End of financial year raises issues for Michael Tidball, the new Secretary , Department Of Justice NSW, which arise from his past position as CEO, NSW Law Society
by Ganesh Sahathevan
Michael Tidball
Michael Tidball,the recently appointed Secretary, Department Of Communities And Justice, faces his first end of financial year in that position. He inherits the problems in the NSW LPAB and Department of Justice's past annual reports, but unlike his predecessors, he would have personal knowledge of the problems.
That is a result of his past position as CEO, NSW Law Society, where Tidball was made aware, and did not act on information about the NSW Law Society's College Of Law Ltd's conduct in Malaysia, and mishandling of the Professional Legal Training course.
These issues were brought to the attention of the NSW LPAB, which also chose to exclude those issues, and the action taken, in its 2018-2019 and subsequent annual reports. The NSW LPAB is part of the NSW Department Of Justice, and hence the Department's annual reports are also affected.
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.
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.
Bizarre blog claims used to deny man right to practise law
Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.- 12:00AM JANUARY 17, 2019
- 2 COMMENTS
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.
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