Latest / The Slippery Slope / Watchdog singles out ACT court for 'extremely unusual' decision in secret trial.

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Watchdog singles out ACT court for 'extremely unusual' decision in secret trial. · The Slippery Slope

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  Hi, I'm Jay felon, and you're listening to the slippery slope.
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  So today, I wanted to discuss this headline that she came
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  from, the ABC news. And it says, Watchdog singles
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  out, the ACT, which stands for Australian Capital territory
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  court for extremely unusual decision in secret trial of
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  former military intelligence officer that should not Have
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  happened, very long, very long headline.
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  But anyway, very important story, I believe.
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  So the top secret trial conviction sentencing and
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  jailing of a former military military intelligence officer
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  known as witness. Jay has been described as
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  unusual and unprecedented with one of Australia's national
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  security Watch Dogs warning. It should never have happened
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  the main referred to as witness J or Alan Jones.
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  Was convicted of mishandling classified information that
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  potentially reveal the identities of Agents recruited
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  by Australian intelligence agencies strict.
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  Secrecy orders were applied to all aspects of the case and his
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  entire trial occurred behind closed doors with details.
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  Only coming to light. When witness Jay took action in
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  the ACT, courts to complain about his treatment and what he
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  claimed was a breach of his Is human rights.
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  The Commonwealth was able to suppress the details of the case
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  or using the national security information, act a piece of
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  legislation also used in recent cases against whistleblowers
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  Bernard kaleri witness K and David McBride.
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  So witness J's. Extraordinary case fueled a
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  debate over transparency in the legal system.
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  It's funny that we have to have a debate over transparency.
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  I do bite of one. Why does it need to be debated?
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  I always thought it was a given that in the legal system in
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  Australia in a country like Australia that the legal system
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  was transparent. But yet we have to debate about
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  it now because there is no transparency.
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  So many things are done behind closed doors, which we are
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  finding out, then I'll continue on.
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  And so this transparency and whether too much ground had been
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  ceded to National Security. Concerns.
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  So, in March of 2021, the independent National Security,
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  legislation, monitor known as the iron slm Grant, Donaldson SC
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  re started an investigation into how the legislation had been
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  used in The Ellen, John's witness J case.
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  So, Alan Jones showed that how the law can be used to conduct a
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  Federal Criminal prosecution in secret, from start to finish.
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  To maintain this, secrecy seemingly indefinitely his
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  reports it, he goes on to say that this should not have
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  happened in this case, and it should never happen again, mr.
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  Donaldson raised concerns with how the ACT Supreme Court had
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  agreed to closed hearings in the case without even hearing any
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  formal submissions from the parties involve describing that
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  decision as extremely unusual. Or the Open Court principle is
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  most significant in criminal matters.
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  He said there is clearly and obviously, a public interest in
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  conducting criminal proceedings and prosecutions in open courts.
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  When the executive government prosecutes crime.
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  It is wielding some of government's most immense power
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  and those proceedings should be seen and watched mr.
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  Donaldson noted other unusual aspects of the case.
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  Namely that there was no evidence presented to the court
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  as to why hearings should be closed and no reason for the
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  decision were offered. He argued the decision not to
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  publish any of the sentencing remarks of act Supreme Court
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  Justice. John Burns was unprecedented.
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  He goes on to say the vast majority of Justice Burns
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  remarks. When sentencing Elam John's
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  could have been made public. It's what, mr.
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  Listen Sue. So the ins LM recommended that
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  in exceptional cases where closed hearings were requested.
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  The Attorney General the forced to justify their position for
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  the court. Mr. Donaldson also said, the
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  fact, secrecy orders have been applied should be made public.
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  And reasons, should be published.
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  Listen, when I'm thinking about about court hearings held in
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  secrecy. People being sentenced in
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  secrecy in secret. Nothing coming to light about
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  the case. And even at the reasonings, why
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  we keeping these things secret? I don't think of Australia.
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  I think of China, think North Korea, Russia.
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  Just the name, because she's there, the things, they're the
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  countries that I think of, when I think of these kind of behind
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  closed doors court rulings, I don't think of a democratic
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  Nation. Like Australia that holds itself
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  up on this pedestal as being a beacon of democracy and a beacon
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  of Truth and openness. And yet, we're seeing more and
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  more in Australia. And it's quite, frankly, doesn't
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  really matter, whether it's liberal or labor, we are seeing
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  more and more within our governments.
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  These this, this desire to go behind closed doors and just do
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  whatever they want to do it. Last year, I did, I did another
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  episode and it was regarding I've mentioned this.
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  A couple of Once but it needs to be said and it was regarding at
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  the the ability or Azo to monitor or to conduct
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  surveillance upon Australian citizens.
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  And they don't need to have a warrant to do.
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  This warrantless surveillance conducted on Australian
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  citizens. This is what Asia is.
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  Now is allowed to do is able to do.
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  It's always secrecy, they do. Not have to justify why they are
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  conducting surveillance on their own citizens.
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  We are heading into Dangerous Waters here.
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  Australia is no longer that Beacon that light of Freedom,
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  that light of Truth. Openness so many things in our
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  society have been going the wrong way lately.
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  In the last couple of years. We've seen police in different
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  states being used more like more, like they are.
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  Riding in a police state we've seen.
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  We've seen the whole areas, placed under placed under
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  curfews, as if we were living in some kind of third world
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  country, you know, with it with the coup going on.
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  We see in people locked up in their own houses.
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  Simply for not having a vaccine not even allowed to venture
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  outside into their backyard. I'm thinking the the Northern
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  Territory Australia is going down towards a dark place where
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  the the government wants to control and operate in an area
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  of growing secrecy. I said it before I'll say it
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  again. We need to hold our politicians
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  more accountable for the decisions they make We cannot
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  allow them to continue to operate in this kind of secrecy.
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  Our bureaucracies are not should not be operating in this kind of
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  secrecy. I'm all for people being held
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  accountable for the actions if they have done the wrong thing
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  and if they have put Australian lives and our Australian
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  agencies at risk, but we still need open and transparent
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  justice. Otherwise we are no better than
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  the That we point the finger at and say they are ruled by by
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  despots and dictators. That's my opinion.
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  Thank you for listening to the slippery slope.