Secret ICAC investigation into Colleen Gwynne prosecution rules out improper conduct by police, lawyers

A previously unpublished investigation by the corruption watchdog found no evidence of improper conduct by lawyers or police in the prosecution of former Children’s Commissioner Colleen Gwynne.

Not a single interview was conduted during an NT Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) investigation into the failed prosecution of former Children’s Commissioner Colleen Gwynne.

After a previously unpublished investigation by the corruption watchdog that found no evidence of improper conduct by lawyers or police emerged on Thursday, Ms Gwynne hit back, labelling the ICAC probe ‘insufficiently thorough’.

Operation Sirocco was launched after Ms Gwynne referred the matter of her prosecution to the ICAC, claiming she had been unfairly targeted.

The crux of Ms Gwynne’s complaint was the public prosecutor and NT Police knew from at least September 2022 the investigation was “motivated by malice and/or maintained maliciously”; that her alleged conduct was trivial and not criminal, and therefore it was not in the public interest to pursue an investigation or prosecution; and the scale of the investigation launched against her was an abuse of power.

ICAC delegate Patricia Kelly SC found “no substance” to any of the complaints nor any basis to continue investigating, and finalised her report in April last year.

Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

The existence of that report remained undisclosed to the public until Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby tabled it to parliament on Thursday afternoon.

In a statement on Friday, Ms Gwynne, who now suffers from PTSD after enduring years of hell in which her name and reputation were smeared, said it was disappointing the dismissal of the gravity of her complaint to ICAC was finalised in a 4 page report.

“The first page outlines the legislation and allegation, the second page coninues with the allegations and the list of documents the investigator relied on to draw her conclusions followed by a two page conclusion with no level of analysis where she determines that the allegations made against me were serious and not surprisingly the investigation was referred to the Special References Unit who are tasked with investigating complex and protracted criminal investigations into high level corruption,” she said.

Ms Gwynne said the investigator relied solely on court documents and the information provided by the entities under scrutiny.

“No independent fact-checking was conducted, no witnesses were interviewed, and no verification of affidavit claims—particularly those used to justify intrusive warrants—was undertaken,” Ms Gwynne said.

“Rather than critically assessing the circumstances behind the charges, the investigator accepted the materials at face value and dismissed the matter without deeper inquiry.

“Despite clear gaps in the ICAC investigation (or lack thereof), the conclusion was reached that no further action was required. This raises serious concerns about the adequacy and impartiality of the review.

“I am deeply disollusioned with the superficial manner in which my complaint to ICAC and others are investigated, there is no apparent effort to seek independent evidence and witnesses or to verify the veracity of the information provided, often by the subject of the complaint.”

Earlier this week the Chief Minister said her government would not rule out an independent inquiry into the Gwynne prosecution if required, prompting Ms Boothby to contact the ICAC to determine whether it had previously looked into the issue.

“The ICAC confirmed they had investigated the matter previously, and yesterday afternoon they provided me with the Operation Sirocco report,” she said.

“I will be asking the Attorney-General’s department for a full briefing on the matter to determine what further action, if any, is appropriate.

“Question marks now hang over the two former Attorneys-General, the Leader of the Opposition Selena Uibo and Member for Gwoja Chansey Paech, about how long they have known.”

Ms Uibo defended Labor’s record on the issue, and accused the CLP of hypocrisy in its handling of the ongoing police recruitment scandal.

“ICAC’s Operation Sirocco findings, tabled in parliament today, clearly outlined there was no evidence of improper conduct or the need to make a report,” Ms Uibo said.

“In contrast, the Chief Minister spent three weeks trying to cover-up the Operation Apollo findings of improper conduct and misled Territorians about her ability to make the report public.”

Former NT Children's Commissioner and NT Police officer, Colleen Gwynne. Picture: Simon Manzie

Ms Gwynne was in her sixth year as NT Children’s Commissioner in 2020 when she was charged with abuse of office for alleged arbitrary and prejudicial conduct.

She was accused of interfering with a recruitment process to promote a friend to her second in command.

The case against her was ultimately thrown out when prosecutors admitted they couldn’t prove the charge – but not before three years of Ms Gwynne being put through the ringer of criminal prosecution and national media scrutiny.

Ms Gwynne has always denied any abuse of office.

The ICAC found there was no question the allegations against Ms Gwynne were serious, “involving as they did at the very least a conflict of interest in managing the selection process by a very senior public servant”.

The report stated multiple charges against Ms Gwynne were originally recommended, but ultimately the Director of Public Prosecutions chose only to proceed with one charge “in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion”.

The ICAC found the case against Ms Gwynne was effectively brought to an end by a pre-trial ruling made by the judge in June 2023 – something the DPP “could not have been expected to have foreseen”.

“Up to the time that ruling was made, in my view, there was plainly sufficient evidence for the Director of Public Prosecutions to have properly exercised the discretion to prosecute.”

Originally published as Secret ICAC investigation into Colleen Gwynne prosecution rules out improper conduct by police, lawyers