RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ACT 1975 - SECT 18C/ Magistrate Lisa Stapleton / Offensive words

So who makes the decision that  it is offensive in the first place. It's time people toughened up.

It is particularly disturbing that the shonky NSW Magistrate  Lisa Stapleton  also  believes words can be taken out of context. Clearly this incompetent NSW magistrate is out of touch with community standards.

Offensive behaviour because of race, colour or national or ethnic origin

             (1)  It is unlawful for a person to do an act, otherwise than in private, if:

                     (a)  the act is reasonably likely, in all the circumstances, to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people; and

                     (b)  the act is done because of the race, colour or national or ethnic origin of the other person or of some or all of the people in the group.

Note:          Subsection (1) makes certain acts unlawful. Section 46P of the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 allows people to make complaints to the Australian Human Rights Commission about unlawful acts. However, an unlawful act is not necessarily a criminal offence. Section 26 says that this Act does not make it an offence to do an act that is unlawful because of this Part, unless Part IV expressly says that the act is an offence.

             (2)  For the purposes of subsection (1), an act is taken not to be done in private if it:

                     (a)  causes words, sounds, images or writing to be communicated to the public; or

                     (b)  is done in a public place; or

                     (c)  is done in the sight or hearing of people who are in a public place.

             (3)  In this section:

"public place" includes any place to which the public have access as of right or by invitation, whether express or implied and whether or not a charge is made for admission to the place.

Senator calls for Royal Commission into financial planning industry

Clearly there is a problem with ASIC and its complaints register.

With AFSA previously called ITSA 90 % of complaints made about shonky Trustee are fucked over because Matthew Osborne , Principal Legal officer is advising regulation that a trustee has the discretion to fuck over and breach the Bankruptcy Act.

This allows AFSA to protect shonky trustee like Paul Pattison. After an FOI, AFSA admitted they had only received a small number of complaints about Pattison. The fact actually is AFSA received over 40 complaints about Pattison and still failed to act. AFSA also misled Senator John Williams on this.

As with the shonky Financial Adviser Peter Holt ASIC failed to act on numerous complaints made against him. This would have been because of the shonks working in the ASIC Legal department fucking over ASIC obligations

Bob Katter's daughter previously worked in ASIC's Legal Department in Sydney.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 26/06/2014

Reporter: Sarah Ferguson

Misconduct by financial advisers detailed in a Senate committee report questions the credibility of the Commonwealth Bank and financial regulator ASIC to such a degree that a Royal Commission into the industry is needed, according to Senator Mark Bishop.

Transcript

SARAH FERGUSON, PRESENTER: Allegations of fraud, forgery and a cover-up have emerged from a Senate inquiry into the financial regulator and Commonwealth Bank.

The Senate report has slammed ASIC's handling of rogue financial planners at the Commonwealth Bank and is calling for a Royal commission.

The bank is accused of encouraging a culture where advisors were rewarded with big commissions for talking clients into risky products, and when clients lost money, the wrongdoing was covered up and compensation was minimal.

The Senate Economics Committee has described the corporate watchdog as timid and hesitant in its handling of the case.

Retiring Labor senator Mark Bishop, who chaired the committee, joins me now live from Canberra.

Mark Bishop, welcome to 7.30.

MARK BISHOP, RETIRING LABOR SENATOR: Thank you and good evening.

SARAH FERGUSON: Now, you're calling for a Royal commission into the Commonwealth Bank and ASIC. Just starting with the bank, what have they done to warrant that call?

MARK BISHOP: What they've done is that they have not done enough. They haven't opened up their books. They haven't disclosed the full extent - the full number of clients who have been affected. They haven't paid adequate compensation to those who haven't been offered compensation. And more importantly, we're still unaware, after six months, as to the real extent of the damage. It's time to open up the books.

SARAH FERGUSON: Alright. Well tell me what you think the real extents of the damage is. What sort of number of victims of this dodgy financial planning are we talking about?

MARK BISHOP: We know the Commonwealth Bank's arm had 300,000 clients over a period of years. We know that 400 or a few more have received some form of compensation. We know that at least 7,000 files are considered to be suspect. Somewhere between 400 and that 7,000, possibly up into the tens of thousands of persons have suffered real harm, haven't received adequate compensation and deserve to have their files reconstructed and re-examined in a transparent, open, accountable manner.

