55. Hearing – 6 October 2021 – Bernard Collaery

Further information has come to light since this Hearing. It appears that the Attorney General has submitted further affidavits to Judge Mossop, the the Judge who gave the secrecy order against which this Appeal was made. If Mossop accepts the material, a further Appeal may have to be submitted, thus postponing Bernard Collaery’s trial further, possibly twelve months.

See here for Centre for Public Integrity’s webinar on 14 August 2021, where allusions are made about this development.
Quote from Stephen Charles at 14:40

“The Australian government’s performance in dealing with our poorest neighbour is one of mendacity, duplicity, fraud, criminal behaviour, invasions of legal professional privilege, contempt of court, denial of a fair trial and a failure to act as a model litigant.”

The ACT Supreme Court heard Bernard Collaery’s appeal against the secrecy proposed for his trial. The Appeal was upheld, with the three judges agreeing that any risk to national security was less than the risk to the public’s trust in the administration of justice.

Click here for the Judgement Summary issued by the Court on 6 October 2021.

Many media articles were written before the full import of the Judgement Summary was understood.

A rally was not held at the Court because of the ongoing COVID restrictions on gatherings.