Legal Services Council Annual Report incomplete :No reference to Zhu Minshen, Top Group ,and the national revelations about poor judgement and research skills among NSW's most senior judges-More reasons why the ICAC NSW Special Audit should include the NSW LPAB,and now the Legal Services Council
by Ganesh Sahathevan
In his current inquiry into Chinese donations to the Labor Party ,ICAC Commissioner PeterHall QC(picture above) seems reluctant to go anywhere near the matter of Zhu Minshen and his Top Group,whosedonations to the NSW Liberal Party may have consequences for Hall's former colleagues at the NSW Bar and Bench who manage the Legal Profession Admission Board, the body that has provided Zhu the status of a law school vice chancellor.
The Legal Services Council 2018/2019 Annual Report can be sighted on its website at this link. It may be thought of a consolidated report on the activities of all states that participate in the Uniform Laws and Regulations that govern the legal profession.
As stated on page 2 of the Annual Report:
The Legal Services Council is an intergovernmental statutory corporation created by the Legal Profession Uniform Law, applied in Victoria (Vic) and New South Wales (NSW) by the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (Vic) and the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (NSW). The intention of the Parliaments of each State is that one single Council and one single Office of Commissioner is created for all. This publication contains the Annual Reports of both the Legal Services Council and the Commissioner for Uniform Legal Services Regulation for 2018–2019. The reports are prepared and submitted in accordance with clause 26 of Schedule 1 and clause 10 of Schedule 2 to the Legal Profession Uniform Law as in force in each participating State. All references to legislation in this report should be understood to refer to the Legal Profession Uniform Law, also referred to as the Uniform Law, unless otherwise indicated. The Uniform Law commenced on 1 July 2015 in both Victoria and NSW. The inaugural Council was appointed in October 2014 and will serve until October 2020. The current Commissioner, Megan Pitt, commenced in the dual roles of Chief Executive Officer of the Legal Services Council and Commissioner for Uniform Legal Services Regulation in October 2017 and will serve for five years.
Despite the above, readers can see from themselves that the Annual Report says nothing about two highly publicised issues in the 2018.2019 financial year.
First the NSW LAPB's failure to disclose fully its dealings with Zhu Minshen and his Top Education Group, in the course of first issuing and then renewing his "one and only" license to grant LLB degrees.
This issue has since gained additional importance as a result of NSW ICAC investigation into poltical donations from China. As explained by this writer, ICAC Commissioner Peter Hall's exclusion of anything to do with Zhu Minshen is suspicious, and the special audit ordered by Premier Berejiklian into ICAC NSW should be extended to include the NSW LPAB, given the connected issues.
Second, the revelations in The Australian of 17 January 2019 which concerns this writer and is about the Chief Justice of NSW, Tom Bathurst and his NSW LPAB:
The story has received publicity throughout this region given the NSW LPAB's findings against this writer, who has a 25 year history as an investigative journalist throughout this region, and Malaysia's current PM Mahathir.
The story has also received publicity in the UK, given the comments by the internationally acclaimed investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle-Brown (whose brother-in-law Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the UK, wrote the foreword to her book on the 1MDB scandal, which the NSW LPAB and the Chief Justice seem to think is a fabrication, by among others this writer).
The Law Services Council has, among other things, a duty to protect consumer confidence in the legal system.It cannot pretend, like the NSW LPAB, that the above matters have not harmed the reputation of the Australian legal profession here and overseas
Neither can it pretend that its actions, together with the NSW LPAB, have not resulted in the probable misallocation of some AUD 40-50 Million dollars in Commonwealth FEE HELP funding to the College Of LawSydney.
That the NSW LPAB's refusal to act on complaints against the College have led to additional embarasment to the Australian legal profession cannot be ignored:
All of the above matters are in the public domain. The Legal Services Council's annual reports cannot attempt to provide an alternative story (or "narrative") to what is public .For that reason alone the Legal Services Council, like the NSW LPAB, require special audits that can be bundled into the ICAC NSW special audit.
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See Also:
In his current inquiry into Chinese donations to the Labor Party ,ICAC Commissioner PeterHall QC(picture above) seems reluctant to go anywhere near the matter of Zhu Minshen and his Top Group,whosedonations to the NSW Liberal Party may have consequences for Hall's former colleagues at the NSW Bar and Bench who manage the Legal Profession Admission Board, the body that has provided Zhu the status of a law school vice chancellor.
The Legal Services Council 2018/2019 Annual Report can be sighted on its website at this link. It may be thought of a consolidated report on the activities of all states that participate in the Uniform Laws and Regulations that govern the legal profession.
As stated on page 2 of the Annual Report:
The Legal Services Council is an intergovernmental statutory corporation created by the Legal Profession Uniform Law, applied in Victoria (Vic) and New South Wales (NSW) by the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (Vic) and the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (NSW). The intention of the Parliaments of each State is that one single Council and one single Office of Commissioner is created for all. This publication contains the Annual Reports of both the Legal Services Council and the Commissioner for Uniform Legal Services Regulation for 2018–2019. The reports are prepared and submitted in accordance with clause 26 of Schedule 1 and clause 10 of Schedule 2 to the Legal Profession Uniform Law as in force in each participating State. All references to legislation in this report should be understood to refer to the Legal Profession Uniform Law, also referred to as the Uniform Law, unless otherwise indicated. The Uniform Law commenced on 1 July 2015 in both Victoria and NSW. The inaugural Council was appointed in October 2014 and will serve until October 2020. The current Commissioner, Megan Pitt, commenced in the dual roles of Chief Executive Officer of the Legal Services Council and Commissioner for Uniform Legal Services Regulation in October 2017 and will serve for five years.