SARAH FERGUSON: Now, the Commonwealth Bank tonight is saying that they've apologised for the mistakes of the planners that were identified by your committee and that they now have robust procedures in place to stop that sort of dodgy planning advice coming again. Do you accept that?

MARK BISHOP: I accept that they have put in place some remediation, that they have paid $50 or $60 million to some clients. We still don't know how many clients are affected. There hasn't been a full independent examination of their books and we do know that those clients who retained reputable law firms to act on their behalf received significantly higher compensation payments than those who used the services offered by the Commonwealth Bank. Yes, they've made some changes, but nowhere near enough.

SARAH FERGUSON: So you're saying that the Commonwealth Bank is still covering up the extent of the number of victims and the extent of their suffering?

MARK BISHOP: I'm saying that the Commonwealth Bank needs to release the full number of clients, the number of clients who have lost serious amounts of money, the reasons for those losses and offer compensation via a reputable accounting firm or a reputable legal firm to end this nightmare that thousands and thousands of individuals and families are going through.

SARAH FERGUSON: Now, what did the Commonwealth Bank do when it realised that it had these planners offering very high-risk advice? Did it move quickly to shut them down?

MARK BISHOP: No, no, it didn't. It acted inordinately slowly. Those financial planners had thousands of clients, they were reaping in millions of dollars of fees, a large share of that went up the bank chain in terms of profit and was returned to shareholders. It was only after extensive, repeated and extensive demands for inquiry and report and repair did the Commonwealth Bank put into place some mechanisms for change.

SARAH FERGUSON: So are you saying the Commonwealth Bank kept those financial planners in place knowing what they were doing?

MARK BISHOP: A number were let go - were removed after some years. A large number of those financial planners still remain in the bank and some indeed have been promoted.

SARAH FERGUSON: Now your report also looks at the behaviour of ASIC and they're part of your call for a Royal commission. How quickly did ASIC respond to the whistleblowers who came to them reporting that they were suffering at the hands of these financial planners?

MARK BISHOP: If I have been critical of the Commonwealth Bank, I'm equally critical - the report is equally critical of ASIC. It has been slow, it has been unresponsive, it hasn't taken reports seriously, it hasn't pursued investigations properly, agreements that have been reached haven't been enforced properly. Its tale is a tale of woe and clients and people in the wider community have continued to suffer because of their inordinately unresponsive and slow reaction.

SARAH FERGUSON: And they're about to have a fairly large budget cut, ASIC. Is the situation going to get worse for them?

MARK BISHOP: As this industry grows, as it goes into a trillion-dollar industry, as more firms emerge and lobby and gain business, we need to have a strong, effective, feared regulator. That's going to mean that Government in due course is going to have to allocate further funds, by whatever means, so that ASIC can do the job that's needed to be done on behalf of millions of Australians.

SARAH FERGUSON: Mark Bishop, thank you very much indeed for joining us.

MARK BISHOP: Thank you very much.

Queensland government and Supreme Court's relationship descends into crisis

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 19/06/2014

Reporter: Matt Wordsworth

Wow!!! only in Queensland!!!

I am sure Tim Carmody will be a great help to  the premier..............

Just like the shonky Magistrate Lisa Stapleton is in NSW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of Queensland's most senior judges has questioned the appointment of a new Chief Justice as the relationship between government and Supreme Court descends into crisis.

Transcript

SARAH FERGUSON, PRESENTER: An unprecedented legal and political stoush has erupted in Queensland over the appointment of a new Chief Justice, who's been described as a puppet willing to do the State Government's bidding. There are calls from within the legal profession and even the judiciary for the new chief judge, Tim Carmody, to resign. One of the state's most senior judges sitting on the Supreme Court bench is now openly questioning the independence and ability of the new appointee and has called on him to resign. Matt Wordsworth reports.

MATT WORDSWORTH, REPORTER: It was this announcement by the Queensland Premier which sparked a heavyweight battle in the legal community.

CAMPBELL NEWMAN, QUEENSLAND PREMIER: I'm very conscious that it is a very historic day indeed.

MATT WORDSWORTH: The Premier and the Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie elevated Chief Magistrate Tim Carmody QC to the highest judicial position in Queensland, the office of Chief Justice.

JARROD BLEIJIE, QLD ATTORNEY-GENERAL (June 12): I thank the legal community for the consultation, the extensive consultation that we've undertaken and I thank the legal community in their numbers, obviously today, the support, Mr Carmody, that you have amongst the profession and in the community for your elevation to high office of Chief Justice.

