The ACT government’s response to an inquiry into how the justice system handled rape allegations by former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins will be published early this week after widespread reporting of leaked findings.
A board of inquiry report has already resulted in the resignation of the ACT’s top prosecutor and could form the basis of a possible damages claim from ex-Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr received a final report from the inquiry—chaired by former Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff —last Monday and had planned to publish it at the end of August following cabinet consideration.
But the inquiry also provided a copy of the report to select media outlets without the knowledge or permission of the territory government, which resulted in widespread reporting of the negative findings against lead prosecutor Shane Drumgold.
As a result, his position was deemed “no longer tenable,” and he resigned on Friday, a decision announced by the government on Sunday.
Mr. Drumgold, who had not been provided with a copy of the report before it was published in the media, disputed many of the adverse findings against him.
He said the leak denied him procedural fairness and deprived the government of the opportunity to consider his conduct objectively.
He also said the premature publicity meant the prosecutor’s office, the courts, and the public could not have faith in his functions as director.
As a result, Mr. Drumgold advised the government he would retire from the role, effective September 1.
ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said the government would make a detailed statement in response to the Sofronoff report early this week.
The inquiry was set up to investigate accusations from police and prosecutors about each other’s conduct during the case against Mr. Lehrmann, Ms. Higgins’ former colleague.
Mr. Drumgold alleged “quite clear investigator interference in the criminal justice process” based on a series of “strange events” during the investigation and trial.
Despite calling for an inquiry on that basis, the prosecutor later conceded his original belief might actually have been a “skills deficit” on the part of the police.
The inquiry revealed confusion within the police force about when to charge a suspect.
Mr. Sofronoff previously flagged action needed to be taken to ensure consistency in police charging patterns, an aspect of the inquiry expected to feature in the report’s recommendations.
He also sought to uncover how Ms. Higgins’ sensitive counselling notes were provided to prosecutors and the defence team when they should not have been - something senior police admitted had been a mistake.
Ms. Higgins accused Mr Lehrmann of raping her inside a ministerial office at Parliament House after a night out in 2019.
Mr Lehrmann has always denied the allegation.
In October 2022, he faced a criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court, but juror misconduct derailed the proceedings and the trial was discontinued.
Mr Drumgold ultimately dropped the prosecution against Mr Lehrmann because of his fears about the impact of a second trial on Ms Higgins’ mental health.
