Elizabeth Lee slams Shane Rattenbury over ACT Supreme Court attendance
The ACT’s Opposition Leader has accused the territory’s first law officer of showing “incredibly poor judgement” over a trip to court.
Canberra Star
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The ACT Opposition Leader has slammed the Attorney-General’s decision to attend a jury empanelment amid controversy over perceptions of political interference in prosecutions, accusing him of showing “incredibly poor judgement and a shocking lack of consideration”.
Canberra Liberals leader Elizabeth Lee came out swinging on Wednesday after this masthead revealed Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury had attended the empanelment of a jury in an ACT Supreme Court trial involving allegations a child was indecently assaulted.
Mr Rattenbury went to the empanelment last Tuesday, a day after The Australian reported he had summoned the acting ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, Anthony Williamson SC, to a meeting to discuss “concerns” about the discontinuance of several sexual assault cases.
The meeting angered Mr Williamson, who was reported to have told colleagues it was highly inappropriate that he had been “hauled over to [Mr Rattenbury’s] office like an errant little schoolboy” to explain decisions he had made as an independent statutory officeholder.
Mr Rattenbury, who strongly denied any wrongdoing, insisted he had only asked policy-related questions and rejected suggestions he had tried to impose political pressure on Mr Williamson.
He also defended his attendance at last week’s jury empanelment, with a spokeswoman saying the ACT Government’s Justice and Community Safety Directorate had invited Mr Rattenbury weeks in advance to attend a tour of the ACT courts and tribunal.
“As part of the tour, the Attorney-General saw parts of various proceedings across multiple courts, as well as court facilities including a remote witness room,” the spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
“The Attorney-General had no prior knowledge of the matters he was to observe and had made no requests to visit particular matters or courtrooms.”
The spokeswoman added that Mr Rattenbury had spent less than 10 minutes in the jury empanelment.
While Mr Rattenbury sought to dispel any concerns about his visit to the courts, it did not sit well with ACT legal figures who spoke to this masthead on the condition of anonymity.
One described Mr Rattenbury’s appearance at the jury empanelment as “a bit how you going”, while another questioned what jurors would have thought if they recognised the Attorney-General in the courtroom.
Ms Lee agreed with the legal sources on Wednesday, saying ACT lawyers were right to “express serious concern about the Attorney-General’s presence in court at this time”.
“At the very least, the Attorney-General’s decision to attend the jury empanelment at this time shows incredibly poor judgement and a shocking lack of consideration about how his presence could be perceived by jurors,” the Opposition Leader said.
“The Chief Minister has stood by his Attorney-General to date and he must now be upfront with the community and confirm whether he still has full confidence in Mr Rattenbury as the first law officer of the ACT.”
Asked to respond to Ms Lee’s comments, ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr provided a statement.
“I understand the minister has provided an explanation for his attendance at the courts, and there was no interference into the operation of the court,” Mr Barr said.
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