MATT WORDSWORTH: After a week of bitter infighting, a Supreme Court judge is now openly demanding Mr Carmody step aside.

Is this a crisis in the Supreme Court?

PETER DAVIS, BARRISTER: I think to describe that as a crisis is an understatement. It is like the position of the Titanic five minutes after they've hit the iceberg.

MATT WORDSWORTH: Until he resigned last week in protest, Peter Davis was the president of the Bar Association and one of the state's highest profile barristers, prosecuting Bundaberg surgeon Dr Jayant Patel and notorious sex offender Robert John Fardon. Peter Davis was consulted over the appointment of the new Chief Justice.

PETER DAVIS: I met with the Attorney and with his chief-of-staff at Parliament House and there was a frank discussion about who ought to be the next Chief Justice of Queensland.

MATT WORDSWORTH: Suffice to say you weren't urging the appointment of Tim Carmody.

PETER DAVIS: I think that's obvious.

MATT WORDSWORTH: Tim Carmody has been the centre of controversy for months, accused of siding with the Government over its controversial anti-bikie laws.

WALTER SOFRONOFF, BARRISTER: To appoint somebody who is overtly publicly supportive of a government at a time when there's a debate about the propriety of the actions of the Attorney-General vis-a-vis the court, for a judicial officer, a junior judicial officer, magistrate to do that and then to see him offered this promotion is a very disturbing thing.

MATT WORDSWORTH: Walter Sofronoff says as a Family Court judge, Carmody was found by an appeals court to have cut and pasted paragraphs of a previous judgment into a subsequent one.

WALTER SOFRONOFF: He patched together, something like a university student would do an essay, hoping it would pass muster. The result, of course, was that it was overturned unanimously by the appeal court of the Family Court, the full Family Court. And what do you think was the effect on the husband and wife?

MATT WORDSWORTH: At the announcement of his appointment, one of the first questions Tim Carmody faced was about his independence.

TIM CARMODY, INCOMING QUEENSLAND CHIEF JUSTICE: I am fiercely independent. If my views happen to coincide with the Government's views, that's pure coincidence. There'll be many times when I disagree with the Government's position, but again, that's irrelevant to the job I'm doing.

MATT WORDSWORTH: In other media interviews, he revealed not one Supreme Court judge rang to congratulate him.

TIM CARMODY (June 12): I've often said, and I'm sure nobody will argue, that I may not be the smartest lawyer in the room, and if you were in a room with me and I was the smartest lawyer, it might be time to leave it. But, there's more to being a Chief Justice than a black letter lawyer.

MATT WORDSWORTH: Solicitor and vice president of the Queensland Council of Civil Liberties Terry O'Gorman says it harks back to another era.

TERRY O'GORMAN, VP, QLD COUNCIL OF CIVIL LIBERTIES: This is yet again an indication of the fact that we are back fair and square in Joh land.

MATT WORDSWORTH: He says it's reminiscent of the meteoric rise of former Police Commissioner Terry Lewis, a central figure in the Fitzgerald corruption inquiry of the 1980s.

TERRY O'GORMAN: He leapfrogged dozens of senior police officers. The comparison between this appointment of Chief Justice and that of Sir Terry Lewis is eerie and extremely worrying. The only difference is Mr Lewis was later found guilty of corruption; there's no suggestion that Judge Carmody is anywhere along that track.

MATT WORDSWORTH: Corruption fighter Tony Fitzgerald himself weighed in with a statement, saying, "... it's deeply troubling that the megalomaniacs currently holding power in Queensland are prepared to damage even fundamental institutions like the Supreme Court and cast doubt on fundamental principles like the independence of the judiciary."

And last night in a speech, one of the state's most senior judges, Justice John Muir of the Court of Appeal, openly called for Tim Carmody to step aside.

JOHN MUIR, QLD COURT OF APPEAL (male voiceover): "... the obvious lack of support for the Chief Magistrate’s elevation ... see(s) that the only appropriate course is for him to withdraw".

WALTER SOFRONOFF: That is a remarkable event. A man who is thoroughly conservative has been provoked to make the speech that he did last night at the North Queensland Bar Association dinner. I've never seen anything like it.

MATT WORDSWORTH: The ABC has been told Tim Carmody has taken leave and not available for comment. The Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie issued a two-line statement.

