

b r o t h e l d u r i n g t h e p r e c e d i n g f i v e months, and had "become

F a m i l i a r t o a w i d e range o f c l i e n t e l e , t h e s e i n c l u d e p e o p l e

f r -o~n M e l b o u r n e ' s c r i m i n a l e lement as w e l l as i t ' s ( s i c )

j u d i c i a r - y " . He went on t o say t h a t t h i s c o u l d compromise

AFP o p e r a t i o n s and cause enibarrassnlent t o i t , i f he had " t o

g i v e e v i d e n c e b e f o r e a Judge, M a g i s t r a t e o r i n t h e p r e s e n c e

o f C 1 i a 1 f a ~ ~ ~ i l i i a ! . w i t h 111y i ~ l v o l v e ~ ~ ~ e ~ i ? i v i t l i t l i e bl-ot.he1.

R e s u l t i n g i n a ti ledia scanda l t h a t wou ld have an a d v e r s e

impac t on t h e image o f t h e AFP" .

The d e f e n d a n t s a i d t ! i ? t media i n t e r e s t ~.~rou:cl a x i s t o n l y

because of h i s occupa t i o n . He s t a t e d t h a t " r e s i g n a t i o n i s

an o b v i o u s t h a t he was way t o p r e v e n t any f u t ~ ~ r e p rob lem" , b u t added

" i n no f i n a n c i a l p o s i t i o n t o r e s i g n " .

He c o n c l u d e d i n f o r n l a t i o n by s a y i n g " T a k i n g i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n t h e e x t r a

I have p r o v i d e d you w i t h I b e l i e v e t h a t i t i s i n

t h e b e s t i n t e r e s t s o f t h e AFP and m y s e l f f o r you t o

r e c o n s i d e r my p r e v i o u s r e q u e s t f o r a ( S ) e c t i o n 26E package" .

T e r m i n a t i o n unde r S e c t i o n 26E, r a t h e r t h a n r e s i g n a t i o n , i n

t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s case , , ~ o u l d have r e s u l t e d i n a s u b s t a n t i a l

f i n a n c i a l advan tage t o h i m . I n a document t e n d e r e d a t

E x h i b i t 7 , f i g u r e s were d e t a i l e d showing t h a t , as a t 2 6 t h

A p r i l 1996, t h e d e f e n d a n t w o u l d have been e n t i t l e d t o a n e t t

p a y o u t o f $ 5 3 , 9 0 4 . 4 2 i f h i s a p p o i n t m e n t had been t e r m i n a t e d

under S e c t i o n 26E. I f he r e s i g n e d on t h a t d a t e , h i s n e t t

p a y o u t w o u l d have been $16,277.60 ; a d i f f e r e n c e o f

$37 ,626 .82 .

I t u r n now t o a n a r r a t i v e o f t h e e v i d e n c e i n t h e m a t t e r .

The d e f e n d a n t has been a member o f t h e AFP s i n c e 1981. A t

t h e t i m e o f t h e r e l e v a n t o c c u r r e n c e s , h e was employed i n t h e

f i rearms s e c t i o n o f H e a d q u a r t e r s , S o u t h e r n Reg ion , AFP,

Me1 b o u r n e .

Sometime d u r i n g 1995, a l t h o u g h p r e c i s e l y when was n o t c l e a r

on t h e e v i d e n c e , a round o f e a r l y r e t i r e n i e n t and redundancy

packages was announced by t h e AFP Commiss ioner . The

packages were i n t e n d e d f o r s e n i o r o f f i c e r s , a c a t e g o r y t o

wh i ch t h e d e f e n d a n t d i d n o t b e l o n g . N e v e r t h e l e s s , he

subr~ i i t t e d an a p p l i c a t i o n for. a redundancy package. The

a p p l i c a t i o n was r e f u s e d .

On 1 4 t h December 1995, t h e d e f e n d a n t had a c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h

M r L e s t e r C r o s s , t h e - t h e n Manager o f R e g i o n a l C o - o r d i n a t i o n ,

and r e s p o n s i b l e f o r s t a f f m a t t e r s i n t h e S o u t h e r n Reg ion .

M r C ross gave e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t t o l d h im t h a t h i s

w i f e was p u r c h a s i n g a b r o t h e l , and t h a t he wanted t o b r i n g

t h a t f a c t t o o f f i c i a l a t t e n t i o n , as " i t m i g h t cause

immedia te	c o n c e r n " .
M r C ross	s a i d h e t o l d t h e d e f e n d a n t t o r e p o r t t h e m a t t e r i n
w r i t i n g ,	so t h a t i t wou ld be on r e c o r d , and so t h a t t h e
Genera l	Manager, who was t h e most s e n i o r p e r s o n i n t h e
h i e r a r c h y	o f t h e Reg ion , w o u l d be aware o f t h e s i t u a t i o n .

The f o l l o w i n g day , t h e d e f e n d a n t handed Mr C ross a l e t t e r ,

w h i c h became E x h i b i t 2 . I n i t , t h e d e f e n d a n t e x p r e s s e d

c o n c e r n t h a t i n v e s t i g a t i o n s w h i c h h e s a i d w o u l d be c a r r i e d

o u t b y t h e b r o t h e l l i c e n s i n g a u t h o r i t i e s w o u l d d i s c l o s e h i s

o c c u p a t i o n , and t h a t i t w o u l d o n l y be a m a t t e r o f t i m e

b e f o r e t h e med ia l e a r n e d o f t h e s i t u a t i o n . He s a i d t h a t

t h i s "wou ld	cause	e x t r e m e	embarrassment	t o b o t h t h e AFP	and
m y s e l f " .

He went on t o say : "The r e a s o n I have w a i t e d u n t i l now t o

n o t i f y you o f t h i s m a t t e r i s t h a t I had a p p l i e d f o r a

redundancy package. As t h a t o p t i o n i s now gone I am

s u b m i t t i n g t h i s r e p o r t t o f o r e w a r n you o f any f u t u r e med ia

a t t e n t i o n r e g a r d i n g t h i s m a t t e r " .

I t s h o u l d b e s t a t e d a t t h i s p o i n t t h a t b r o t h e l s were , a t a l l

r e l e v a n t t i m e s , ( s u b j e c t t o c e r t a i n l i c e n s i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s ) ,

l e g a l i n t h e S t a t e o f V i c t o r i a . I t a l s o s h o u l d be n o t e d ,

f rom t h e c o n t e n t s o f E x h i b i t 3, t h e " S a l e o f B u s i n e s s

Agreelnent" r e l a t i n g t o t h e p u r c h a s e oF t h e b r o t h e l by Mr-s

blacc:a~il and o ther -S , t h a t t h e p u r c h a s e r s e n t e r e d i n t o

possess i or1 oF t.iie pr'erni ses on 2 0 t h May l 995, a1 t h o ~ ~ g i i

s i 2 t t l e tnen t was n o t e f f e c t e d ~ t n ? . ; ? 1 0 t h May 1996.

R e t u r n i n g t o t h e n a r r a t i v e , M r Cross s a i d he had d i s c u s s e d

t h e l i i a t t e r w i t h t h e deCendar , t , and ga~:? h i l e t t e r + 3 +hi.

t h e n A c t i n g Genera l Manager, M r ? v l i l l s , v~hu s a i c ! i:e . ,~c !>?d

forwar-d t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s m i n u t ? t o t h e Employment Stands-ds

s e c t i o n . The q u e s t i o n o f whether S e c t i o n 26: s h o u l d b e

i n v o k e d was r a i s e d , and s u b s e q u e n t l y t h e m a t t e r was r e f e r r e d

t o t h e A u s t r a l i a n Government S o l i c i t o r f o r a d v i c e .

A f a x c o n t a i n i n g t h e a d v i c e was l a t e r r e c e i v e d , add ressed t o

t h e Genera l Manager . The c o n t e n t s o f t h e document were t h e

s u b j e c t o f a c l a i m o f p r i v i l e g e by c o u n s e l f o r t h e

Commiss ioner , M r M . C h i l c o t t , wh i ch was u p h e l d .

F o l l o ~ v i n g t - h i s , M r Cross s a i d he had spoken t o ivls Wendy

M o r r i s o n , o f t h e Employment S t a n d a r d s o f f i c e , oc , he

t h o u g h t , t h e m o r n i n g o f 2 5 t h Janua ry 1996. i t was p roposed

t h a t he d i s c u s s w i t h t h e d e f e n d a n t t h e p o s s i b l e a p p l i c a t i o n

o f S e c t i o n 26E, and a s c e r t a i n whe the r he w o u l d o b j e c t t o

such a c o u r s e . I t was a g r e e d t h a t , i n t h e e v e n t t h a t he d i d

n o t o b j e c t , t h e m a t t e r w o u l d be p r o c e s s e d b y Employment

S t a n d a r d s under t h e S e c t i o n .

M r P . P h i l l i p s , who b y t h a t t i m e was t h e A c t i n g Genera l

Manager o f t h e Region, a l s o d i s c u s s e d t h e m a t t e r w i t h MS

M o r r i s o n , b u t he s a i d i n h i s e v i d e n c e t h a t he b e l i e v e d t h e

c o n v e r s a t i o n t o o k p l a c e on 22nd J a n u a r y .

L a t e r o n t h e m o r n i n g o f 2 5 t h January 1996, a c c o r d i n g t o Mr

C ross , b u t on 22nd Janua ry , a c c o r d i n g t o M r Ph i11 i p s , t h e

d e f e n d a n t	was	i n t e r - v i e w e d	b y	M r	P h i l l i p s ,	i n	Mr	C r o s s ' s
p resence .

