The desire to delay screamed 'shonky!' All for nothing, was my opinion, as I waded through the report, a damp squid. Apart from the welcome departure of the DPP, and the hope of legal action against him, Sofronoff doesn't appear to have any answers to the most shocking example of the fact that rule of law, assumption of innocence, is kaput in Australia.

The Chanel 7 'Spotlight' interviews have been more revealing and informative, including the 'non-return' of Senator Reynolds 'borrowed' jacket.

The very best reform we could do for the criminal justice system is to deploy unbeatable, space age, covertly deployed, lie detection in all our court rooms.

This would expiate hearings, unclog clogged courtrooms and ensure money can't buy favourable outcomes or pervert justice! Or see innocent victims doing jail time for crimes they did not commit!

The current system is broken! Fix it and stop pretending justice is served in this country!
Alan B.

It's not the only reform we need in this country, we also need economic justice as fair and just energy prices!

Otherwise, the average joe is penalised unfairly and made to pay for someone else's incompetence or corruption or stupidity or all three!?

It's time to transition to carbon free nuclear energy. As homegrown MSR Thorium and power prices as low or lower than 3 cents PKWH!
Alan B.

Justice and The Law have little in common.

I agree the Sofronoff inquiry raised important questions about the operation of the legal system in the ACT, but this article doesn’t add much to the debate. It is not clear whether Scott is arguing for more political control over the activities of the DPP; but if so, that could create a raft of problems. Bipartisan engagement in the selection of the DPP might reduce the likelihood of DPPs being seen as creatures of the party in power, but that has seldom been perceived as the main problem with the current appointment system, and indeed risks making such appointments political footballs. Here in WA, we experienced lengthy delays in the appointment of a Corruption and Crime Commissioner because a bipartisan Parliamentary Committee could not agree on a candidate.

While Drumgold’s egregious misconduct may have at the time of the trial served the ALP’s political weaponization of this case - at least until it was unmasked by Sofronoff – his behaviour looks more like a case of noble cause corruption that political partisanship.

The ACT Government’s initial decision to delay publication of the report did appear evasive and self-protective, and Scott is right to point out that such reports are usually released immediately, or almost immediately. But apart from the damning findings about the conduct of Shane Drumgold, the report’s main recommendations are sensible proposals to improve clarity and process that have been accepted by the ACT Government and welcomed by the ACT Law Society