BREAKING: Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus ordered the Commonwealth to drop the prosecution of lawyer Bernard Collaery, after he was charged with leaking classified information. | LisaVisentin auspol
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has ordered the Commonwealth to drop the prosecution of lawyer Bernard Collaery, four years after he was charged with leaking classified information about Australia’s alleged spying operation in East Timor.
“Having regard to our national security, our national interest and the proper administration of justice today, today I have determined that this prosecution should end,” Dreyfus announced at a press conference in Sydney. “All prosecutions involve a balancing of interests. The balance of interests can change over time. This is such a case,” Dreyfus said.
“Governments must protect secrets, and this government remains steadfast in our commitment to keep Australians safe by keeping secrets out of the wrong hands. The long-standing practice of government has been to neither confirm nor deny claims made about intelligence matters and I will strictly adhere to that practice,” he said.
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