M r C r o s i ~conct?de~:J i n c r o s s - e x a ~ n i ! i a t i o n by Mr- P. 3ur.ke,

?ounse l f o r t h e defendall:, t h a t , 01: ? s c o r t i n s t h e def2nda::t

t o Mr. P h i l l i p s ' o f f i c e , he s a i d someth ing l i k e "The:/ a r o

c o n s i d e r i n g o f f e r i n g you a r e d ~ ~ n d a n c y " . He d e n i e d t h a t he

had s a i d "They a r e g o i n g t o o f f e r y o u r a (redundancy. 1.n

j u s t w o r d i n g you u p " . He s a i d h had been t o l d b y M s

M o r r i s o n t h a t , under no c i r c u m s t a n c e s , was t h e d e f e n d a n t t o

be o f f e r e d a c t i o n under S e c t i o n 26E, o r was he t o b e

g u a r a n t e e d t h a t such a c t i o n w o u l d b e t a k e n .

l P h i l l i p s s a i d he made a d i a r y e n t r y r e g a r d i n g t h e

m a t t e r , and r e a d t o t h e T r i b u n a l t h e r e l e v a n t e n t r y :

"Monday, 22nd, m e e t i n g w i t h Maccaui r e p u r c h a s e o f

e s t a b l i s h m e n t and 26E i m p l i c a t i o n s ; i n f o f r o m Wendy

M ( o r r i s o n )	i s t h a t s c e n a r i o	i s l i k e l y t o r e s u l t	i n 26E;	t o
assess " .

M r P h i l l i p s s a i d t h e e n s u i n g c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h t h e d e f e n d a n t

" r e l a t e d a r o u n d t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f

( t h e	b r o t h e l )	p u r c h a s e	b e i n g	c a p a b l e	o f	f a c i l i t a t i n g	26E
a p p l i	c a t i o n " .

M r P h i l l i p s s a i d t h a t n e i t h e r h e n o r M r C ross asked t h e

d e f e n d a n t w h e t h e r he w o u l d a g r e e t o go under S e c t i o n 26E.

He s a i d t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t made a r e q u e s t t h a t t h i s c o u r s e

be adop ted , d e f e n d a n t ' s ) a d d i n g i n s t i g a t i o n t h a t " . . . i t was c l e a r i t was ( a t ) ( t h e

t h a t t h e 26E w o u l d s o l v e h i s

p rob lem, and c o u l d we p l e a s e l o o k a t t h a t " .

Mr P h i l l i p s s a i d t h a t he t e l e p h o n e d MS M o r r i s o n and s a i d

" T h i s i s t h e d e s i r e d outcome t h a t ( t h e d e f e n d a n t ) w i s h e s ,

w h a t ' s ( s i c ) t h e chances ? " , t o w h i c h she r e p l i e d "Yes, i t

sounds l i k e a l i k e l y s c e n a r i o t h a t wou ld accommodate a 2 6 E " .

ivlr Phi 7 1 i ps ag reed , i n c r o s s - e x a r r ~ i n a t i o n , t h a t h e t o l d t h e

d e f e n t l a ~ l t that: c o n s i d e r a t i o i l ivss b e i n.; g i v e n t o S e c t i o n 2 6 E

ar; t i o n . He agreed t h a t he './oulcl expec t t h e d e f e n d a n t t o

have be1 i e v e d , a f t e r t h e i I- c o n v e r s a t i o n , t h a t i t was

" ' : i k e l y m	t h a t	he was	g o i n g	t o be	t h e	s u b j e c t	O F S e c t i o n 2 6 E
a c t i o n .

b l r C r o s s ' s r e c o l l e c t i o n o f t h i s c o n v e r s a t i o n was t h a t M r

P h i l l i p s had s a i d " t h a t t h a t m a t t e r ( t h e p u r c h a s e o f t h e

b r o t h e l ) had o b v i o u s l y been b e f o r e Employment S t a n d a r d s i n

Canbe r ra , and t h a t one o f t h e i r o p t i o n s was t o c o n s i d e r an

a c t i o n ( u n d e r ) 2 6 E " .

He s a i d t h e d e f e n d a n t was asked "what he t h o u g h t a b o u t t h a t "

a d d i n g t h a t he ( t h e d e f e n d a n t ) "was q u i t e e x c i t e d ( a b o u t )

t h e f a c t t h a t t h e y were g o i n g t o o f f e r a 2 6 E " .

M r Cross went on t o say t h e m a t t e r o f e n t i t l e m e n t s was

d i s c u s s e d , b u t h e c o u l d n o t r e c a l l t h e d e t a i l s . He s a i d

t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t "was keen t o l e a v e as q u i c k l y as

p o s s i b l e ,	and	h e	a c t u a l l y	r e q u e s t e d	a	d e p a r t u r e	d a t e	o f	9 t h
F e b r u a r y " .

M r Cross s a i d h e t h e n spoke t o MS M o r r i s o n t o t e l l h e r t h a t

t h e d e f e n d a n t "wou ld n o t o b j e c t i f a 2 6 E was o f f e r e d " . He

s a i d t h e d e f e n d a n t was n o t t o l d t h a t he wou ld b e l e a v i n g on

9 t h F e b r u a r y , a l t h o u g h he conceded t h e d e f e n d a n t "may have

formed t h a t o p i n i o n " . The d e f e n d a n t ' s p r e f e r e n c e f o r a

d e p a r t u r e d a t e o f 9 t h F e b r u a r y was communicated t o MS

M o r r i s o n , who s a i d t h a t t h e o p t i o n s wou ld b e c o n s i d e r e d , b u t

t h a t , because o f p r e - e x i s t i n g w o r k - l o a d s , t h e sugges ted

..

d e a d l i n e For S e c t i o n 2 6 E a c t i o n wou ld be d i f f i c u l t t o

implement " i f t h e p r o p o s a l was ag reed t o " . A sub~n i s s i on

had t o b-: rn,3rie : t i l e , d.;l.;gat.e f o r hi111 t o I a r lec ;s io r>

5-,ft)r e ? : , j f ~ i i t h - . r . . .icti,:!!: .:oil?!-I b e t d k i n .

l C ' ; ; sa i !? t h a t h.? ha-! no f ; : r - t ke r f g rma? t ~ ~ e e t i n g s w i t i ;

t h e d e f e n d a n t , b u t sa:v i 1 i m on abou t 6 t h F e b r u a r y , and t o l d

hi111 t h e "pape;-. ivork" coc:~! n o t be f i l i a l i s e d i:? t i i n ? . E e

s a i d t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t had t 3 l d h im he ,:/as tc3 s t a r t

t r a i n i n s f o r a s e c e r i t ) g u a r d ' s j o b . M r C r c s s c c u l d ;not

r e c a l l t h e d a t e when t h e d e f e n d a n t s a i d t h i s w o u l d o c c u r .

He s a i d he t o l d h im he was p r e m a t u r e i n a p p l y i n g when t h e

m a t t e r had n o t been r e s o l v e d , and t h a t t h e r e were numerous

o t h e r cases t h a t were b e i n s c o n s i d e r e d .

ivlr Cross ag reed , i n c r o s s - e x a m i n a t i o n , t h a t h e had w r i t t e n ,

i n a m i n u t e w h i c h became E x h i b i t 6, t h a t M r P h i l l i p s "spoke

a i t h Maccaul and i n f o r m e d h i m t h e AFP where ( s i c )

c o n s i d o r i ng t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f i n v o k i n g 26: a c t i o n a g a i n s t

h im f o r h i s w i f e ' s p u r c h a s e . Maccaul was i n f u l l agreement

w i t h t h e AFP's p r o p o s a l and asked how soon he c o u l d l e a v e

t h e AFP", w i t h 9 t h F e b r u a r y t h e n b e i n g men t i oned .

M r Cross s a i d t h a t , i n m i d - F e b r u a r y 1996, he was c o n t a c t e d

by MS M o r r i s o n , who r e q u e s t e d a d d i t i o n a l i n F o r m a t i o n

v e r i f y i n g t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s w i f e ' s p u r c h a s e o f t h e b r o t h e l .

A t h i S r e q u e s t , t h e d e f e n d a n t p r o v i d e d p h o t o c o p i e s o f t h e

agreement t o p u r c h a s e t h e b r o t h e l , w h i c h l a t e r became

E x h i b i t 3 .

MS M o r r i s o n gave e v i d e n c e t h a t she had had a number o f

t e l e p h o n e convel-sat ions i v i t h t h e d e f e n d a n t e a r l y i n 1996.

She r e c a l l e d one c o n v e r s a t i o n , on 2 8 t h March 1996, when, she

s a i d , l asked her- when t h e S e c t i o n 26E. a c t i o n w o u l d be

F i ~ i a l i 5 e J . She r e p l i e d t h a t a d e l e g a t e "had t o be

c o n v i n c e d t h a t he was u n s u i t a b l e t o r e r ~ ~ a i n " , wher-eupon t h e

defer idar i t s d i r l t h a t he ha< l had a j o b l : g o t o or-I 7 2 t l i

F e b r i ~ a r y and IIC had h a d t o d e l a y t h a t . Stlo t i ~ e r i s a i d "'1Ve1 1,

' dr;) ha;,e I ! . S tI1.t . <:a- ;.~xe:--,-.; S.:", t!, l i 1 he

rep1 i e d " I ' m o n l y : s a v i n g t h e AFP i F I g e t a I-eclundancy.

The AFP has s a i d t h e y d o n ' t want m e : so I e x p e c t t o b e

p a i d " .

M S M o r r i s o n s a i d d u r i n g t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n , wh i ch was l e n g t h y ,

she t o l d t h e d e f e n d a n t t h a t i t was u ! t i m a t e l y a m a t t e r f o r

t h e d e l e g a t e t o d e c i d e , t h a t t h e p r o c e s s i n v o l v e d h i s b e i n g

g i v e n an o p p o r t u n i t y t o show cause why t e r m i n a t i o n s h o u l d

n o t be e f f e c t e d under S e c t i o n 2 6 E , and t h a t t h e n h e r o f f i c e

wou ld s u b m i t a l l r e l e v a n t m a t e r i a l t o t h e d e l e g a t e f o r h i s

F i n a l d e t e r m i n a t i o n .

