Steve Barrett blackmail charge dropped

The case against an award winning journalist on a blackmail charge has taken a shocking turn. See the developments.

Steve Barrett leaves the Supreme Court in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

A blackmail charge against the award-winning journalist Steve Barrett has sensationally been dropped after the star witness against him was caught telling a “blizzard of lies”.

In the Supreme Court this morning Justice Natalie Adams formally dismissed the charge and Mr Barrett’s barrister Dr Greg Woods KC said police had seized $1620, two phones and a laptop from Barrett a number of years ago, and although the world of technology has probably passed him by, he nonetheless wants them back.

Dr Woods also foreshadowed he would be making a costs application in the future.

Steve Barrett pictured outside speaking to media with his lawyer at Supreme Court Sydney. Picture: Monique Harmer

The move follows submissions to the NSW Supreme Court that any further pursuit of the veteran reporter using the witness Daniel Hausman — a serial, practised and habitual liar — would be an “affront to justice” and would “bring the administration of the legal system into disrepute.”

“This is an important decision for the freedom of the press in Australia,” said Mr Barrett’s solicitor Andrew O’Brien outside the court.

“Prosecuting authorities must be careful not to confuse mere contact by journalists with criminals as criminal conduct itself.

“It is vital to the proper functioning of democracy that members of the press are free to explore, investigate and report on matters of public interest.”

Daniel Hausman has been jailed for blackmail. Picture: AAP

The blackmail charge against Mr Barrett arose out of his investigations as a journalist in 2017 into the $105 million Plutus payroll taxation fraud – the biggest in Australian history involving Adam Cranston, the son of the then Deputy Taxation Commissioner Michael Cranston. Mr Cranston senior has been found not guilty of any wrongdoing.

Mr Barrett was told by Hausman about the potentially explosive story which he said related to massive tax losses and the use of dummy companies and directors to mislead the Tax Office.

While Mr Barrett was pursuing leads for the story and asking for documents to prove the wild allegations, the police were also watching and swooped, arresting a string of people involved in the fraud as well as separately Hausman and his co-conspirator Daniel Rostankovski who had discovered the fraud and hatched a plan to blackmail the fraudsters.

Caption: the AFP wrote to Steve Barrett saying he was not a co-conspirator. Then they did a backflip and charged him. Picture: supplied

Despite the AFP telling Mr Barrett in writing he was not “identified as a co-conspirator”, the AFP did a sudden apparent backflip and more than a year after the raids charged Mr Barrett with being a conspirator to blackmail.

Steve Barrett leaves the Supreme Court in Sydney with barrister Clive Steirn.. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

A five-week trial in 2021 ended in a hung jury after nine days of deliberation and the dramatic exit of the jury forewoman.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) pushed for a retrial, but Mr Barrett had already paid almost half a million dollars defending himself, had to sell the family home, and was unable to finance a new trial or to get legal aid.

Then the case began to dramatically unravel after it came to light that evidence given in a string of other court proceedings showed Hausman had admitted persistently telling lies about Mr Barrett and others.

Former District Court Judge and barrister for Mr Barrett, Dr Greg Woods KC, made a blistering submission to the court arguing for a permanent stay of proceedings based on Hausman’s mendacity saying his evidence was so “clearly exposed as contradictory, evasive

and unreliable” Hausman was a possible rival for renowned fictionalist Baron Munchausen.

Veteran journalist Steve Barrett has had his blackmail charge dropped. Picture: Adam Yip

“There is no direct evidence that Barrett was a party to the joint criminal enterprise alleged, other than from the lips of Hausman … a proven fraudster and prodigious liar.” Dr Woods argued

Dr Woods said Mr Barrett “acted in a longstanding and admirable tradition of Australian investigative journalism. If he had not been raided under search warrant, and later charged because of his incidental involvement with the real crooks in this case, he would no doubt have broken the story – as he had done many times in the past.”

Hausman had already confessed during Mr Barrett’s trial that he was a liar and that he lied to Mr Barrett to get him interested in the story, and never revealed the blackmail plan because he knew Mr Barrett would not get involved if he knew the truth.

Mr Barrett said he has been heavily penalised “physically, mentally and financially” by the action against him and he is now considering his future.

Originally published as Steve Barrett blackmail charge dropped