The ACT’s chief prosecutor has resigned following the findings of an inquiry into how the justice system handled Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial.
Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold initially took leave after he faced a grilling about his actions as the lead prosecutor in the former Liberal staffer’s trial, but will retire permanently from the role as of September 1.
The board of inquiry – chaired by former Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff – provided its final report to the ACT government last week.
But the inquiry also provided select media outlets with the report without the permission or knowledge of the territory government.
In his first statement since the report was leaked, Mr Drumgold disputed many of the inquiry findings.
“While I acknowledge I made mistakes, I strongly dispute that I engaged in deliberate or underhanded conduct in the trial or that I was dishonest,” he said.
“Although I accept my conduct was less than perfect, my decisions were all made in good faith, under intense and sometimes crippling pressure, conducted within increasingly unmanageable workloads.”
Mr Drumgold criticised the pre-emptive release of the report to select media outlets and said he was only provided with a copy after it was released to journalists.
He said the leak denied him procedural fairness and deprived the government of the opportunity to consider his conduct objectively.
Mr Drumgold acknowledged the premature publicity meant his office, the courts and the public could not have faith in his functions as director and as such he would retire from the role.
“My career has been driven by a fire burning within, lit by an early life spent surrounded by the pain of chronic inter-generational social injustice,” he said.
“This fire has fuelled a life that took me from a disadvantaged housing commission estate to an esteemed leadership role within the legal profession.
“Unfortunately, I find the fire has been extinguished, and try as I might, I cannot reignite it.”
Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins accused Mr Lehrmann of raping her inside a ministerial office at Parliament House after a night out in 2019.
Mr Lerhmann has always denied the allegation.
In October 2022, he faced a criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court but juror misconduct derailed the proceedings.
Mr Drumgold ultimately dropped the charge against Mr Lehrmann because of his fears about the impact of a second trial on Ms Higgins’ mental health.
He also called for an inquiry because of his concerns about how the investigation and trial had been handled, a decision that ultimately cost him his job as director.
He said he’d hoped a post-mortem of the case would allow the ACT to gain a better understanding of why 87 out 100 women did not report sexual assault, what the experiences were of those who did and why so few reports resulted in charges.
Instead, Mr Drumgold said the report findings focused mainly on himself.
“In my mind, the handling of the case was reflective of the chronic problem in Australia with the way our legal institutions deal with allegations of sexual violence,” he said.
“Systems do not miraculously self-repair. If people in key roles such as a DPP do not call out failings, the system becomes a self-protecting cycle of systemic failure.
“I hope everyone involved in this matter finds peace – and I wish you all well.”
© AAP 2023
