Bring DNA scandal to final end

Incoming Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman needs to make an early decision to resolve the future of Cathie Allen, the scientist at the centre of Queensland’s DNA laboratory fiasco. Five months ago, a royal commission-style inquiry by Walter Sofronoff KC found Ms Allen oversaw disturbing practices that compromised thousands of criminal cases, including alleged rapes and murders. The issue was first exposed in The Australian’s podcast series Shandee’s Story by national chief correspondent Hedley Thomas.

As reported on Wednesday, Ms Allen is still employed by the health department, suspended without pay, as she has been since last September. Her former deputies Justin Howes and Paula Brisotto left Queensland Health in recent weeks.

Mr Sofronoff found Ms Allen, Ms Brisotto and Mr Howes were responsible for “the conception and drafting” of a scientific paper to convince police to agree to an unusually high DNA testing threshold in 2018. Designed to improve turnaround times for police, the threshold resulted in key evidence being missed. Many samples, including those connected with Shandee Blackburn, who bled from 20 knife wounds and died in the gutter about 70m from her mother’s house on February 9, 2013, after walking home from a night shift in a coffee shop in Mackay, are being reviewed.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Anthony Gett says 10,000 cases are in a backlog for DNA testing. In deciding on Ms Allen’s future, Ms Fentiman must bring this dark chapter in the state’s criminal history to an end.