Ex-Victorian corrections boss connected to Carl Williams saga now appointed in Tasmania

A Victorian corrections boss who allowed gangland kingpin Carl Williams and his murderer to share a prison unit is now working in an almost identical role in Tasmania.

A SENIOR Victorian bureaucrat who allowed notorious Melbourne gangland figure Carl Williams and his murderer to share a prison unit has now been appointed to an almost identical role in Tasmania’s corrections system.

Former Corrections Victoria deputy commissioner Rod Wise, along with Department of Justice secretary Penny Armytage, were named in a report by the Victorian Ombudsman as having both been aware of the potential threat Matthew Charles Johnson faced to Williams.

“There is little doubt that Johnson is capable of causing Williams harm if he were to find out the true nature of Williams’ co-operation with police,” Mr Wise wrote to Ms Armytage in 2009.

Acting Corrections Commissioner Rod Wise. Supplied.

Mr Wise left his role suddenly in November 2019 amid a restructure, News Corp reported at the time.

In his report, the Ombudsman found Corrections Victoria failed to cope with the fallout of Melbourne’s infamous gangland wars – and its duty to protect kingpin Carl Williams.

Front page and spread of the Carl Williams murder.

The Mercury can now reveal Mr Wise began his new Tasmanian role as head of Corrective Services in mid-October.

The senior position is only one step below that of Department of Justice secretary Ginna Webster.

The Mercury requested an interview with Mr Wise, but the request was declined by the department.

Rod Wise at Barwon Prison during his tenure at Corrections Victoria. Picture: Alison Wynd

Greg Barns SC, chair of the Prisoners Legal Service Tasmania, criticised the appointment.

“The corrections system in Tasmania desperately needs some fresh thinking and an injection of new ideas from those who run the Department of Justice to recruit the most senior position in corrections,” he said.

“Someone from the highly punitive and failed Victoria system, where overcrowding and warehousing is the order of the day, is extremely disappointing. This was an opportunity for the department to bring in someone who has a therapeutic approach to imprisonment.”

Johnson bashed Williams to death with the stem of an exercise bike seat at Barwon Prison during 2010, in an attack captured on CCTV.

In September 2020, the Mercury reported that Simon Overland, the former police commissioner who led Victoria Police during Melbourne’s bloody gangland wars and played a key role in convicting and imprisoning Carl Williams, had been appointed as Burnie City Council’s new general manager.

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