The day’s headlines
And with that, we are going to put this blog to bed. But before we do – let’s re-cap the big headlines for today:
No longer acceptable for Labor MP to remain in parliament, premier says
Six unaccounted for in ‘truly tragic’ Russell Island house fire
Daniel Andrews says he won’t front inquiry into Commonwealth Games cancellation
Shane Drumgold resigns as ACT director of public prosecutions
Thank you so much for spending part of your day with us.
We will be back tomorrow - until then, stay safe.
Updated
Key event
Drumgold disputes he engaged in deliberate or underhanded conduct
Continuing on with Shane Drumgold’s statement, the ACT DPP said he disputed many of the adverse findings that the report made about him.
“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,” Drumgold wrote.
“The findings relating to my forensic trial decisions are difficult to reconcile with those decisions having been made in the context of a robust adversarial process, with a strong and experienced defence team and an eminently qualified judge who presided over the trial. It is difficult to reconcile the findings with trial judge’s expression of gratitude at the end of the case, for the exemplary way all counsel conducted the trial.”
“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.”
He confirmed that he would leave his position from 1 September.
“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. This fire has fuelled a life that took me from a disadvantaged Housing Commission estate to an esteemed leadership role within the legal profession,” Drumgold wrote.
“Unfortunately, I find the fire has been extinguished, and try as I might, I cannot reignite it.”
2/2
Updated