MS M o r r i s o n s a i d she had a f u r t h e r c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h t h e

d e f e n d a n t between e a r l y A p r i l and mid-June, d u r i n g wh ich h e

s a i d t h e r e were o n l y two ways he i.rould b e l e a v i n g t h e AFP.

She s a i d t h e words he used were e i t h e r " t h r o u g h o l d age o r

w i t h a b u c k e t o f money", o r "dead o r w i t h a b u c k e t o f

money". She a l s o s a i d t h a t d u r i n g t h a t c o n v e r s a t i o n , t h e

d e f e n d a n t made some comment abou t t h e f a c t t h a t he was a

s e r v i n g meniber o f t h e AFP, and t h a t , because h i s w i f e was

t h e owner o f a b r o t h e l " i t wou ld n o t l o o k good i f t h i s

i n f o r m a t i o n g o t o u t i n t o t h e med ia " . She s a i d she rem inded

h im t h a t h e was c o v e r e d b y t h e s e c r e c y p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e AFP

A c t , t o w h i c h he r e p l i e d someth ing l i k e " I have no i n t e n t i o n

o f g o i n g t o t h e media, b u t I c a n ' t c o n t r o l what my w i f e

does" , a d d i n g " some th ing a b o u t h a v i n g a r e l a t i v e who worked

w i t h The A u s t r a l i a n newspaper" .

As t o t h e t i m i n g o f t h e i n t e r v i e w between t h e d e f e n d a n t and

Messr.s Cr-oss atid Phi l l i p s , MS M o r r i son s a i d she had a f i l e

n o t e t h a t she had c o n v e r s a t i o n s :vi t h Mr. C ross or1 2 5 t h

A - + \

.3;1:3uary and 2f j t?1 'ebcc.rary a~! i? ..vith k l r P ! : i : ? i s s 011 :3,.:1

.January 1996 .	She hacl no ~ o t e	o f	a	c o n v e r s a t i s n 'v i t h	t h e
l a t t e r on 22:id	Jani~ar-,,

I? c r o s s - e x a m i n a t i o n , MS M o r r i s o n s a i d she had n o t s i v e n t h e

d e f e n d a n t any i n d i c a t i o n a5 t o hoiv 'on9 t ! i e p r o c e s s V I C : ; ? ~ !

,.

t ake ; each c a s e was i n d i v i d u a l . she agreed t h a t t h e

d e f e n d a n t w o u l d " n o t n e c e s s a r i l y b e any t h e w i s e r as t o

,whether a d e c i s i o n c o u l d b e made w i t h i n a m a t t e r o f days o r

whether i t c o u l d t a k e s e v e r a l more months" .

Ms M o r r i s o n s a i d t h a t , on 2nd A p r i l 1996, she f o r w a r d e d a

d r a f t n o t i c e unde r S e c t i o n 26E t o t h e D i r e c t o r , L e g a l , o f

t h e AFP. She ag reed t h a t t h e n o t i c e was based on "an

a l l e g e d f a i l u r e by ( t h e d e f e n d a n t ) t o i n f o r m t h e AFP o f h i s

a l l e g e d i n v o l v e m e n t i n t h e r u n n i n g o f t h e b r o t h e l and t h e

t i m e s p e n t a t t h e p r e m i s e s " . She added t h a t , w h i l e she

be1 i e v e d t h i s was r e l e v a n t , t h e d e l e g a t e \ % ~ o u l d d e c i d e

whe the r t h a t a l l e g a t i o n rema ined i n t h e f i n a l n o t i c e . She

agreed t h a t i t was normal t o a t t a c h a s t a t e m e n t s e t t i n g o u t

t l i e e n t i t l e m e n t s o f a meniber t o t h e s u b m i s s i o n , b u t s a i d

t h a t t h i s d i d n o t f o rm p a r t o f t h e m a t e r i a l f o r t l i e

d e l e g a t e ' s	c o n s i d e r a t i o n ,	b u t	was	m e r e l y	f o r	h i s
i n f o r m a t i o n .

On 2 8 t h May 1996, Commiss ioner Palmer w r o t e t o t h e

d e f e n d a n t , and, r e f e r r i n g t o t h e l a t t e r ' s m i n u t e o f 1 4 t h

Decen~ber 1995, s a i d he was " n o t i n a p o s i t i o n t o draw any

adve rse i n f e r e n c e s f rom y o u r w i f e ' s l e g i t i m a t e b u s i n e s s .

S p e c i f i c a l l y I c a n n o t make t h e assumpt ion t h a t you have any

i ~ v o l v e ~ ~ e r ~ t : , no^. t t ~ a t h e r b u s i i iess i n t e r u s t ; v ~ i l l adver:?i! ly

i a oi l your. . ; ~ r i t a b ; ' i t y Cn c o n t . i : i u ~ ? to exsrr:i se t h e

, S , I - I , I I o r U t C ' e f u r ! , ; t i ' ~ n ~ 13f

a rr~ember o f t i i e Aust.! 2' i a:: Fodsr-a1 P!,! i cc?" Tiia t ~docu~nr i - t

became E x h i b i t 8 .

M r J . Penrose , t h e D i r e c t o r , O p e r a t i o n s S u p p o r t , S o u t h e r n

Reg ion , AFP, gave e v i d e n c e t h a t , a t about ;2.15pm c n ?rcl

3une 1996, tie had handed t o t h e d e f e n d a n t t h s Cornmiss ioner ' s

l e t t e r o f 2 8 t h May i n a s e a l e d e n v e l o p e . M r Penrose s a i d

t h a t he knew what was i n t h e l e t t e r , and d i s c u s s e d i t s

c o n t e n t s w i t h t h e d e f e n d a n t . He s a i d t h e y had a genera;

c o n v e r s a t i o n abou t t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s f u t u r e c a r e e r i n t h e AFP,

and u n d e r s t o o d t h a t "he was q u i t e happy t o c o n t i n u e w i t h

d e v e l o p i n g h i s c a r e e r w i t h i n t h e AFP, now t h a t a d e c i s i o n

had been made, and wou ld a b i d e by t h e d i s c u s s i o n s t h a t we

had i n r e l a t i o n t o t a k i n g up t h e o f f e r o f t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r ' s

c o u r s e , and d e v e l o p i n g h i s c a r e e r " .

A t about 2 . 0 5 pm t h e same day , M r Penrose s a i d t h a t he and

t h e d e f e n d a n t had a f u r t h e r c o n v e r s a t i o n . The d e f e n d a n t

s a i d h e had d i s c u s s e d t h e m a t t e r w i t h h i s w i f e , and " f e l t

t h a t i f h e d i d n ' t g e t a redundancy t h a t t h e r e c o u l d be

adve rse p u b l i c i t y i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e f a c t t h a t h i s w i f e was

t h e ownet- media i n t e r e s t i n t h e f a c t t h a t he was o f a b r o t h e l , and t h a t t h e r e c o u l d be i n t e n s e

a member o f t h e AFP".

M r Penrose s a i d he t o l d h im t h a t t h e Commissioner had made a

d e c i s i o n a b o u t t h e redundancy , and t h a t , " i f he r e a l l y

wanted t o l e a v e t h e AFP, t h e o n l y o p t i o n p r o b a b l y open t o

h im t h a t he may have t o c o n s i d e r , was a r e s i g n a t i o n " .

He s a i d t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s " response was t h a t he r e a l l y needed

t h e redundancy f o r t h e f i n a n c i a l package t h a t ( i s ) p r o v i d e d ,

and t h a t tie f e l t he s h o u l d b e g i v e n a redundancy" , a t l d i i i g

t l i a t he :vi shr(:i t o r-emai n a r,andi d a t e f o r a redundancy i f one

s h o u l d b e c o ~ r ~ e a v a i l a b l e i n t h - i f u t u r e . He s a i d " l i e l iad been

p r o m i s e d redundancy b y Fedei .a l Agent P h i l l i p s " .

M r Penr-ose ag reed , i n c r o s s - e x a m i n a t i o n , t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t

had s a i d t h a t he c o u l d n o t a f f o r d t o r e s i g n , and needed t h e

redundancy package .

The o n l y o t h e r e v i d e n c e was t h a t o f Mr S .G.Hepwor th ,

Manager, P e r s o n n e l , S o u t h e r n Reg ion , AFP,

He s a i d he had r e c e i v e d a r e q u e s t f r o m t h e Employment

S t a n d a r d s o f f i c e i n Canbe r ra t o p r e p a r e p a y - o u t f i g u r e s f o r

t h e d e f e n d a n t , based on a d e p a r t u r e d a t e o f 9 t h F e b r u a r y

1996, under S e c t i o n 26E. T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n had been

s u p p l i e d ,	and	a	copy	g i v e n	t o t h e d e f e n d a n t ,	a t t h e	l a t t e r ' s
r e q u e s t .

M r Hepwor th s a i d he was asked t o p r e p a r e a n o t h e r p a y - o u t

summary, somet ime i n A p r i l 1996. He a g r e e d t h a t t h e f i g u r e s

shown i n E x h i b i t 7 were t h o s e c o m p i l e d by h i m a t t h a t t i m e .

When asked i n c r o s s - e x a m i n a t i o n abou t payment o f c l o t h i n g

a l l o w a n c e t o t h e d e f e n d a n t , Mr Hepwor th s a i d t h e a l l o w a n c e

was p a i d t w i c e a y e a r , i n advance, one payment b e i n g due on

3 r d A p r i l 1996, t h e f i r s t pay day i n A p r i l . He ag reed

t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s pay s l i p f o r t h a t pay day showed t h a t

t h e c l o t h i n g a l l o w a n c e had n o t been p a i d . He s a i d t h a t

he had had a d i s c u s s i o n w i t h t h e d e f e n d a n t a b o u t t h i s , and

t h e y had r e a c h e d an agreement t h a t payment wou ld be

w i t h h e l d . T h i s was because t h e d e f e n d a n t w o u l d have t o

r e p a y t h e Commonwealth i f he l e f t t h e AFP "because o f t h e

p o s s i b l e 26E a c t i o n " . T h i s d i s c u s s i o n may have o c u r r e d ,

tie be1 i e v e d , b e f o r e 3 r d Apl- i l 1996, b u t he c o u l d n o t r e c a l l

e x a c t 1 y when.

