"Sir John Howard" <sirjhoward@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:95c13ca0-0f87-434f-819a-be58f5c6128e@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Ruthless and grubby: DPP lashes Morris Iemma's team
>
>
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/ruthless-and-grubby-dpp-lashes-morris-iemmas-team/2008/03/26/1206207207272.html
>
> THE Director of Public Prosecutions, Nicholas Cowdery, has dumped a
> bucket on the Iemma Government, describing it as "ruthless", guilty of
> "grubby" tactics and saying it has "crucified" his office.
>
> In an interview with the Herald, Mr Cowdery also said he believed the
> Premier, Morris Iemma, was controlled by backroom powerbrokers and
> that the Attorney-General, John Hatzistergos, was a "micro-manager"
> who had lost sight of the "bigger picture".
>
> The interview came in the wake of an Auditor-General's re****t, ordered
> by the Treasurer, Michael Costa, which found the Director of Public
> Prosecutions' office had failed to demonstrate it was efficient and
> that over the past five years its budget had been increased by 40 per
> cent while its caseload fell 30 per cent.
>
> The Government will use the re****t to place a politically appointed
> executive director in the office to manage finances, with the position
> to have the same status as a deputy director of public prosecutions.
>
> Mr Cowdery expressed concern at that appointment, saying it could lead
> to the DPP's independence being compromised and endanger politically
> sensitive cases such as the recent conviction of the former minister
> Milton Orkopoulos for child *** offences.
>
> Mr Cowdery blamed legislative changes, public sector pay rises and
> difficult cases for the figures produced in the re****t. He said the
> budget had been increased because it was previously inadequate and
> said the re****t should have focused on workload, rather than caseload.
> He said in the past year there had been a 15 per cent increase in
> caseload.
>
> Mr Cowdery said he and his staff had been "targeted" and "crucified"
> by Mr Costa, who wrote to the Auditor-General requesting the re****t.
>
> "It seemed to me from the request that Costa made to the Auditor-
> General that he was looking for some basis for criticism of this
> office," Mr Cowdery said. "Despite the words that are spoken from time
> to time, the Government is not comfortable with the idea of an
> independent office of the DPP making prosecution decisions
> independently of outside influence.
>
> "Certainly since the last election there has been a refocused
> targeting of me and independent prosecutors."
>
> He pointed to laws introduced last year establi****ng limited periods
> of tenure for his successor and crown prosecutors, "the continuing
> refusal to acknowledge we are in financial difficulty in this office",
> and "the suggestion there should be an executive director appointed"
> as ways his office was undermined.
>
> Mr Cowdery accused Mr Hatzistergos and his office of exerting
> "constant pressure by correspondence and otherwise" on him and his
> office.
>
> "My experience with the Attorney-General has been that he likes to
> micromanage the activities of the agencies in his ****tfolio and
> particularly this office and my concern is that in that
> micromanagement he may lose sight perhaps of the bigger picture that
> policymakers need," Mr Cowdery said.
>
> Asked his opinion on the Premier, Mr Cowdery said that he had never
> met him but "my view is that he probably acts at the urging of others
> behind the scenes rather than establi****ng his own agenda and running
> with it".
>
> He said Mr Costa was "a very determined and forceful individual who
> likes to get his own way".
>
> Mr Cowdery said the appointment of an executive director would lead to
> the "politicisation" of his office with a "political appointment to a
> senior managerial position".
>
> "The public needs to know that there will not be outside influences,
> perhaps subtle ones ... pu****ng the decision-making and the prosecution
> process in particular directions or even in particular cases," he
> said.
>
> "The possibility would be there of an administrative person, a
> manager, being privy to legal information ... perhaps having some
> influence of the resources applied to dealing with particular
> matters."
>
> Mr Cowdery accused the Government of a "grubby and unjustified" attack
> against the shadow attorney-general and former deputy director of
> public prosecutions, Greg Smith, over his handling of the case
> involving the former deputy senior crown prosecutor Patrick Power
> being found to possess child ****ography.
>
> The Police Minister, David Campbell, at the behest of the Premier's
> office, flayed Mr Smith in Parliament last year over his actions in
> informing Mr Power of the discovery before informing police.
>
> Mr Smith, after consulting Mr Cowdery, called in Power last July after
> child ****ography was found on Power's work computer. He questioned
> him about it before allowing him to leave. Mr Smith then called in
> police.
>
> Mr Cowdery conceded yesterday that perhaps "other views" to the
> actions of himself and Mr Smith on the Power matter were the "the
> right way to go" and added that "we've conceded that we'll take
> different action in the future".
>
> But he said of the attack on Mr Smith that it was "very unfair,
> improper and out of place".
>
> He said of the Government in general: "I think ruthless is a fair word
> to describe it. There is little room for give and take when the
> Government has a particular idea of what we should be doing. Recent
> experience is that it just keeps insisting that things be done until
> they are done."
>
> He made a joke during a photo session that he felt as if he was being
> crucified at Easter time and then confirmed in the interview that was
> how he felt.
>
> "It's ironic [the re****t] comes after Easter but ... [it] will have a
> serious effect on morale in the office. The lawyers in this office
> already feel that ... the whole office has been singled out for
> unfavourable treatment and this will only make those feelings worse."
>
> Mr Cowdery admitted that overseas travel he had regularly undertaken
> at taxpayer expense to attend conferences in his 13 years in the job
> had not helped his "cause in the public eye or political eye".
>
> But, he said "the reality is those overseas trips that have been made
> have all been with the approval of the attorney-general at the time"
> and had all been "looking at ways of improving our methods of
> enhancing the service we provide here".
Did Iemma host an Ideas Summit when he came to power ? If so, the only
idea
that arose was to **** everything up. I wonder if that will be the outcome
of KRudd's Ideas Summit ?
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