JARROD BLEIJIE (male voiceover): "Judge Carmody's professional and life experience is both extinguished and diverse. His Honour has the keen legal knowledge, administrative skills and integrity that are essential qualities for the role of Chief Justice."

MATT WORDSWORTH: The question now is whether other members of the Supreme Court will speak out.

WALTER SOFRONOFF: It's time to remove himself from the picture so that controversy doesn't attach to the Supreme Court and so that the judges can be at peace.

SARAH FERGUSON: Matt Wordsworth reporting.

FOI APSC/ Audit Committee

So who is on the APSC Audit Committee?
Why are these committee members not ensuring the shonky Commissioner Sedgwick and shonky Karin Fisher not comply with their obligations under the APS ACT.

From: fionabrown01@hotmail.com
To: foi@apsc.gov.au
Subject: RE: FOI Robert Cornall [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 11:19:07 +1000

Hi Chris,
FOI could you please supply me with the names of the people on the APSC Audit Committee for the past 3 years.
Also could you please supply me with a copy of the APSC Audit Committee Guidelines.
Thanking you
Fiona Brown

Confidential Emails from the NSW Labor Party
Wow! I really like getting confidential emails from the NSW Labor Party......... I also dont really know how I got on their list and find it funny that this alert is confidential and should never be distributed to anyone outside the Campaign!!!!!
Does NSW Labor actually want me on their Campaign when I am exposing Systemic corrupt conduct in Government Departments????????????????

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2014 22:01:43 +0000
From: digital@nswalp.com
To: fionabrown01@hotmail.com
Subject: CAMPAIGN BULLETIN: Stop the Cuts Campaign
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Campaign Bulletins contain important information. If you are missing any alerts, call John Harding-Easson on 9207 2000.


THESE ALERTS ARE STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL & SHOULD NEVER BE DISTRIBUTED TO ANYONE OUTSIDE YOUR CAMPAIGN TEAM

Dear Candidates and Campaigns,

In late June, NSW Labor will be launching a six-week "Stop the Cuts" campaign, focusing on the NSW Liberals' cuts to health.

Party Office will provide materials, some of which will be payable under entitlements.

Please find the campaign action plan here.

Organisers will be in touch with MPs this week. Contact David, Dom, Josephine or Rose for more information.
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To discuss any information in this bulletin please contact your organiser. This is a broadcast email - DO NOT REPLY



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This email was sent to fionabrown01@hotmail.com. Our mailing list is the best way we have to stay in regular contact with members and supporters across New South Wales. To unsubscribe from the NSW Labor mailing list, click here. This email was authorised by Jamie Clements, Level 9, 377 Sussex Street, Sydney.

FOI  Australian Public Service Commission

Robert Cornall, the former Public Servant who has an  AO after his name cost Tax payers $83,000 for an inadequate report into Manus Island.
This is not the first time Robert Cornall has F....ked over a serious complaint or investigation.
Senator Sarah  Hansen Young  questioned this shonk in Senate Estimates last week.
Apart from the seriously flawed report on Manus Island  it should be considered a conflict of interest considering  his former position as secretary for the Attorney Generals Department where he would have protected atrocious systemic corrupt conduct in Government Departments.
Clearly it is like asking the Catholic Church to investigate the Catholic Church!!!!
In the APSC 2010-2011 Annual report it was Robert Cornall who was asked by Commissioner Sedgwick to investigate one complaint made to  the APSC under S 41.
Clearly the Agency Head which was investigated by Cornall was thanking their lucky stars that the complaint was F...ked over by him. The other 15  complaints of Agency Heads where F...ked over by Sedgwick.
So how many other shonky investigations has Cornall done for the APSC.....
From: fionabrown01@hotmail.com
To: foi@apsc.gov.au
Subject: FOI Robert Cornall
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 11:49:26 +1000

To whom it may concern

Under freedom of Information please advise me how many investigations Robert Cornall has done for the Australian Public Service Commission since 2010

Thanking you

Fiona Brown

The tax office and the expensive muzzle on complainants

CHRIS SEAGE | JAN 08, 2013 10:24AM | EMAIL | PRINT

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A special investigation finds the tax office is aggressively pushing aggrieved taxpayers into settlements to protect its own people. One investor tells Crikey he’s been ruined by fighting big firms hired by the ATO.

