Ag bureaucrat Julie Delforce quits as investigation confirms links to Aussie Farms

A senior agriculture bureaucrat has resigned from her federal government job, after an investigation sparked by The Weekly Times confirmed her connections to controversial animal activist group Aussie Farms.

EXCLUSIVE: A SENIOR agriculture official has resigned from her federal government job, after an investigation sparked by The Weekly Times confirmed her connections to controversial animal activist group Aussie Farms.

Dr Julie Delforce, a senior sector specialist with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s agricultural productivity and food security division, was sanctioned recently by her department and chose to resign after an external investigation found she had connections to the activist group.

Dr Delforce was stood down from her role with full pay in November last year while being investigated by one of Australia’s largest law firms, Clayton Utz.

The taxpayer-funded investigation came after The Weekly Times revealed Dr Delforce was the co-owner of at least five animal activist websites that sought donations to fund farm trespass and livestock theft, and the co-owner of web company Sozo Production, which designed and registered website domains for animal activist groups.

DFAT initially failed to uncover these links during a previous month-long internal investigation, which decided there was “no reason” Dr Delforce shouldn’t keep her job, following initial revelations by The Weekly Times that the federal official had business links to Aussie Farms.

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told The Weekly Times this afternoon the Clayton Utz investigation “found Dr Delforce had not reported her connections to Aussie Farms in accordance with departmental requirements”.

Clayton Utz’s investigation report was considered by two external decision-makers in other government agencies.

“The department sanctioned Dr Delforce in line with the decisions of the external decision makers,” the DFAT spokesman said.

“Subsequently, Dr Delforce resigned from the department.”

The department did not answer further questions “due to privacy restrictions”.

DFAT’s failings also saw Clayton Utz review the department’s internal investigation processes as well as its conflict-of-interest policy.

Clayton Utz made a series of recommendations to DFAT, which the department refused to disclose but said it would implement in full.

Victorian Farmers Federation president David Jochinke said it was “a sad story” and “hugely wrong” that Dr Delforce was given the opportunity to be investigated appropriately, while farmers were still being “unfairly persecuted” by Aussie Farms daily.

“This is just a chapter in a long running saga that needs to be resolved,” he said.

“If you think her connections are wrong, well the Aussie Farms map is 20 times more wrong than that and yet it’s still there.”

Mr Jochinke said the findings of Dr Delforce’s connections to activist groups should be made public.

“If it was so significant the department had to act, the report should be released,” he said.

Dr Delforce’s resignation comes after the Federal Government last year introduced new laws, with jail time, to crack down on websites inciting trespass, theft and damage on farms.

Farmers say activist invasions are taking a toll on their mental health because they fear for their families, animals and biosecurity – with at least one farmer leaving the industry after being left “psychologically damaged” from break ins.

Aussie Farms director Chris Delforce did not respond to questions from The Weekly Times.

THE REVELATIONS

The Weekly Times’ investigations into Dr Delforce’s businesses revealed:

DR Delforce co-owned five animal activist websites, Aussie Abattoirs, Aussie Chickens, Aussie Ducks, Aussie Eggs, and Aussie Turkeys, with her husband Robert, under their business name RJ Delforce Investments. At the time the site’s domains were purchased, Dr Delforce was also a director of the company.

THE five websites contain over 1300 photos and 65 videos from at least 42 farm invasions on Australian farms, undertaken by multiple animal activist groups, and encourage the sharing of farm details and locations.

DR Delforce’s websites formed the controversial Aussie Farms website, the animal activist group recently stripped of its charity status and notorious for launching an interactive satellite map with the addresses and details of almost 6000 farmers and businesses.

DR Delforce co-owned the web design company Sozo Production which registered website domains and designed websites for animal activist groups, including Animal Liberation ACT. Sozo Production also registered a farmer’s full name as a website domain – www.johngommans.com – which was used in a campaign against the farmer.

DR Delforce ceased being a co-owner of RJ Delforce Investments and Sozo Production in the days after her animal activist links were exposed. Her husband Robert is now the major owner of the businesses. The ownership of two of Dr Delforce’s animal activist websites were transferred into the ownership of Aussie Farms, while the ownership of her three other sites was made private.

DR Delforce is the mother of Chris Delforce, the executive director of Aussie Farms, who is a web developer from Melbourne claiming to be an authority on animal welfare. Aussie Farms is currently being investigated by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner for breach of the Privacy Act.

DR Delforce’s Facebook showed she publicly liked posts linked to Aussie Farms as well as 15 pages associated with animal liberation, including PETA Australia. She also liked the federal and Victorian Animal Justice Party Facebook pages.

HOW IT UNFOLDED

After The Weekly Times initially revealed Dr Delforce’s business links to Aussie Farms, DFAT conducted a month-long internal investigation which found Dr Delforce was fit to keep her senior position with the department.

“Dr Delforce will remain a DFAT employee and the department has determined there is no reason she should not continue working in the same role, which relates to the provision of technical advice on aspects of Australia’s aid program relating to agricultural development,” a DFAT spokesman said in October.

The department’s initial decision came despite its Conduct and Ethics Manual stating all DFAT staff “must take reasonable steps to avoid situations where their private financial or other interests (or those of immediate family members, such as spouse/partners or dependants) could be perceived to conflict with their official duties”.

Shortly after DFAT’s investigation concluded, The Weekly Times questioned DFAT about Dr Delforce’s co-ownership of the five animal activist websites.

In response, the department admitted its investigation had not uncovered the websites and Dr Delforce was stood down, with full pay.

A DFAT spokeswoman said it was “unacceptable” that the information was not revealed during the course of the departmental investigation.

At the time the department admitted the shortcomings of its investigation, Trade Minister Simon Birmingham criticised the department saying, “I am disappointed that initial investigations by the department failed to uncover all relevant information about this staff member, their business associations and conflicts of interest”.

DFAT commissioned Clayton Utz to conduct an external investigation.

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