A t t h e c l o s e o f e v i d e n c e c a l l e d o n b e h a l f o f t h e

Cornmiss ioner , Mr. €%urke sub~r i i t t e d t h a t ther-e was no case t o

answer i n r e l a t i o n t o each o f t h e t h r e e c h a r g e s .

D u r i n g t h e c o ~ r r s e o f k ~ i s s u b m i s s i o n , Mr- Burke r e f e r r e d t o

t w c ; I -equests f o r p a r t i c u l a r s made by h i s i n s t r u c t i n g

s o l i c i t c r s o f t h e Commiss ioner , and t h e responses t h e r e t o .

Secause o f a s u b m i s $ i o n made b y M r C h i l c o t t , i n r e p l y ,

r e g a r d i n g t h e s t a t u s o f t h e answers t o p a r t i c u l a r s , i t

s h o u l d b e n o t e d f r o m t h e documents c o n t a i n e d i n t h e T r i b u n a l

f i l e , and hence b e f o r e t h e T r i b u n a l , t h a t p a r t i c u l a r s were

i n i t i a l l y r e q u e s t e d by t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s so1 i c i t o r s o n 1 9 t h

May 1997 .

The re was no response t o t h a t r e q u e s t .

On 1 5 t h J u l y 1997, a t t h e f i r s t o f t w o D i r e c t i o n s H e a r i n g s ,

an a p p l i c a t i o n was made by t h e s o l i c i t o r f o r t h e d e f e n d a n t ,

MS J . Heeps, t h a t t h a t r e q u e s t be answered.

An o r d e r was a c c o r d i n g l y made t h a t t h e r e q u e s t was t o b e

answered b y t h e t i m e o f t h e n e x t D i r e c t i o n s H e a r i n g , on

22nd J u l y 1997 .

The Commiss ioner responded unde r d a t e o f 1 7 t h J u l y 1997. On

1 8 t h J u l y , a f u r t h e r r e q u e s t was made f o r " c l a r i f i c a t i o n " o f

c e r t a i n d e t a i l s o f t h e answer . T h i s r e q u e s t was answered

on 2 1 s t J u l y .

T h i s a r e a o f t h e case became r e l e v a n t i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h M r

B i r r k e ' s s u b m i s s i o n r e g a r d i n g t h e c h a r g e o f " A c t i n g i n a

manner t h a t b r i n g s , o r i s l i k e l y t o b r i n g , d i s c r e d i t t o t h e

AFP, e t c . "

1 4 .

The r e q u e s t o f 1 8 t h J u l y sough t a d v i c e as t o whe the r t h e

a c t i o n s o f t h e d e f e n d a n t b r o u g h t d i s c r e d i t upon t h e AFP, o r

m e r e l y were l i k e l y t o do so; F u r t h e r , t h e q u e s t i o n was asked

as t o why i t was 1 i k e l y t h a t i l i f o r m i n g t h e Conimissioner o f

t h e c o n t e n t s o f t h e l e t t e r o f 1 1 t h June w o u l d become

"pub1 i c l y o r w i d e l y known", as a1 l e g e d on 1 7 t h J u l y .

The Commiss ione r ' s response was t h a t i t was l i k e l y t h a t t h e

d e f e n d a n t ' s a c t w o u l d b r i n g d i s c r e d i t t o t h e r e p k l t a t i o n o f

t h e AFP were i t t o become w i d e l y o r p u b l i c l y known.

The second p a r t o f t h e r e q u e s t was n o t answered, on t h e

b a s i s t h a t i t was a m a t t e r o f e v i d e n c e .

The Commiss ione r ' s l e t t e r went on t o say, however , a t page

2, p a r a g r a p h 1 , t h a t a supp lemen ta ry s t a t e m e n t was b e i n g

p r e p a r e d by F e d e r a l Agent Penrose i n w h i c h i t w o u l d b e

a l l e g e d : ( 1 ) t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s a c t was w i d e l y known

amongst AFP s t a f f a t S o u t h e r n Region; ( 2 ) t h a t knowledge o f

t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s a c t had a f f e c t e d m o r a l e amongst t h e s t a f f a t

S o u t h e r n Reg ion , and ( 3 ) how knowledge o f t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s

a c t had a f f e c t e d m o r a l e amongst t h e s t a f f a t S o u t h e r n

Reg ion .

T h a t e v i d e n c e was n o t l e d f r o m M r Penrose .

When asked where t h e e v i d e n c e was t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s

a c t i o n s were l i k e l y t o become w i d e l y o r p u b l i c l y known, M r

C h i l c o t t s u b m i t t e d t h a t t h e s t a t e m e n t r e l a t i n g t o Mr Penrose

i n t h e C o m m i s s i o n e r ' s l e t t e r was n o t b e f o r e t h e T r i b u n a l i n

an e v i d e n t i a l sense . I t was made f o l l o w i n g a v o l u n t a r y

response t o a r e q u e s t f o r p a r t i c u l a r s .

He f u r t h e r a g r e e d t h a t t h e r e was no e v i d e n c e b e f o r e t h e

T r i b u n a l as t o what a c t u a l l y d i d t r a n s p i r e a f t e r t h e

d e f e n d a n t ' s l e t t e r a l l e g e d l y became known t o o t h e r s i n

S o u t h e r n Reg ion , " d e s p i t e what i s w r i t t e n i n t h e l e t t e r "

a n s w e r i n g t h e r e q u e s t f o r p a r t i c u l a r s .

M r C h i l c o t t s a i d t h a t t h e e v i d e n c e was n o t l e d p a r t l y

because o f o b s e r v a t i o n s made by t h e P r e s i d e n t o f t h e

T r i b u n a l , M r J u s t i c e F o s t e r , i n t h e case o f C r o s s . I n t h a t

case , t.he P r e s i d e n t i n d i c a t e d t h a t he d i d n o t want t o h e a r

such e v i d e n c e . N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h a t , M r C h i l c o t t s a i d t h a t

t h e P r e s i d e n t d i d r e c e i v e t h e e v i d e n c e , s a y i n g t h a t he ~ v o u l d

g i v e i t what w e i g h t be b e l i e v e d i t t o b e w o r t h .

I t o o k t h e v i e w t h a t , i n t h e absence o f any e v i d e n c e t o

s u p p o r t t h e a l l e g a t i o n i n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r c h a r g e , a p a r t f r o m

t h e u n t e s t e d a i l e g a t i o n s i n t h e p a r t i c u l a r s s u p p l i e d , t h e r e

was no case f o r t h e d e f e n d a n t t o answer .

I t h e r e u p o n r u l e d a c c o r d i n g l y .

As t o t h e o t h e r t w o cha rges , wh ich , i t was u l t i m a t e l y a g r e e d

by c o u n s e l , t o answer . were i n t h e a l t e r n a t i v e , I h e l d t h e r e was a c a s e

M r Bu rke t h e r e u p o n i n f o r m e d t h e T r i b u n a l t h a t he w o u l d n o t

be c a l l i n g c a l l i n g any t h e d e f e n d a n t t o g i v e e v i d e n c e , n o r w o u l d l ie b e

o t h e r e v i d e n c e . He d i d , however , w i s h t o make

f u r t h e r s u b m i s s i o n s as t o whe the r one o r o t h e r o f t h e

cha rges had been e s t a b l i s h e d on t h e b a l a n c e o f

p r o b a b i l i t i e s .

Mr C h i l c o t t add ressed f i r s t . He s u b m i t t e d t h a t t h e

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n w h i c h s h o u l d be p l a c e d on t h e word " i m p r o p e r "

was as s e t o u t i n Bercove v Her-mes 74 FLR 315, where t h e

e q u i v a l e n t R e g u l a t i o n under t h e Pub1 i c S e r v i c e A c t was s a i d

t o be " d i r e c t e d a t c o n d u c t wh i ch may be r e g a r d e d as l a c k i n g

i n p r o p r i e t y o r i s unbeconl ing o r unseemly i n t h e

M r C h i l c o t t s a i d he d i d n o t d i s p u t e t h a t t h e w r i t i n g o f t h e

l e t t e r o f l l t h June 1996 t o t h f Conrn~ iss ioner was

a p p r o p r i a t e , and t h a t i t w o u l d be e x p e c t e d b y s e n i o r

o f f ir:er-.s i n t h e AFP t h a t a i n i n u t e cant-aining i n f o r ~ n a t i o n for

t t i e a t t e n t i on o f management w o u l d be u ~ e x c e p t i anal .

Vlhat was i n a p p r o p r i a t e , he s a i d , as t h e i n c l i . ~ s i o n i : i t h e

l e t t e r O F m a t e r i a l w h i c h , i n h i s s u b m i s s i o n , must b e

c o n s t r u e d as an a t t e m p t t o i n f l u e n c e t t i e Co~nmiss ione r t o

change h i s v i e w about t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f S e c t i o n 2 6 E .

M r C h i l c o t t s e t o u t t h e c h r o n o l o g y o f t h e e v e n t s l e a d i n g up

t o 1 1 t h June 1996. F i r s t , t h e r e :vas t h e round o f

r e d u n d a n c i e s , i n r e s p e c t o f w h i c h t h e d e f e n d a n t , a l t h o u g h

n o t r e a l l y e l i g i b l e , made an a p p l i c a t i o n , w h i c h was r e f u s e d .

H i s w i f e e n t e r e d i n t o o c c u p a t i o n o f , and commenced b e i n g

i n v o l v e d i n t h e r u n n i n g o f , t h e b r o t h e l , on 2 0 t h May 1995,

some seven months b e f o r e t h e d e f e n d a n t NI-ote t h e m i n u t e o f

1 4 t h December 1995 d i s c l o s i n g t h e f a c t t h a t she was

p u r c h a s i n g a b r o t h e l , b u t w i t h o u t r e v e a l i n g t h o s e d e t a i l s .

