Media adviser busted leaking court material ‘naive’
Robyn Wuth |
A media manager with no legal experience who was recruited from a prestigious school has admitted leaking the identity of an Indigenous teen during a public spat between a judge and a state’s top prosecutor.
The 17-year-old was facing criminal charges but granted leave by NSW District Court Judge Penelope Wass to perform an acknowledgement of Country before his sentencing hearing.
His participation in a traditional welcome was revealed by Sydney radio station 2GB after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) provided it with a screenshot containing sensitive information that identified the boy.
Sally Killoran previously handled media inquiries for Sydney’s elite Cranbrook School before being appointed as media manager for the ODPP.
“I’m not legally trained,” Ms Killoran told a state parliamentary inquiry into the controversy on Wednesday.
“When I joined the New South Wales ODPP, the office was experiencing a high volume of media inquiries – given my lack of legal qualifications and prior experience working in government, I faced a steep learning curve.”
Ms Killoran said the acknowledgement of Country was discussed internally and seen as improper.
“I recall concerns expressed, including that it was culturally insensitive and also not consistent with the public’s perception of the courts and justice system,” she said.
At a media meeting involving Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling, Mr Killoran suggested “proactively pitching” the story to journalists.
“No one objected to this suggestion, and therefore, at the time, I believed I had approval to pitch the story to the radio station, believing I was authorised to do so,” she said.
When the radio station sought further details, Ms Killoran arranged for a screenshot of privileged legal material to be passed on.
“I now appreciate I made a serious error of judgment when I provided the screenshot to 2GB, as this was legally privileged information, and did include the name of a young offender,” she said.
“I acted not out of malice, but out of inexperience.”
The media adviser learned of the error after police launched an investigation.
“Sally Dowling was surprised and shocked – she told me that I should get legal advice and that I shouldn’t talk to anyone in the office about it while there was an ongoing police investigation,” Ms Killoran said.
No charges were laid and the media adviser was disciplined after an internal investigation.
Ms Dowling admitted earlier in November that her media team did leak restricted court material to 2GB that ultimately formed the basis of a scathing 2024 broadcast about Judge Wass.
In her submission to the NSW upper-house inquiry, the judge called for Ms Dowling’s potential removal and accused the ODPP of leaking the material to damage her reputation.
Judge Wass previously complained to the state’s legal watchdog about Ms Dowling’s conduct after the top prosecutor lodged multiple grievances over the judge’s actions in several cases.
But Ms Killoran denied the judge had been targeted.
“It was about acknowledgement of Country, it wasn’t about the judge,” she said.
Solicitor Douglas Farland represented the teenager and said Judge Wass sought approval from the prosecution before the cultural ceremony was performed, and there was no objection.
AAP