Taxpayers, tax lawyers and even a current senior tax office lawyer have criticised the Australian Taxation Office for forcing taxpayers into “confidentiality clauses” that seek to muzzle them by imposing “deeds of releases” to cover up errors and potential maladministration.

As new tax office chief Chris Jordan starts in the role this week, there is also criticism of the ATO’s use of top-tier law firms to intimidate taxpayers, and claims it may be breaching the government’s Legal Services Directions that set out requirements for the provision of legal services to the Commonwealth.

Crikey spoke with a number of taxpayers, accountants and tax lawyers — many wouldn’t go on the record fearing a potential backlash from the tax office but nearly all were united in the belief the ATO is aggressively pushing aggrieved taxpayers into settlements designed to protect particular ATO officers that erred rather than the Commonwealth. Clause 4.5 of the Legal Services Directions states the Commonwealth and its agencies should not enter into confidentiality clauses unless there is a need to protect the Commonwealth’s interests.

“The difficulty with releases and confidentiality provisions is that they are exclusively for the benefit of the [ATO] commissioner,” David Hughes, a tax partner in law firm SMH Tax Lawyers, told Crikey. “Aggrieved taxpayers are silenced and ATO errors … are not brought into the public domain. This allows ATO officers the latitude to continue working without accountability to the public.

“Confidentiality clauses in settlement deeds have their place in commercial settlements, but the Commissioner is at pains to emphasise that he negotiates on a ‘principled’ basis, not a commercial one. If that is so, then the principle by which they reach settlements must be transparent. He cannot have it both ways.”

But some lawyers see the benefit of commercial settlements. Andrew Robinson from Robinson Legal, who gained notoriety as the outspoken lawyer for Paul Hogan and John Cornell in their very public dispute with the tax office, believes early settlements are good.

“Whether it’s right or wrong, making sure settlement discussions and settlement agreements don’t see the light of day probably means that all parties can be more open in their discussions which can lead to earlier settlements. While discussions take place they can’t be disclosed because they are without prejudice and if a settlement deed happens it’s bound by confidentiality so all parties know that nothing they say should hit the public record.”

The case of Sydney architect Gary Kurzer shows how the ATO can try and force parties into a confidential settlement in an effort to protect its officers from future litigation. Kurzer and his partner sold two investment properties in 2006 under direct instructions from their bank. The taxpayers had cash losses from the sales, and were previously told by the ATO that GST did not apply to their circumstances. But the ATO launched an audit and handed them a tax bill of $207,000 in “GST and penalties” plus tax on “profits of $655,000” never earned.

After a five-year battle that Kurzer says ruined his health, relationship and finances, the ATO finally agreed to determine liability based on the information he had previously provided. This was communicated to Kurzer at the 11th hour at the doorstep of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal hearing room prior to a hearing before a senior member of the AAT.

Despite the matter settling, the ATO proceeded to issue another incorrect revised assessment of $120,000. Angered by the continued mistakes and mistreatment, Kurzer pursued the ATO for compensation under the Scheme for Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration  — established to help Commonwealth agencies compensate persons who have suffered detriment as a result of an agency’s “defective” actions or inaction, and who have no other avenues of redress —  including the latest revised incorrect assessment.

The ATO has power to engage legal counsel under the Legal Services Directions, which is administered by the Attorney-General, when there is a legal claim. The Finance Circular 2009/9 is clear that the Legal Services Directions do not apply to a CDDA claim — it’s more a moral obligation to assist those who have suffered. Despite this, the ATO hired big law firm Minter Ellison to handle the CDDA claim. The ATO said in a statement:

“It is not unusual for us to obtain legal advice where there is no legal claim or litigation on foot. Our views on CDDA claims comply with the Department of Finance’s guidelines.”

The ATO advised Kurzer of its decision after receiving advice from Minter Ellison, that no defective administration arose and no compensation was payable. Kurzer continued to owe $120,000. Minter Ellison charged the ATO $128,000 for this advice, as documents obtained by Crikey under freedom of information laws show.

“I will continue to fight, not just because of my circumstances but also because the ATO are doing this to innocent people across the country every day, decimating families and small businesses.”

Kurzer was relentless, eventually pushing the ATO to review the CDDA claim for the second time where it was uncovered it made major mistakes in the revised assessment — Kurzer only owed $8554. The ATO continued to deny any liability for mistreatment during the audit and objection stages but now admitted it made mistakes in the revised assessment. Despite Minter Ellison being engaged to review Kurzer’s tax liability, it found no mistakes.