M r C h i l c o t t s a i d t h a t , f o l l o w i n g t h e m inu te , t h e d e f e n d a n t

had t h e d i s c u s s i o n w i t h Messrs Cross and P h i l l i p s , h i s

s u p e r i o r s , as a r e s u l t o f w h i c h h e a l l e g e d h e had been

p r o m i s e d a S e c t i o n 2 6 E d e t e r m i n a t i o n . T h i s was d e n i e d by

C ross and P h i 1 1 i p s , a1 t h o u g h i t was conceded t h a t t h e

d e f e n d a n t may have been l e f t w i t h t h e i m p r e s s i o n t h a t he

w o u l d b e r e c e i v i n g a S e c t i o n 26E d e t e r m i n a t i o n .

The subsequent c o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h MS M o r r i son were

i n d i c a t i v e o f t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o p u r s u e t h e

S e c t i o n 26E d e t e r ~ n i n a t i on . H i s cornrtlent t o h e r t h a t he

wou ld l e a v e t h e AFP o n l y t h r o u g h o l d age, o r d e a t h , o r w i t h

a b u c k e t o f inoney, was u n c h a l l e n g e d by h i ~ r l - i n e v i d e n c e .

l

1	-	The	e v i d e n c e	was	c l e a r ,	M r	Chi l c o t t	subn~ i	t t e d ,	t h a t	t h e
1

i	d e f e n d a n t	was	conce rned	abou t	t h e	d e l a y	i n f i n a l i s i n g	what
l
l

1 tie be1 i eved t o b e a S e c t i o n 26E deter-rni n a t i o r i . The l e t t e r -

ft.0111 t h e Corn~n iss ioner dat-ed 2 8 t h May 1996, i n wh i ch t h e

Corr~mi ss i o i l e r adv i sed t h a t he wou ld b e r e q u i r e d t o con t i nue

t o s e r v e , was g i v e n t o h im by M r Penrose cn 3 r d June 1996.

I n i t i a l l y , M r Penrose s a i d t h e d e f e n d a n t a c c e p t e d t h e

Commiss ione r ' s d e c i s i o n and was happy t o c o n t i n u e s e r v i !?g .

L a t e r t h a t day , however, a f t e r s p e a k i n g t o h i s w i f e , he s a i d

he wanted t o p u r s u e t h e S e c t i o n 26E d e t e r m i n a t i o n , s a y i n g

t h a t	he	c o u l d n o t	a f f o r d t o r e s i g n .
The	l e t t e r	o f l l t h June 1996 t o t h e

Comrni s s i o n e r f o l l owed.

M r C h i l c o t t s u b m i t t e d t h a t , a l t h o u g h t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s w i f e

had been o p e r a t i n g t h e b r o t h e l s i n c e May 1995, some 13

months p r i o r t o 1 1 t h June 1996, t h e d e f e n d a n t i n h i s l e t t e r

o f t h a t d a t e d i d n o t a l l u d e t o t h a t f a c t , b u t s a i d he had

s p e n t a c o n s i d e r a b l e amount o f t i m e i n t h e b r o t h e l f o r t h e

p r e v i o u s f i v e months, i . e . , f r o m Janua ry 1996, t h e t i m e o f

h i s c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h Messrs P h i l l i p s and C r o s s .

M r C h i l c o t t s a i d t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s r e f e r e n c e t o h i s

h a v i n g some c o n t a c t w i t h , and knowledge o f " c r i m i n a l

e l emen ts " and "members o f t h e j u d i c i a r y " , d u r i n g t h a t t i m e ,

and t h a t t h e r e c o u l d b e a "media s c a n d a l " i f t h e f a c t s

became known, were p a r t o f a d e l i b e r a t e a t t e m p t by h im t o

i

i i n f l u e n c e t h e Commiss ioner t o l e t h i m l e a v e t h e AFP under

S e c t i o n 26E so t h a t t h a t s i t u a t i o n c o u l d b e a v o i d e d . H i s

r e q u e s t t o t h e Comn~ iss ione r f o r h i m t o r e - c o n s i d e r h i s

p r e v i o u s d e c i s i on r e g a r d i ng t h e a p p l i c a t i on o f t h e S e c t i o n

!

i made t h a t c l e a r .

I n M r C h i l c o t t ' s s u b n ~ i s s i o n , t h e d e f e n d a n t was d r i v e n b y t h e

f i n a n c i a l i n c e n t i v e o f a Sec t i o n 26E s e p a r a t i o n t o " w r i t e

t h i s l e t t e r . , t.o c r -aF t i t i n such a bvay a s . . . a nreans o f l a s t

r e s o r t t o i n a p p r o p r i a t e l y i n f l u e n c e t h e Commnii s s i o n e r " t o

change h i s ear- l i e r d e c i s i o n , and had t h e r e b y a c t e d i n a

manner unbecoming an AFP a p p o i n t e e .

I t rvas c l e a r , i r i M r C h i l c o t t ' s s u b m i s s i o n , t h a t n o p ro rn ise ,

l e t a l o n e a g u a r a n t e e , about t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f S e c t i o n 2 6 E ,

had been g i v e n t o t h e d e f e n d a n t b y Messrs Cross and

P h i l l i p s , o r MS M o r r i s o n , even t h o u g h t h e d e f e n d a n t may have

b e l i e v e d o t h e r w i s e . I n any e v e n t , i t was n o t up t o them

t o make any p r o m i s e o r g u a r a n t e e : t h e d e c i s i o n was s o l e 1 y

t h a t o f t h e Commiss ioner o r h i s d e l e g a t e .

F i n a l l y , Mr C h i l c o t t s u b m i t t e d t h a t t h e t i m i n g o f t h e l e t t e r

o f 1 1 t h June 1996 was s i g n i f i c a n t . A1 though i t p u r p o r t e d

t o b e i n t e n d e d t o s u p p l y " f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n " , none had

been r e q u e s t e d , and t h e i n f o r m a t i o n conveyed r e 1 a t e d t o

e v e n t s g o i n g back o v e r a p e r i o d o f f i v e months . The f a c t

t h a t i t f o l l o w e d a l m o s t i m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r t h e r e f u s a l o f t h e

Commi s s i one r t o a p p l y S e c t i o n 26E r e f l e c t e d t h e d e f e n d a n t ' S

c l e a r i n t e n t i o n t o a t t e m p t t o change t h e Commiss ione r ' s m ind

by i n a p p r o p r i a t e means.

As t o t h e non-payment o f t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s c l o t h i n g a l l o w a n c e

i n A p r i l 1996, i t was c l e a r , f r o m M r H e p w o r t h ' s e v i d e n c e ,

t h a t n o t h i n g t u r n e d on t h a t . Mr H e p w o r t h ' s o n l y c o n c e r n

was t h a t i f t h e a l l o w a n c e , w h i c h was p a i d i n advance, was

p a i d a t t h a t t i m e , and t h e d e f e n d a n t d i d o b t a i n a S e c t i o n

26E d e t e r m i n a t i o n , t h e money w o u l d have t o be r e p a i d . T h i s

was by agreement w i t h t h e d e f e n d a n t , and d i d - n o t r e f l e c t any

i n t e n t i o n on t t i e p a r t o f t h e Cor~ ln t iss ioner o r h i s d e l e g a t e t o

make sur:ti ,-I deter-rr~i n a t i o n .

blr i i l r:ohr::edc,cl I:ti.-tI t i l e t:ro i : i ia~-yes b e f o r e t t i e

T r i b u r i a l ;.!er-.. i l - t h e a l t e r n a t i v e , ; ig!.?ei i ig t h a t i n t h e cases

o f O ' C o n n e l l and S laane i t been a c c e p t e d t h a t a c t i n g

i ~ i l p r o p e r i y can encompass a c t i n g i n a manner unbecoming an

AFP a p p o i n t e e , and, i t seems, v i c e v e r s a .

M r Bu rke s u b m i t t e d t h a t t h e cha rges had n o t been made o u t .

I n h i s s u b m i s s i o n , t h e d e f e n d a n t had done n o t h i n g wrong i n

i n f o r m i n g t h e Commiss ioner o f t h e f a c t s s e t o u t i n h i s

l e t t e r o f 1 1 t h June 1996 .

The key words i n t h e c h a r g e s were " i n a p p r o p r i a t e l y

i n f l u e n c e " , he s a i d . M r C h i l c o t t conceded t h a t i t was n o t

i n a p p r o p r i a t e f o r t h e d e f e n d a n t t o i n f o r m t h e Commiss ioner

o f t h e f a c t s s e t o u t i n t h e l e t t e r . I f t h e r e c i p i e n t o f

i n f o r m a t i o n c o u l d o n l y b e i n f l u e n c e d , i n t h e c o n t e x t o f t h i s

case , b y i n f o r m i n g h i m o f c e r t a i n f a c t s , i t c o u l d n o t b e

s a i d t h a t t h a t was i n a p p r o p r i a t e .

M r B u r k e s u b m i t t e d t h a t i t was n o t o n l y n o t i n a p p r o p r i a t e

f o r t h e d e f e n d a n t t o i n f o r m t h e Commiss ioner o f t h e f a c t s i n

h i s l e t t e r , b u t i t was h i s d u t y t o do so . He had n o t t o l d

t h e	Commiss ioner	some th ing	w h i c h	he	s h o u l d	n o t	have	t o l d
h i m .

The d e f e n d a n t had n o t been c h a r g e d w i t h s p e n d i n g t i m e i n a

b r o t h e l and g e t t i n g a c q u a i n t e d w i t h a w i d e range o f

c l i e n t e l e , or- b e i n g i n v o l v e d i n t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e

b r o t h e l . N e i t h e r had h e been c h a r g e d w i t h l y i n g t o , o r

m i s l e a d i n g , t h e Commiss ioner .

As t o t t i e u n s u c c e s s f u l a p p l i c a t i o n f o r redundancy made i n

1995, Mr 8u1-ke s a i d t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t had a p p l i e d for- t h a t

i r i t h e norma l way, even t i i oug l i per-tiaps he was n o t e l i g i b l P .

