Calls for NSW top public prosecutor's removal over media leak

Report suggests DPP Sally Dowling be removed from office over media leak Tue 7 Jul 2026 at 5:17pm In short: Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Sally Dowling SC was accused of authorising a leak of sensitive information to media, impacting District Court judge, Penelope Wass SC. The DPP was at the centre of an inquiry into children's identity protection, but the committee focused almost solely on the leaking of the story to 2GB. The attorney-general has been urged in one recommendation to set up a formal inquiry to consider removing Ms Dowling from office. New South Wales' top public prosecutor has been accused of leaking a story to the media and falsely denying it at an inquiry into her conduct, in a scathing parliamentary committee report that recommends the attorney-general consider her removal from office. Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Sally Dowling SC, who has been at the centre of an inquiry into children's identity protection, has been accused of authorising a leak of sensitive information to the media, which had a "significant" impact on a District Court judge. Ms Dowling has long denied authorising the information leak from her office. But a report tabled on Tuesday recommends Attorney-General Michael Daley establish an inquiry to further examine the controversy and consider "whether there are grounds to remove the Director of Public Prosecutions from office". The inquiry itself is controversial. It was set up to examine identity protections for children in court, but instead focused almost exclusively on Ms Dowling and an ongoing dispute with District Court Judge Penelope Wass SC. The committee was divided over the report, with some Labor members writing dissenting statements and refusing to accept the adverse findings against Ms Dowling. Mr Daley called it the "worst parliamentary committee report" he had seen. The accusation against Ms Dowling is that she authorised her media team to leak a story to commercial radio station 2GB and its breakfast host Ben Fordham, to discredit Judge Wass. The story alleged that a young Aboriginal offender that Judge Wass was about to sentence in Taree District Court, for break and enter and sexual touching, was allowed to deliver an Acknowledgement of Country to the court. In airing the story on his breakfast show in October 2024, Fordham said Judge Wass had "had a shocker" and "thought it was appropriate to have the offender welcome her to her own court". Judge Wass told the inquiry she alerted prosecution and defence lawyers ahead of time about her plan to allow the acknowledgement, that neither party objected, and that "there was no departure from normal procedure". She said the leak to Fordham's show was not only reckless, but also breached Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions guidelines because it included the offender's name, even though the offender cannot be identified by law. 2GB did not publish the offender's name, and a police investigation into the leak has not laid charges. Ms Dowling has admitted her office leaked the information and that it was discussed in a meeting at which she was present for. The report made eight findings, including that the Director of Public Prosecutions authorised the pitching of the story to 2GB and "falsely denied having done so in her evidence to the committee". It also found the story's leaking "had a significant personal and professional impact" on Judge Wass. "This kind of 'media management' by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is inherently dangerous and potentially intimidatory of the various participants in the criminal justice system," the report stated. Despite the findings against her, Ms Dowling has maintained she was not paying attention when her media officers were talking about the Acknowledgement of Country story and did not realise they were planning to pitch it to 2GB. The inquiry into "Identity protections for proceedings involving children" was called in October last year, but the committee has focused almost solely on the leaking of the story to 2GB. One recommendation urges Mr Daley to set up a formal inquiry to consider whether to remove Ms Dowling from office. Another recommendation is to establish a parliamentary committee to oversee the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Labor MPs at odds on findings The committee, led by Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party MLC Robert Borsak, has split down the middle in its final report. Even the government members involved could not agree, with Labor's Cameron Murphy and Bob Nanva filing a dissenting report alongside Greens MLC Sue Higginson. Ms Higginson's statement said some committee members evidently did not believe Ms Dowling's testimony. "The report's unfounded and biased findings against the Director of Public Prosecutions, Ms Sally Dowling SC, are both irresponsible and incredible," she wrote. "The report discards sworn testimony and relies on confected evidence and inference to assume guilt on the part of the director, pointing towards a foregone conclusion on the part of some Committee members." Mr Daley said he has full confidence in the DPP, and will instruct the Crown Solicitor's Office to brief senior counsel to review the report. "This was supposedly an inquiry into identity protections for proceedings involving children. It wasn't. It was a stitch-up from the outset," Mr Daley said in a statement. "The report makes findings that are unsupported by the evidence. It reaches conclusions that are contrary to sworn testimony. It treats mere suspicion and speculation as fact." An ongoing feud Before the report was published on Tuesday afternoon, eight Commonwealth, state and territory DPPs signed a letter addressed to the attorney-general in support of Ms Dowling. The letter said the group "collectively hold the view that she is a person of integrity who, in our dealings, has always conducted herself in an exemplary and ethical manner". In hearings, Judge Wass told the committee Ms Dowling's leak was meant to defame her, during an ongoing professional dispute between the two women. Since March 2022, there had been criticisms of the DPP aired by other district court judges, Judge Wass told the inquiry. There was also criticism of the DPP for bringing several 'unmeritorious' cases, particularly sexual assault cases, before the court. The committee's report said the ongoing dispute between Ms Dowling and Judge Wass was harmful. "The committee is of the view that a sustained and public dispute between District Court Judges and the head of a prosecuting authority is harmful to the administration of justice and risks undermining public confidence in the courts," the report said.