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Victorian state lawyers have sent a scathing letter to the state's Premier in a reaction to his reported comments that "greedy leftie lawyers" are pushing a new corruption commission.
VICTORIAN state lawyers have sent a scathing letter to the state’s Premier in a reaction to his reported comments that “greedy leftie lawyers” are pushing a new corruption commission.
Law Institute of Victoria president Steven Stevens asked in his letter to the Premier John Brumby to whom he was referring, and has requested his time to discuss what the Premier deems the role of lawyers.
The full letter can be viewed below.
The Hon John Brumby, MP
"Dear Premier,
The Law Institute of Victoria, on behalf of its 14,000 members, is most concerned at your reported comments that "greedy leftie lawyers" are pushing a new anti corruption commission. (Age 23/4/2010). We would be interested to know to whom in particular you were referring.
We seek your assurance that you value the role of the State's lawyers in the criminal justice system.
We also note that you were reported as saying that Victoria does not need a new independent anti-corruption commission. This would appear to pre-judge the results of the Proust review, established by you in November last year. We have made a submission to the review in good faith and, as the peak body for lawyers in this State, valued the opportunity to meet with Elizabeth Proust.
Our submission concluded: "The LIV is satisfied that there is a strong case for a new approach to integrity and anti-corruption in Victoria. We submit that problems under the current system, which is piecemeal and insufficient to deal with any serious allegations of corruption, can best be remedied by the introduction of a new overarching integrity and anti-corruption "clearinghouse", based on aspects of Queensland's Crime and Misconduct Commission, but subject to robust safeguards to ensure accountability, transparency and independence.
Victoria is in the fortunate position to be able to develop proposals for a better approach to integrity and anti-corruption, without the shadow of a major corruption scandal. We believe that a new forward-looking, standards-based body will safeguard integrity in Victoria and we hope that the recommendations in this submission will assist the Proust Review and the government in its deliberations on this important issue."
We would appreciate an opportunity to meet with you to discuss these issues and your views on the role of lawyers."
Steven Stevens
President
Law Institute of Victoria
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