He hal l t r i e d t o see i f tir? c n ~ i l d s a t i s f y t h e r e g ~ ~ i r e r n e ~ i t s f o r

I -ed~~ndanr :y w i t h o t ~ t merit i n n i ng t i l e h r o t h e l . T h i s s t ~ p p u r t e t l

t t i e c:ni i tent ion t h a t he vias n o t i n t e n d i n g t o irse i ~ i s w i f e ' s

i n v o l v e n ~ e n t w i tli t t i e b r o t h e l ; as was l a t e r a l l e g e d , i n an

a t t e m p t t o i n f l ~ ~ e n c e management t o a c c e p t h i s a p p l i c a t i o r i

f o r r edundancy . As Mr B i ~ r k e p11t i t ; " I t i s n o t as i F h e had

t r i e d t o p l a y t h i s as a c a r d ( a t t h e ! f i r s t o p p o r t - u n i t y . . "

F i n a l i s a t i o n o f t h e p u r c h a s e o f t h e b r o t h e l was n o t e f f e c t e d

u n t i l May 1996. Because o f t h e d e l a y s i n v o l v e d s i n c e h i s

w i f e had gone i n t o o c c u p a t i o n i n May 1995, M r B u r k e s a i d

t h a t , i n December 1995, t h e d e f e n d a n t had d e c i d e d t o b r i n g

t h e m a t t e r o f t h e b r o t h e l t o t h e a t t e n t i o n o f h i s s u p e r i o r ,

M r Cross , t o l e t h i m know what was happen ing .

He c o m p l i e d w i t h Mr C r o s s ' s r e q u e s t t o p u t t h e m a t t e r i n

w r i t i n g , and d i d so on 1 4 t h December 1995.

D i s c u s s i o n s t h e n ensued between Mess rs C ross and Ph i l l i p s ,

and MS M o r r i s o n , e i t h e r on 22nd o r 2 5 t h Janua ry 1996. MS

M o r r i s o n was t o l d t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t wou ld n o t o b j e c t t o

t e r m i n a t i o n u n d e r S e c t i o n 26E, w i t h 9 t h F e b r r ~ a r y 1996 b e i n g

h i s d e s i r e d d a t e , so c a l c u l a t i o n s were p u t i n t r a i n as t o

h i s pay o u t f i g u r e on t h a t d a t e .

T h i s r e s u l t e d i n M r P h i l l i p s t e l l i n g t h e d e f e n d a n t t h a t i t

was l i k e l y t h a t a S e c t i o n 26E redundancy wou ld be o f f e r e d t o

him, a l t h o u g h h e was t o l d by M r C ross s h o r t l y b e f o r e 9 t h

F e b r u a r y t h a t he wo111d n o t b e g o i n g on t h a t d a t e , because

t h e paperwork was n o t c o m p l e t e .

I n M r B u r k e ' s s u b m i s s i o n , b e c a ~ ~ s e o f tha t . i n f o r m a t i o n b e i n g

conveyed t o h im , i t wo111d n o t b e s u r p r i s i n g i f t h e de fendan t

s t a r t e d t o - a h i s a f F a i r . 5 a(:t.:<nrrl i n g l y . H i s

i ntencled S : t y agunt. ' s S I t he postponect a g a i n

atid ~ y a i n t i l e a , i t i 1 1 F: i r i1 i in ;,!.*S t h e expenl-ei l

d e t ~ r m i n ~ t i o n c r n d ~ r S e n t i o n T6F.

The d i s c ~ ~ s s i o n w i t h M r Hepwor th r e g a r d i ny non-payment o f t h e

c l o t h i n g a l l o w a n c e i n A p r i l 1996, because o f an e x p e c t e d

S26E d e t e r m i n a t i o n ; a l s o must have ~ o n f i rmed i t h e

d e f e n d a n t ' s m ind h i s b e l i e f t h a t t h e l a t t e r w o u l d occor..

ivlr Btrrke s a i d i t was a c c o r d i n g l y ~ i n d e r s t a n d a b l e t h a t , i n

p l a n n i n g f o r t h e f u t u r e , t h e d e f e n d a n t w o u l d n o t r e g a r d i t

as a p r e s s i n g m a t t e r t o b r i n g t o t h e a t t e n t i o n o f t h e

Commissioner	t h e	f a c t	t h a t	he was	s p e n d i n g some	t i m e a t t h e
b r o t h e l .

I t was n o t u n t i l 3 r d June, when t h e d e f e n d a n t was g i v e n t h e

Commiss ione r ' s l e t t e r o f 2 8 t h May, t h a t he knew t h a t S e c t i o n

26E was n o t g o i n g t o b e a p p l i e d t o h i s c a s e .

M r Penrose a t t h a t t i m e d i s c u s s e d t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s f u t u r e i n

t h e AFP, i n c l u d i n g p l a c i n g h i m on an i n v e s t i g a t o r ' s c o u r s e

w i t h a v i ew t o h i s becoming an i n v e s t i g a t o r .

M r B u r k e s u b m i t t e d t h a t t h e de fendan t was t h e n a f i r e a r m s

i n s t r u c t o r , w i t h no r e a l c o n t a c t w i t h t h e p u b l i c , and,

w h i l s t h i s c o n t a c t w i t h t h e b r o t h e l was " u n f o r t u n a t e , o r

c o u l d have a p o s s i b l e e f f e c t on t h e AFP", h i s becoming an

i n v e s t i g a t o r , d e a l i n g w i t h t h e p u b l i c and g o i n g t o C o u r t

r e g u l a r 1 y , wou ld " o n l y e x a c e r b a t e t h e p o s i t i o n " .

I n M r B u r k e ' s s u b m i s s i o n , t h e c o n t e n t s o f t h e C o m m i s s i o n e r ' s

l e t t e r o f 2 8 t h May r e a l l y amounted t o t h e Commiss ione r ' s

s a y i n g " I do n o t have enough i n f o r m a t i o n w h i c h w o u l d j u s t i f y

me t a k i n g 26E a c t i o n " . I t w o u l d be u n d e r s t a n d a b l e t h a t t h e

d e f e n d a n t , i n t i i o s e c i r c u ~ n s t a n c e s , w o u l d say t h a t , i F he

w o u l d b e g o i n g t o C o u r t and w o u l d be i n v o l v e d w i t h t h e

pub1 ic., t h e Coo~n i i ss ione r s h o u l d b e made aware o f h i s

invo lvement . i n t h e b r o t h e l .

As M r But-ke p u t i t , h i s c l i e n t c o u l d reason t h a t " t h e f a c t

i s t h a t I ' v e s p e n t a l o t more t i m e a t t h e b r o t h e l s i n c e

t h e n , because I t h o u g h t f r o m day t o day , c e r t a i n l y f r o m 9

F e b r u a r y , t h a t I was g o i n g t o be go ing ; t h a t i s a r e l e v a n t

m a t t e r t o i n f o r m t h e Commissioner because i t may v e r y a e l l

b e t h a t i f t h e Commiss ioner knows t h a t he w i l l say : we1 l, I

am s a t i s f i e d now. I t wou ld b e i n a p p r o p r i a t e f o r you r e m a i n

a member o f t h e AFP".

M r B u r k e s u b m i t t e d t h a t , i f t h e d e f e n d a n t had f a i l e d t o

b r i n g t h e r e l e v a n t m a t t e r s t o t h e Commiss ione r ' s a t t e n t i o n ,

he w o u l d b e l i a b l e t o d i s c i p l i n a r y a c t i o n ; h a v i n g done so

has r e s u l t e d i n h i m b e i n g t h e s u b j e c t o f d i s c i p l i n a r y

a c t i o n .

F i n a l l y , i n Mr B u r k e ' s s u b m i s s i o n , t h e key i s s u e i n t h e c a s e

was whe the r i t was a p p r o p r i a t e o r i n a p p r o p r i a t e f o r t h e

d e f e n d a n t t o i n f o r m t h e Commiss ioner o f t h e m a t t e r s

c o n t a i n e d i n t h e l e t t e r o f 1 1 t h June 1996.

B e f o r e p r o c e e d i n g t o my f i n d i n g s on m a t e r i a l q u e s t i o n s o f

f a c t , as I am r e q u i r e d t o do under S e c t i o n 7 6 ( 5 ) o f t h e

C o m p l a i n t s ( A u s t r a l i a n F e d e r a l P o l i c e ) A c t 1981, I s h o i ~ l d

r e f e r t o t h e f a c t t h a t , p r i o r t o t h e commencement o f t h e s e

p r o c e e d i n g s , an a p p l i c a t i o n was made b y Mr C h i l c o t t t h a t t h e

T r i b u n a l b e c l o s e d t o t h e p u b l i c , i n c l u d i n g h i s s u b m i s s i o n

i n s u p p o r t o f t h e a p p l i c a t i o n .

The re was no o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e a p p l i c a t i o n by M r Bu rke , and,

a f t e r c o n s i d e r i n g t h e submiss ion , I g r a n t e d i t because o f

t h e unusua l c i r c u m s t a n c e s s u r r o u n d i n g t h e c h a r g e s .

A f u r t h e r a p p l i c a t i o n was made by Mr C h i l c o t t t h a t

p11b1 i c a t i o n o r t h e p r o c e e d i ngs b e f o r e t h e T r i b u n a l ,

i n1::1 u d i ng t h e n a t i r r e o f t h e c h a r g e s , b e p r o h i b i t e d . T h a t

a p p l i c a t i o n was a l s o n o t opposed, and i t was g r a n t e d on an

i n t e r i m b a s i s , p e n d i n g c o n c l u s i o n o f t h e m a t t e r .