At a mediation meeting chaired by former royal commissioner Tony Fitzgerald and attended by Kurzer, ATO officers and Kurzer’s lawyers (appointed by the tax office), the deed of release shows the ATO offered $70,000 in compensation contingent on Kurzer releasing the ATO and every officer, employee and agent from any liability beyond the scope of the major calculation errors, and equally for all future claims, whether related or unrelated to the dispute.

The ATO also sought to silence Kurzer through a confidentiality clause. Kurzer accepted the $70,000 and agreed to release the ATO from any future liability on the basis the ATO does not stop him from pursuing his rights in relation to his mistreatment during the audit and objection processes and to delete a blanket ban on all future claims unrelated to the dispute. The ATO then refused to pay the $70,000 compensation.

In direct contradiction to this, the ATO told Crikey: “There is no compulsion for taxpayers to settle matters they do not want to settle. Settlements made in relation to a particular dispute do not affect future claims arising in relation to a completely unrelated dispute.”In addition to Minter Ellison’s inexorable fee of $128,000, Fitzgerald’s fee for conferences, preparation and the mediation was $12,650 — according to a tax invoice released under FOI —  while ATO appointed lawyers for Kurzer, LAC Lawyers, were paid $19,992 for legal advice and attendance at the mediation. The ATO refused to pay LAC Lawyers for any assistance to Kurzer after the mediation. In addition, the ATO expended $47,599 in relation to the CDDA claim. In total, $208,241 was spent on a case with an offer of $70,000 in compensation that was ultimately rejected by Kurzer.

Kurzer is highly distressed. In five years of attempting to gain justice he says he has lost everything he has worked for over 40 years, and faces imminent foreclosure. “Each day is a battle to stay afloat,” he told Crikey.

“Minter Ellison was hired to check the ATO view and they came up with zero errors and zero compensation and I was intimidated by them in denying my rights. The ATO then attempted to silence me via an oppressive deed with a patronising offer of $70,000 to me as compensation for my losses and expenses over five years. Although that was a tiny fraction of my losses, to even accept this, they insisted on a massive legal gag on my rights.

“I will continue to fight, not just because of my circumstances but also because the ATO are doing this to innocent people across the country every day, decimating families and small businesses. In tough times it is heinous that the ATO can expend huge amounts of public money to bankrupt people. What is the net advantage? People are forced onto welfare, instead of being active taxpayers. I will now be seeking a realistic monetary claim that reflects my losses in the Federal Court for negligence, breach of statutory duty and misfeasance against the tax office.”

A senior Sydney tax lawyer who is involved in negotiating settlements with the ATO on a regular basis but did not want to be identified said: “Settlements are sometimes instituted by the ATO because they know they have done the wrong thing. Unfortunately, in these cases the wrong thing ends up being hidden from the public by the use of a confidentiality clause. They won’t talk about what they did wrong.”

Allegations about the ATO’s use of legal services coincide with theannouncement last month by the Attorney-General’s Department that the ATO was the biggest user of legal services in the Commonwealth, spending $101 million dollars in 2012. The report shows a whopping 30% increase in the provision of external legal services (such as Minter Ellison and Clayton Utz) in just the last two years. At the same time the average rise in external legal costs across all government agencies was just 7%. External legal services accounted for $64.9 million of the total figure, while $46.1 million was spent internally.

Crikey reported in September the ATO had offered Serene Teffaha a $250,000 settlement to walk away from litigation she launched for bullying as a result of a whistleblower complaint. She was prepared to accept the offer and release the ATO commissioner from vicarious liability as long as she was not barred from pursuing the senior public officials personally for their misconduct against her. The ATO refused to settle on that basis.

“My motivation is not money  —  just accountability,” she said. “It is perplexing the lengths the Commonwealth will go to, to protect the wrongdoers. Unfortunately for the Commonwealth they are now risking a whole lot more than just money.” Teffaha says she has been told the Commonwealth will back the personal defences of the officials involved by funding Clayton Utz’s services.

The Attorney-General’s Department is the guardian of how Commonwealth agencies pursue litigation. Crikey put a list of questions to the department and was told:

“Questions regarding the ATO’s reasons for settling claims, legislative authority for engaging counsel, and its conduct in the handling of claims and litigation, should be directed to the ATO.”

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