Mr Speakman, who is also Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, asked his Departmental Secretary on Wednesday to investigate 11 key terms of reference, following concerns incidents of harassment were going unreported and unheard in the legal profession.
"This is not merely a matter of solidifying policies and reporting channels, but also changing any culture which allows offending behaviour to occur in the first place and to go unchecked," he said.
Areas under review include reporting pathways for allegations of inappropriate conduct or sexual harassment by judicial officers and court employees, as well as the independence of that process.
"This is not merely a matter of solidifying policies and reporting channels, but also changing any culture which allows offending behaviour to occur in the first place and to go unchecked," he said.
Areas under review include reporting pathways for allegations of inappropriate conduct or sexual harassment by judicial officers and court employees, as well as the independence of that process.
Speakman's inquiry is irrelevant to the fact that he failed to report in the various annual reports for which he is responsible, and that he tables in Parliament, including the Department Of Justice Annual reports, instances of harassment of any kind (see story below).
Harassment is an operational risk for it is often perpetrated by a superior within an organisation, and given the claims for compensation (such as those that are being pursued by Maurice Blackburn against Dyson Heydon) it can give rise to, that can run into the very many millions.
Ensuring that instances of harassment are properly reported is a matter of good risk management, but this simple rule of corporate governance has been lost on the AG and his officers, who have had a habit of concealing matters even when they are in the public domain.
As a result of their actions the extent of the NSW Government's exposure to claims of compensation arising from instances of harassment, threat and intimidation has been understated. As the minister responsible Speakman must go.
TO BE READ WITH
Chief Justice Bathurst not made aware of "sexual harassment at the court ": Carefully worded statement suggests sexual harassment outside court, and behaviour not amounting to sexual harassment but which may be construed to be threatening, intimidating
by Ganesh Sahathevan
Chief Justice Tom Bathurst
Reported by The Guardian,in regards Dyson Heydon:
“Chief Justice Bathurst has confirmed that since his appointment in 2011, he had not been made aware of any claims or complaints of sexual harassment at the court.”
The statement seems to have been carefully worded to avoid instances of alleged sexual harassment outside court as was the case with ACT MLA Elizabeth Lee,and Noor Blumer. Put in another way, the wording of the Chief Justice's statement is curious given the reporting on Heydon's conduct, which included a number of incidents outside hours and out of court and his judge's chambers.
Additionally it seems to have been worded to so as to exclude "claims or complaints" of behaviour that may not amount to sexual harassment, but which could for instance be regarded as threatening or intimidating.
TO BE READ WITH
Reported by The Guardian,in regards Dyson Heydon:
“Chief Justice Bathurst has confirmed that since his appointment in 2011, he had not been made aware of any claims or complaints of sexual harassment at the court.”
The statement seems to have been carefully worded to avoid instances of alleged sexual harassment outside court as was the case with ACT MLA Elizabeth Lee,and Noor Blumer. Put in another way, the wording of the Chief Justice's statement is curious given the reporting on Heydon's conduct, which included a number of incidents outside hours and out of court and his judge's chambers.
Additionally it seems to have been worded to so as to exclude "claims or complaints" of behaviour that may not amount to sexual harassment, but which could for instance be regarded as threatening or intimidating.
TO BE READ WITH
Dyson Heydon: Why did CJ Bathurst, AG Speakman not treat sexual harassment complaints as instances of threatening and intimidating behaviour, which is far easier to prove, and can lead to judicial officers involved being disbarred, removed, otherwise penalised
by Ganesh Sahathevan
Elizabeth Lee's story is clearly one of threat and intimidation
The Australian's Nicola Berkovic reported on JUNE 27, 2020:
........a NSW Supreme Court judge was told (that former High Court judge Dyson) Heydon had made unwanted advances towards one of its young female employees two years ago but did not take any action Dhanya Mani, 26, was working as a tipstaff to NSW Supreme Court judge Guy Parker in 2018 when she told him about alleged harassment by Heydon.
Parker informed NSW Chief Justice Tom Bathurst only this week of Mani’s allegations.
The court says Mani did not ask Parker to take the matter any further, but she told The Australian that she had hoped when she raised the matter he would do something about it.
Bathurst has now asked the state’s judicial commission to prepare an education program for judges on what to do if an allegation is made. The court says judges were not previously trained on the issue because it was generally expected they would have been educated in their previous careers.
It is not easy to speak up. It is also not easy to stay silent. But I would much rather speak up now - seven years later - than not at all, and do my small part to encourage others to stand with me
The Australian's Nicola Berkovic reported on JUNE 27, 2020:
........a NSW Supreme Court judge was told (that former High Court judge Dyson) Heydon had made unwanted advances towards one of its young female employees two years ago but did not take any action Dhanya Mani, 26, was working as a tipstaff to NSW Supreme Court judge Guy Parker in 2018 when she told him about alleged harassment by Heydon.
Parker informed NSW Chief Justice Tom Bathurst only this week of Mani’s allegations.
The court says Mani did not ask Parker to take the matter any further, but she told The Australian that she had hoped when she raised the matter he would do something about it.
Bathurst has now asked the state’s judicial commission to prepare an education program for judges on what to do if an allegation is made. The court says judges were not previously trained on the issue because it was generally expected they would have been educated in their previous careers.
Mr Bathurst, and the Attorney General Mark Speakman SC, have the option of treating complaints of sexual harassment as complaints of threatening and intimidating behaviour, which is far easier to prove, and thus less of a strain on complainants. Mr Bathurst, AG Speakman, and the NSW LPAB which Bathurst chairs and Speakman oversees, have found threatening and intimidating behaviour to be evidence that a person is not fit and proper for admission to practise. A finding of threatening and intimidating behaviour can therefore be relied on to disbar, remove or otherwise publicly sanction any judicial officer.
The threshold for what constitutes threatening and intimidating behaviour is quite low; for example a PLT student questioning the qualifications and experience of his or her instructors, who are senior judicial officers, can constitute threatening and intimidating behaviour, regardless of the evidence against the instructors.
Additionally, reporting a senior lawyer to the NSW LPAB and its chairman, the Chief Justice, can be construed as threatening and intimidating behaviour against all concerned. Similarly communicating such matters to journalists can be considered threatening and intimidating, despite the decision of the NSW Supreme Court in Carlovers Carwash,which concerns journalists, but which has implications for whistleblowers as well.
Clearly, if a senior judicial officer can be considered to be threatened and intimidated by the complaints of a PLT student, so can a junior female lawyer who is the subject of unwelcome advances from a senior judicial officer.The case ACT MLA Elizabeth Lee demonstrates why such advances should be treated as cases of threatening and intimidating behaviour(see tweet above).
That Mr Bathurst and AG Speakman do not see it open to them to immediately pursue all complaints of sexual harassment as matters of threatening and intimidating behaviour is hard to comprehend.
The Chief Justice's request that the "judicial commission... prepare an education program for judges on what to do if an allegation (of sexual harassment) is made" is unnecessary, at best.
END
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