The q u e s t i o n o f p u b l i c a t i o n o f my f i n d i n g s was defer rec! ,

b u t , i n v iew o f t h e n a t u r e o f t h e case, I w i I 1 make an o r d e r

unde r S e c t i o n 7 4 ( 2 ) ( b ) ( i i i ) t h a t p u b l i c a t i o n o f my

f i n d i n g s , and t h e r e a s o n s t h e r e f o r , b e p r o h i b i t e d . I a l s o

c o n f i r m t h e i n t e r i m o r d e r r e g a r d i n g pub1 i c a t i o n o f t h e

p r o c e e d i n g s .

The two cha rges b e f o r e t h e T r i b u n a l a r e , as conceded b y

c o u n s e l , v i r t u a l l y i d e n t i c a l , and, a l t h o u g h no p o i n t was

t a k e n b y M r Bu rke r e g a r d i n g t h e i r b e i n g d u p l i c i t o u s , an

argument c o u l d be mounted t h a t t h e y a r e .

I t w o u l d appear t o me, i n t h e absence o f any e x p r e s s i o n s o f

v i e w t o t h e c o n t r a r y by c o u n s e l , t h a t t h e most p r a c t i c a ; way

i n w h i c h I s h o u l d p r o c e e d i s t o r e g a r d t h e c h a r g e under

R e g u l a t i o n 1 8 ( i ) ( e ) , o f a c t i n g i n a manner unbecoming an AFP

a p p o i n t e e as b e i n g t h e p r i n c i p a l c h a r g e .

As s t a t e d by t h e then -Depu ty P r e s i d e n t o f t h e T r i b u n a l , klr

J u s t i c e J e n k i n s o n , i n t h e m a t t e r o f S loane, t h e c o n s t i t u t e n t

e lemen ts o f t h i s c h a r g e a r e :

1 . One o r more p h y s i c a l a c t s o f t h e member,

2 . Each o f w h i c h i s a c o n s c i o u s and v o l u n t a r y a c t ,

3. Which t h e T r i b u n a l j u d g e s t o be a c t i n g i n a manner

unbecoming a member o f t h e AFP.

The o n l y a r e a o f d i s p u t e , as ag reed b y c o i ~ n s e l , i s i n

r -e la t . i o n t o wtiet:tiei- i t was a p p r o p r i a t e for- t.he d e f e n d a n t t o

w r i t e t o	t l i e Comminsioner	i n t h e manner	i n wh i ch	h e d i d oh
1 1 t h June	1996 .

I n Mr C h i l c o t t ' s s u b m i s s i o n , t h e w r i t i n g o f t l i e l e t t e r -

i n f o r m i rig t h e Commiss ioner o f t h e m a t t e r s c o n t a i n e d ther -e i n

was n o t i n a p p r o p r i a t e . What was i n a p p r o p r i a t e , i n h i s

s u b m i s s i o n , was t h e use t o w h i c h t h e d e f e n d a n t i n t e n d e d p a r t

o f t h e m a t e r i a l t o b e p u t : i . e . , t o i n f l u e n c e t h e

Commiss ioner t o r e c o n s i d e r h i s d e c i s i o n n o t t o a p p l y S e c t i o n

26E t o t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s c a s e .

As s t a t e d above, M r Bu rke s u b m i t t e d t h a t n o t h i n g t h e

d e f e n d a n t d i d was i n a p p r o p r i a t e . A l l he d i d , h e s u b m i t t e d ,

was t o s u p p l y a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e b r o t h e l

because h i s new c a r e e r as an i n v e s t i g a t o r w o u l d b r i n g h i m

i n t o c o n t a c t w i t h t h e p u b l i c and r e q u i r e h i m t o go t o C o u r t .

The Commiss ioner s h o u l d t h e r e f o r e b e aware o f t h e t i m e he

had s p e n t a t t h e b r o t h e l and t h e p e r s o n s w i t h whom he had

come i n t o c o n t a c t t h e r e . T h i s , M r B u r k e s u b m i t t e d , i n t h e

d e f e n d a n t ' S eyes , c o u l d cause t h e Commiss ioner t o c o n c l u d e

t h a t he was s a t i s f i e d t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t s h o u l d n o t r e m a i n

i n t h e AFP.

The d i f f i c u l t y w i t h t h i s p r o p o s i t i o n , w h i c h I q u o t e d a t

l e n g t h e a r l i e r , i s t h a t t h e r e i s s i m p l y n o e v i d e n c e t o

s u p p o r t i t . The d e f e n d a n t chose, as i s h i s r i g h t , n o t t o

g i v e o r c a l l e v i d e n c e , so t h a t t h e s u b m i s s i o n s made on h i s

b e h a l f i n t h i s r e g a r d c o u l d o n l y b e d e s c r i b e d as c o n j e c t u r e .

What i s c l e a r , f rom t h e e v i d e n c e , i s t h a t :

1 . The d e f e n d a n t d i d n o t b r i n g t o t h e n o t i c e o f h i s

s u p e r i o r s h i s w i f e ' s i n v o l v e m e n t i-n t h e r u n n i n g o f

t h e b r o t h e l u n t i l a f t e r t h e r e j e c t i o n o f h i s

a p p l i c a t i o n f o r a redundancy package.

A t t h a t t i m e , h i s w i f e had been engaged i n

r u n n i ~ i g t:he b r o t h e l for. solne seven ~ i i o n t h s .

The d e f e n d a n t was o f t h e be1 i e f , a f t e r i nForni i ng

h i s s u p e r i o r s o f h i s w i f e ' s i n v o l v e m e n t i n t h e

b r o t h e l , t h a t h i s a p p o i n t m e n t w o u l d b e t e r m i n a t e d

u n d e r S e c t i o n 26E.

T e r m i n a t i o n under t h a t S e c t i o n w o u l d r e s u l t i n

s u b s t a n t i a1	f i	n a n c i a1	advan tage	compared	w i t h
r e s i g n a t i o n .

The d e c i s i o n t h a t h i s a p p o i n t m e n t w o u l d n o t be

t e r m i n a t e d under S e c t i o n 26E was conveyed t o

t h e d e f e n d a n t on 3 r d June 1996.

The Commiss ione r ' s l e t t e r o f 2 8 t h May 1996, i n

w h i c h t h a t a d v i c e was c o n t a i n e d , s a i d t h a t h e w o u l d

n o t draw any adve rse i n f e r e n c e s f r o m h i s w i f e ' s

o w n e r s h i p o f a l e g i t i m a t e b u s i n e s s .

The Commiss ioner a l s o s a i d he c o u l d n o t make t h e

assumpt ion t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t had any i n v o l v e m e n t

i n t h e b u s i n e s s , n o r t h a t h i s w i f e ' s i n v o l v m e n t

w o u l d a d v e r s e l y impac t on t h e d e f e n d a n t ' s r o l e as a

member o f t h e AFP.

A f t e r f i r s t a p p e a r i n g t o a c c e p t t h a t d e c i s i o n , and

d i s c u s s i n g h i s f u t u r e c a r e e r , t h e d e f e n d a n t s a i d h e

s t i l l wanted t e r m i n a t i o n under S e c t i o n 26E.

The l e t t e r , t h e s u b j e c t o f t h e c h a r g e , was w r i t t e n

t o t h e Commiss ioner e i g h t days l a t e r .

A1 though i t was s u b m i t t e d on b e h a l f o f t h e d e f e n d a n t t h a t he

was m e r e l y b r i n g i n g t o t h e C o ~ r l m i s s i o n e r ' s a t t e n t . i o n t h e f a c t

t h a t he had been s p e n d i n g a " c o n c i d e r a b l e ( s i c ) amollnt o f

t i m e over. t h e p a s t f i v e nlo1it.h~ a t h e b t ~ o t h e l " , i n t h e

cour-se o f ~ v h i c t i l ie had "become f a m i l i a r " t o a " w i d e range o f

1 :1 iente le , t h e s e i n c l u d e p e o p l e f rom M e l b o u r n e ' s c r i m i n a l

e lement as w e l l as i t ' s ( s i c ) J u d i c i a r y " , t h e l e t t e r went

f u r t h e r t h a n t h a t .

I f t h e l e t t e r had c o n c l u d e d a t t h a t p o i n t , r e g a r d l e s s o f t h e

t r u t h o f t h e a s s e r t i o n s , ( a n d t h e r e was no e v i d e n c e e i t h e r

way as t o t h a t ) , pe rhaps Mr B u r k e ' s s u b m i s s i o n t h a t t h e

d e f e n d a n t was o n l y i n f o r m i n g t h e Commissioner as t o m a t t e r s

o f wh i ch i t was h i s d u t y t o i n f o r m h i m c o u l d b e a c c e p t e d .

However, t h e d e f e n d a n t went on t o say :

S ( - L now f i n d m y s e l f i n a p o s i t i o n t h a t c o u l d p o s s i b l y

compromise f u t u r e AFP o p e r a t i o n s as w e l l as cause

embarrassment t o t h e AFP. T h i s c o u l d happen i f I were t o

g i v e e v i d e n c e b e f o r e a Judge, M a g i s t r a t e o r i n t h e p r e s e n c e

o f a c r i m i n a l f a m i l i a r w i t h my i n v o l v e m e n t w i t h t h e b r o t h e l .

R e s u l t i n g i n a media s c a n d a l t h a t wou ld have an adve rse

impac t on t h e image o f t h e AFP. I t i s my b e l i e f t h a t t h e

media i n t e r e s t w o u l d e x i s t o n l y because o f my p r e s e n t

p o s i t i o n " .

A f t e r r e f e r r i n g t o h i s i n a b i l i t y t o r e s i g n f o r f i n a n c i a l

r easons , t h e d e f e n d a n t went on t o say :

" T a k i n g i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n t h e e x t r a i n f o r m a t i o n I have

p r o v i d e d you w i t h I b e l i e v e t h a t i t i s i n t h e b e s t i n t e r e s t s

o f t h e AFP and n ~ y s e l f f o r y o u t o r e c o n s i d e r my p r e v i o u s

r e q u e s t f o r a ( S ) e c t i o n 2 6 E package" .

