Suppression orders spike in 2021 thanks to NCA bombing trial of Domenic Perre, accounting for 30 gag orders in eight months

SA’s courts have kept more secrets so far this year than they did in all of 2019 – and 20 per cent of those public gag orders arise from one of the state’s biggest trials.

The state’s courts have already imposed more suppression orders in 2021 than they did in all of 2019, thanks to the NCA bombing trial and arrests made by Operation Ironside.

The Supreme, District and Magistrates courts have handed down 159 gag orders – 16 more than the total imposed two years ago.

More than 30 of those orders relate to the trial of Domenic Perre alone, placing SA second in the nation for secrecy and on track to equal or exceed 2020’s total of 164 suppressions.

Victoria is likely to keep its crown as Australia’s gag-order capital with 357 suppressions granted so far, with NSW – yet to hit triple digits – in third place.

As in years past, the WA and ACT courts remain the champions of transparency and public accountability, having blocked the public’s right to know just once each in 2021.

Operation Ironside, which resulted in mass arrests in SA and worldwide due to the AN0M messaging app sting, was another significant contributor.

The sudden, sharp increase in SA’s suppression order tally is due to the lengthy murder trial of longtime 1994 NCA bombing suspect Domenic Perre.

Between October 2020, when Mr Perre pleaded not guilty, and the trial’s end in June this year, Justice Kevin Nicholson granted 31 suppression orders.

Alleged NCA bomber Domenic Perre pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards.

Only one of those orders was imposed prior to the courts’ Christmas break, meaning Mr Perre’s case accounts for almost 20 per cent of 2021’s state secrets.

Of the orders imposed, 17 were ongoing publication bans without a specified end date while 14 were interim orders, in force while prosecution and defence counsel argued points.

Matters kept from the public include pages of transcript, details of legal arguments made and the identities of undercover operatives.

The vast majority of the orders relate to the privacy, security and histories of numerous witnesses in the case.

Justice Nicholson suppressed witness identities, the names of businesses they own, their criminal histories and any past dealings with police.

Several orders related to an alleged prison informant who claimed Mr Perre inducted him into the mafia, and shared the secrets of the bombing, when they served jail time together.

Almost all of the orders imposed during the trial were sought by prosecutor Sandi McDonald SC.

In an unusual twist, Mr Perre’s legal team objected to and opposed many of the orders sought, arguing the case should be conducted in the open with full public transparency.