Ray Martin called as character witness in Steve Barrett’s blackmail trial

Ray Martin has been called as a character witness in a criminal trial, telling the jury the man was “ethical” and “highly respected by his colleagues”.

Veteran crime reporter Steve Barrett outside Downing Centre Court in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

Legendary broadcaster Ray Martin says a Sydney crime reporter who’s facing a blackmail charge is actually “ethical, accurate and highly respected by his colleagues”, a jury has been told.

Steve Barrett, 63, of Nelson Bay, has pleaded not guilty to being involved in a 2017 conspiracy to demand $5m from the masterminds behind an alleged $105m tax fraud syndicate that operated through a company called Plutus Payroll.

It’s alleged the syndicate, which included the son of the former ATO deputy commissioner, was siphoning off millions in tax and GST for themselves by contracting out payroll responsibilities to second tier companies with dummy directors.

Ray Martin outside the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney on Thursday. Picture: Derrick Krusche

Prosecutors have told the NSW Supreme Court that Barrett was paid up to $3000 to play a role in the blackmail by threatening to expose the alleged fraudsters in the media.

But Mr Martin appeared as a character witness on Thursday and told the court Barrett was widely respected in their “very competitive and very bitchy” industry.

“I think if you were trying to get someone from central casting who was a police reporter or a crime reporter you’d probably base it on Steve Barrett – he’s a very good journalist, he’s ethical, he’s accurate, he’s highly respected by his colleagues, which is saying something in journalism,” Mr Martin said.

Steve Barrett at an earlier court appearance in 2019. Picture AAP/Jeremy Piper

“It tends to be a very competitive and a very bitchy profession, to have your colleagues respect you highly is quite a mark.

“You don’t get sources unless you are trustworthy, reliable and accurate and he’s all three of those.”

Mr Martin also said Barrett was “dogged” in his journalism and mentioned a story where he had helped to track down convicted Australian child molester Robert “Dolly” Dunn in Honduras before he was arrested in the 1990s as part of a 60 Minutes program.

“I think it’d be fair to say he’d probably still be in Honduras had Steve not been so dogged, it’s about his journalism as a public service,” Mr Martin said.

Barrett’s defence team have argued property developer Daniel Hausman had hatched the blackmail plan with co-conspirator Daniel Rostankovski before ever contacting Barrett.

The jury was told Mr Barrett only became involved in the matter in his capacity as a professional journalist and that he had been “used and manipulated” by Hausman for his own ends.

Barrett’s defence barrister, Clive Steirn, SC, has told the court the $5 million that was paid as a result of the alleged blackmail demand was only shared between the men who hatched the plan: Hausman and Rostankovski.

Mr Martin said Barrett had phoned him in early 2017 and told him he was working on a fraud-related story but that they didn’t take it further.

“He told me, as he did quite often, that he had a great story,” Mr Martin said.

“It was about fraud, he couldn’t tell me the details.

“He thought it would be a very good story for A Current Affair.”

The trial continues.