Despite the above, readers can see from themselves that the Annual Report says nothing about two highly publicised issues in the 2018.2019 financial year.
First the NSW LAPB's failure to disclose fully its dealings with Zhu Minshen and his Top Education Group, in the course of first issuing and then renewing his "one and only" license to grant LLB degrees.
This issue has since gained additional importance as a result of NSW ICAC investigation into poltical donations from China. As explained by this writer, ICAC Commissioner Peter Hall's exclusion of anything to do with Zhu Minshen is suspicious, and the special audit ordered by Premier Berejiklian into ICAC NSW should be extended to include the NSW LPAB, given the connected issues.
Second, the revelations in The Australian of 17 January 2019 which concerns this writer and is about the Chief Justice of NSW, Tom Bathurst and his NSW LPAB:
Search Results
Bizarre blog claims used to deny man right to practise law
The Australian (blog)-16 Jan 2019
... felt the conspiracy-laden material could be relied upon as part of a decision to deny Sydney man Ganesh Sahathevan admission as a lawyer.
The story has also received publicity in the UK, given the comments by the internationally acclaimed investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle-Brown (whose brother-in-law Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the UK, wrote the foreword to her book on the 1MDB scandal, which the NSW LPAB and the Chief Justice seem to think is a fabrication, by among others this writer).
The Law Services Council has, among other things, a duty to protect consumer confidence in the legal system.It cannot pretend, like the NSW LPAB, that the above matters have not harmed the reputation of the Australian legal profession here and overseas
Neither can it pretend that its actions, together with the NSW LPAB, have not resulted in the probable misallocation of some AUD 40-50 Million dollars in Commonwealth FEE HELP funding to the College Of LawSydney.
That the NSW LPAB's refusal to act on complaints against the College have led to additional embarasment to the Australian legal profession cannot be ignored:
Bar Council education ‘JV’ must be clarified
All of the above matters are in the public domain. The Legal Services Council's annual reports cannot attempt to provide an alternative story (or "narrative") to what is public .For that reason alone the Legal Services Council, like the NSW LPAB, require special audits that can be bundled into the ICAC NSW special audit.
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See Also:
Why a special audit of Peter Hall's ICAC must include a review of his handling of the China donation inquiry , and the NSW LPAB 's dealings with Zhu Minshen
by Ganesh Sahathevan
The departure of the Legal Profession Admission Board's Executive Officer, Louise Pritchard, was reported nationally in The Australian, 17 January 2019:
The body overseen by Chief Justice Tom Bathurst responsible for deciding who can practise law in NSW relied on a wildly defamatory Malaysian blog depicting ABC journalists, former British prime minister Tony Blair, financier George Soros and others as part of a global conspiracy when deciding to deny a would-be solicitor a certificate to practise.
Chief Justice Bathurst and Legal Practitioner Admission Board executive officer Louise Pritchard declined to answer The Australian’s questions about how the article came into the board’s hands and why its members felt the conspiracy-laden material could be relied upon as part of a decision to deny Sydney man Ganesh Sahathevan admission as a lawyer. Nor would either say which of the 10 members of the LPAB, three of whom are serving NSW Supreme Court judges, was on the deciding panel.
Ms Pritchard has left her role at the LPAB since The Australian began making inquiries in September. The article, published in December 2017 on website The Third Force, accuses Mr Sahathevan of engaging in a conspiracy to attack then Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.
Compounding all of the above is the fact that Mr Bathurst and his LPAB continue to defend the College Of Law Sydney's management of the PLT programme, despite historical and ongoing complaints about its delivery and substance.
As a result of the inaction the College continues to receive some AUD 40-50 Million in Commonwealth Government FEE HELP funding, without which it is unlikely to survive.
The departure of the Legal Profession Admission Board's Executive Officer, Louise Pritchard, was reported nationally in The Australian, 17 January 2019:
The body overseen by Chief Justice Tom Bathurst responsible for deciding who can practise law in NSW relied on a wildly defamatory Malaysian blog depicting ABC journalists, former British prime minister Tony Blair, financier George Soros and others as part of a global conspiracy when deciding to deny a would-be solicitor a certificate to practise.
Chief Justice Bathurst and Legal Practitioner Admission Board executive officer Louise Pritchard declined to answer The Australian’s questions about how the article came into the board’s hands and why its members felt the conspiracy-laden material could be relied upon as part of a decision to deny Sydney man Ganesh Sahathevan admission as a lawyer. Nor would either say which of the 10 members of the LPAB, three of whom are serving NSW Supreme Court judges, was on the deciding panel.
Ms Pritchard has left her role at the LPAB since The Australian began making inquiries in September. The article, published in December 2017 on website The Third Force, accuses Mr Sahathevan of engaging in a conspiracy to attack then Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.
Mr Bathurst's problems of governance at the LPAB are not limited to the departure of his Executive Officer.
Her replacement, Tan Siew Ting McKeogh has brought additional problems. As reported, the appointment of Tan Siew Ting McKeogh as Executive Officer LPAB adds to governance ,reporting issues at the LPAB, Department of Justice.
Her replacement, Tan Siew Ting McKeogh has brought additional problems. As reported, the appointment of Tan Siew Ting McKeogh as Executive Officer LPAB adds to governance ,reporting issues at the LPAB, Department of Justice.
Compounding all of the above is the fact that Mr Bathurst and his LPAB continue to defend the College Of Law Sydney's management of the PLT programme, despite historical and ongoing complaints about its delivery and substance.
As a result of the inaction the College continues to receive some AUD 40-50 Million in Commonwealth Government FEE HELP funding, without which it is unlikely to survive.
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