NSW’s top prosecutor gave false evidence on media leak about young Indigenous offender, inquiry finds | New South Wales

The New South Wales parliamentary committee report found findings accusing the state attorney general of giving false evidence under oath to an inquiry and recommended the attorney general investigate whether there were grounds to sack him.

But the state’s attorney general, Michael Daley, described the report as “a seam from the start” and said it was “the worst I’ve seen in parliament in nearly 21 years.”

The upper house inquiry voted 4-3 to find that NSW director of public prosecutions Sally Dowling authorized a report to radio station 2GB about a sentencing hearing involving a teenager and “denied in her evidence to the committee that she had done so in error”.

The report, published on Tuesday, found there was “no real public interest” in the office of the director of public prosecutions (ODPP) who “proactively and covertly” told the story. It found that the action posed a risk of the child involved being identified and “was likely to amount to a breach of contract”. prosecution guidelines”.

The committee recommended that NSW attorney general Michael Daley “consider establishing a formal inquiry with mandatory powers to investigate”. [the findings] … for the purpose of determining whether there are grounds for the dismissal of the Director of Public Prosecutions.”

Dowling, who gave evidence to the inquiry, acknowledged his office had told the story but vehemently denied any suggestion that he had authorized it.

The investigation, set up to examine protections against the identification of children in court proceedings, an offense in NSW, has instead focused mostly on an incident in October 2024 in which Dowling’s department shared details about an Indigenous child’s sentencing hearing to 2GB.

The name of the child who was incorrectly stated to have “welcomed” to the country was not given in the broadcast. A police investigation into whether the boy was illegally identified ended last year with no charges filed.

District court judge Penelope Wass, who allowed the boy to get to know his country before sentencing him for serious crimes, wrote a 68-page submission to the inquiry alleging Dowling had organized the leak of the story.

Wass, who was among the district court judges who criticized the ODPP’s handling of sexual assault investigations under Dowling’s tenure, said the alleged leak was “designed to embarrass and defame me and undermine the independence of a district court judge with whom the ODPP had a problem.”

When Dowling first appeared before the investigation last year, he said his office heard he was the source of the story just two days before it was revealed in December 2025. He claimed Wass had a “personal grievance” against him and the ODPP and accused the investigation of a “gross denial of procedural justice”.

The inquest then heard evidence from ODPP media manager Sally Killoran about a meeting with Dowling and an external media consultant the day before the story was broadcast on Ben Fordham’s breakfast show on October 25, 2024.

Killoran said he discussed “proactively pitching” during the meeting.[ing]The woman who relayed the story to the Daily Telegraph said external media counsel suggested 2GB would be “more involved”.

“No one objected to this suggestion and so I believed at the time that I had permission to relay the story to the radio station. I contacted 2GB thinking I was authorized to do so.”

Dowling later told the inquiry that while she did not dispute Killoran’s “misunderstanding”, she did not allow the story to be told. The external media consultant did not appear before the investigation or allow himself to be subpoenaed to give evidence.

In written evidence to the inquiry, Dowling said he read emails and text messages regarding other ODPP matters during the meeting.

The 4-3 majority in the committee report found that Dowling presented false evidence, including “claiming that he only learned that the story was brought forward in December 2025.” [ODPP]Even though he attended the meeting where it was decided to submit the story to 2GB”.

Support for Dowling

Before the report was released Tuesday, all of Dowling’s state, state and territory counterparts wrote a letter to Daley supporting Dowling.

The June 30 letter, seen by Guardian Australia, said: “We each have significant professional relationships with Ms Dowling SC as a director and we collectively hold the view that she is a person of integrity who has always acted in an exemplary and ethical manner in our dealings.”

Daley said he has full confidence in Dowling.

“The report includes findings that are not supported by evidence. It reaches conclusions contrary to the affidavits. It treats mere suspicion and speculation as fact,” he said.

“Given my serious concerns about the recommendations and findings contained in this report, I will instruct the Crown Solicitor’s Office to brief senior counsel to review the report.”

A dissenting statement by the committee’s deputy chair, Greens MLC Sue Higginson, said the “unfounded and biased findings… are both irresponsible and incredible”.

“The report’s allegations that the Director may have broken the law by presenting false evidence to the committee and that the Director’s conduct likely warranted his dismissal are extremely serious allegations made irresponsibly and erroneously. They must be rejected.”

Following the court ruling in favor of the Minns government, parliamentary committees lost the power to compel witnesses. Higginson said the change in the investigation, which excluded at least one key witness, “adversely impacts the accuracy of the findings of this investigation.”

The investigation found that protecting the identities of children during criminal proceedings helped boost their prospects of rehabilitation, but some children in NSW were likely identified through “an information puzzle”.

He suggested the government broaden the definition of personally identifiable information.

“The ODPP and the Director value the support and full confidence of the attorney general,” a spokesman said in response to questions put to Dowling and the department, and welcomed Daley’s rejection of the findings and decision to brief senior counsel.

“ODPP acts with integrity and independence. This will not change. We have nothing more to add,” they said.