As M r B u r k e p o i n t e d o u t , t h e d e f e n d a n t was n o t c h a r g e d w i t h

b e i n g i n v o l v e d w i t 1 1 t h e r u n n i n g o f t h e b r o t h e l , o r w i t h

l y i n g t o , o r m i s l e a d i n g t h e C o ~ r ~ t r ~ i s s i o n e r a b o u t h i s

i n v o l v e m e n t , and t h a t , o f c o u r s e , i s c o r r e c t .

I n t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e s t a t e m e n t by t h e d e f e n d a n t i n h i s

l e t t e r t h a t a "media s c a n d a l " vrould f o l l ~ w r e v e l a t i o n s o f

h i s i nvo l ve tnen t i v i t h t h e b r o t h e l , however, i t i s v a l i d t o

c o n s i d e r what e f f e c t t h a t may have on t h e p u b l i c p e r c e p t i o n

o f	t h e AFP.
As	a m a t t e r o f o b j e c t i v e assessment , a media d i s c l o s u r e t h a t
a	s e r v i n g P o l i c e O f f i c e r had been r e g u l a r l y a t t e n d i n g a

b r o t h e l , n o t d u r i n g t h e c o u r s e o f h i s d u t y , on " f i v e o r s i x

days a week" f o r ! ' f r om f i v e m i n u t e s t o s e v e r a l h o u r s " on

each o c c a s i o n ( E x h i b i t l ) , n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h e f a c t t h a t h i s

w i f e was a C O - p r o p r i e t o r , c o u l d b e c a p a b l e o f c a u s i n g p u b l i c

d i s q u i e t , even i n t h i s day and age.

Fo r f u r t h e r d i s c l o s u r e s t o b e made t o t h e p u b l i c t h a t t h e

same Po l i c e O f f i c e r , whi 1e f r e q u e n t i n g t h e b r o t h e l , had

c o n t a c t s w i t h c r i m i n a l s o t h e r w i s e t h a n i n t h e c o u r s e o f h i s

d u t y , and knew o f members o f t h e J u d i c i a r y who were c l i e n t s

o f t h e b r o t h e l c o u l d , q u i t e c o n c e i v a b l y , cause a "media

s c a n d a l " , as p r e d i c t e d b y t h e d e f e n d a n t . T h i s w o u l d

undoubted1 y r e s u l t i n a p p r e c i a b l e embarrassment t o , and a

d i m i n u t i o n i n t h e s t a n d i n g o f , t h e AFP i n t h e communi ty ,

e s p e c i a l l y i n v i e w o f r e c e n t r e v e l a t i o n s a t Roya l

Commissions and o t h e r pub1 i c i n q u i r i e s .

The d e f e n d a n t , i n h i s l e t t e r , i n v i t e d c o n t e m p l a t i o n by t h e

Commiss ioner o f such adve rse p u b l i c exposu re i f he were n o t

t o change h i s m i n d and r e l e a s e t h e de fendan t f r o m t h e AFP

under t h e S e c t i o n 26E d e t e r r ~ l i n a t i o n e a r l i e r s o u g h t , and, as

t h e d e f e n d a n t be1 i e v e d , p r o ~ n i s e d .

W h i l s t t h e d e f e n d a n t assu red Ms M o r r i s o n t h a t ire wou ld n o t

d i s c l o s e sucti i n fo rn la t i o n , he t o l d MS Mor-r i son t h a t ire c o u l d

n o t c o n t r o l what h i s w i f e d i d . She added t h a t he a l s o s a i d

some th ing a b o u t a r e l a t i v e who worked f o r The A u s t r a l i a n

newspaper . T h a t e v i d e n c e was n o t c o n t r a d i c t e d . MS

M o r r i s o n ' s a l l e g a t i o n t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t s a i d he w o u l d l e a v e

t h e AFP e i t h e r "dead" , o r " t h r o u g h o i d age" , " o r w i t h a

b u c k e t o f money" was a l s o n o t d e n i e d .

A l l t h i s e v i d e n c e p o i n t s t o t h e f a c t t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t was

imp1 i e d l y s a y i n g t o t h e Commi s s i o n e r : "You had b e t t e r

r e c o n s i d e r y o u r d e c i s i o n n o t t o l e t me o u t unde r S e c t i o n

26E, o r t h e AFP w i l l s u f f e r a d v e r s e p u b l i c i t y because o f

what I have t o l d you . I n o t h e r words, i t w o u l d b e b e t t e r

f o r me t o b e an ex-AFP member, unde r S e c t i o n 26E, t h a n a

s e r v i n g member, i n t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s , so you s h o u l d now g i v e

me t h e b e n e f i t o f a r e l e a s e unde r S e c t i o n 26E".

I n my v iew, t h a t was n o t an a p p r o p r i a t e method o f a t t e m p t i n g

t o i n f l u e n c e t h e Commiss ioner t o r e c o n s i d e r h i s e a r l i e r

d e c i s i o n abou t S e c t i o n 26E: i t was more i n t h e way o f an

u n s u b t l e a t t e m p t t o i n t i m i d a t e and i m p r o p e r l y i n f l u e n c e t h e

Commiss ione r ' s d e c i s i o n by t h e t h r e a t o f a d v e r s e p u b l i c i t y

b e i n g v i s i t e d upon h i s F o r c e .

T h a t t h e a t t e m p t , w h i c h c o u l d b e s t b e d e s c r i b e d as i n e p t ,

d i d n o t succeed, i s i n c o n s e q u e n t i a l . The i nescapab l e

f a c t s a r e t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t , h a v i n g , i n h i s v i e w , w r o n g l y

been d e p r i v e d o f a h o p e d - f o r f i n a n c i a l advan tage , s o u g h t , by

i n a p p r o p r i a t e means, i . e . , a t t e m p t e d i n t i m i d a t i o n , t o c o e r c e

t h e Commiss ioner i n t o c h a n g i n g h i s m i n d .

I n S l o a n e ' s case , N o 10 o f 1984, t h e then-Deputy P r e s i d e n t

o f t h e Tr.i b u n a l , M r J u s t i c e J e n k i nson, r : :haractei- i zed t h e

o f f e n c e o f coniJr~r:t ~ i n b e c o ~ n i n y an AFP a p p o i n t e e as embrac i ny

t h e o f f e n c e o f i rnproper c o n d u c t . I n t h e case o f O 'Conne l ! ,

(1994 V o l 76 ACR a t 140) , t h e F e d e r a l C o u r t , o n appea l f rom

t h e T r i b u n a l , c o n s i d e r e d t h e e lemen ts o f i m p r o p e r c o n d u c t ,

i n d i c a t i n g t h a t imprope r c o n d u c t was synonomous w i t h c o n d u c t

unbecoming an AFP a p p o i n t e e .

The d i f f i c u l t i e s i n v o l v e d w i t h c r e a t i n g o f f e n c e s wh ich

o v e r l a p i n t h i s manner were h i g h l i g h t e d by M r J u s t i c e Fox i n

Scanes and F l e m i n g v W i l s o n (1974 Vo l 22 FLR 262 a t 2 7 2 ) .

H i s Honour t h e r e d e a l t w i t h a n appea l f r o m t h e ACT P o l i c e

Appeal Board a g a i n s t f i n d i ngs i n v o l v i n g b reaches o f S e c t i o n

29 o f t h e ACT Po l i c e ( D i s c i p1 i n a r y P r o v i s i o n s ) O r d i n a n c e

1972.

The p r o v i s i o n s o f R e g u l a t i o n 18 a r e i n a l m o s t i d e n t i c a l

t e r m s t o t h a t S e c t i o n .

H i s Honour o b s e r v e d as f o l l o w s :

"As t h e Boa rd p o i n t e d o u t , t h e o f f e n c e s s e t o u t

i n S e c t i o n 29 a r e a r a t h e r i n c o n g r u o u s g r o u p .

Some a r e v e r y s p e c i f i c , o t h e r s a r e v e r y vague and

v e r y g e n e r a l , and t h e l a t t e r o v e r l a p t h e f o r m e r .

The Boa rd c r i t i c i z e d t h e g e n e r a l i t y and vagueness

o f t h e o f f e n c e i n p a r a g r a p h ( g ) , and i t seems t o

me t h a t a t t e n t i o n s h o u l d b e g i v e n t o t h a t

c r i t i c i s m . C e r t a i n l y t h e p r e s e n t scheme o f

o f f e n c e s seems l i k e l y t o p roduce embarrassment

and d i F f i c u l t i e s b o t h f o r t h e Co~rrrtr issioner and

f o r t h o s e c h a r g e d " .

As s t a t e d by M r J u s t i c e J e n k i n s o n i n S l o a n e ' s case, . i t i s

f o r t h e Tribi.rna1 t o jcrdge wt,eti,er t h e c o n d u c t a1 l e g e d

c o n s t i t u t e s " a c t i n g i n a manner unbecoming a member o f t h e

A ~ ~ s t r a l i n F e d e r a l F o l i c e " .

The s t a n d a r d o f p r o o f t o be a p p l i e d i s p r o o f on t h e b a l a n c e

o f p r o b a b i l i t i e s .

To a t t e m p t s u b t l e t h r e a t t o i n f l u e n c e t h e Commiss ioner b y a none - too -

o f a "media s c a n d a l " t o change h i s m i n d abou t

t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f S e c t i o n 26E, so t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t c o u l d

r e c e i v e t h e f i n a n c i a l b e n e f i t s o f t e r m i n a t i o n o f h i s s e r v i c e

under t h a t S e c t i o n , c l e a r l y c o n s t i t u t e s a c t i n g i n a manner

unbecoming an AFP a p p o i n t e e .

On t h e b a l a n c e o f p r o b a b i l i t i e s , I f i n d t h e o f f e n c e under

R e g u l a t i o n 1 8 ( l ) ( e ) p r o v e d .

The a1 t e r n a t i ve cha rge , o f imp rope r c o n d u c t , under

R e g u l a t i o n 1 8 ( l ) ( d ) , b e i n g e s s e n t i a l l y d u p l i c i t o u s , i s

f o r m a l l y d i s m i s s e d .

MEMBER.