CCC says lawyer had chance to come clean

Make: NIKON CORPORATIONModel: NIKON D3SDate/Time: 2010:10:23 12:58:46 Source: PerthNow

THE WA lawyer who was secretly recorded telling the man at the centre of the City of Stirling corruption scandal to "get rid" of evidence has received a 12 month suspended sentence.

Trevor Howard Brickhill today admitted to telling his former client, the City of Stirling employee who took his own life before Corruption and Crime Commission hearings into the saga began, to wipe his home computer as well as transfer property out of his name to avoid it being confiscated.

He also admitted to giving misleading testimony during the hearing in November 2010.

Mr Brickhill, a civil lawyer with more than 20 years' experience and the managing partner of his own firm, was secretly recorded by CCC investigators in June 2010.

In the recorded conversation, which was played to the court, Mr Brickhill told the man, who was not his client at the time, that he should “get rid” of his computer as well as any financial records that could be used as evidence against him.

The comments were made following a meeting with the man’s wife and father earlier.

He also advised the man, who was accused of misappropriating council funds and receiving an estimated $544,000 in kickbacks from contractors he awarded work to, to see another lawyer about transferring his farm and home out of his name.

During the sentencing hearing in Perth Magistrate’s Court today, Mr Brickhill’s lawyer Phillip Urquhart told the court his client had made a “serious error of judgment” which was completely “out of character” and that he was genuinely remorseful about his actions.

He said the father of three had suffered incredible shame over the incident and his 25-year professional reputation had been “decimated”.

And while his client accepted he gave misleading testimony, Mr Urquhart likened the tactics used by the CCC to catch his client out as being tantamount to “entrapment”.

He said while he did not like to use that word, the fact that Mr Brickhill was unaware he had been recorded and was then asked questions relating to that recording meant he was bound to incriminate himself.

“He was drawn into the contradictions he had made,” Mr Urquhart said.

He also added that his client never instigated the discussion about wiping the computer drive, saying it was the man’s wife who had actually asked if she could do it.

But Theo Lampropoulos, who was representing the CCC, said it was clear Mr Brickhill had told her to do it. He said in the phone conversation Mr Brickhill said the computer has “got to go”. He later tells the man he should “get rid of your computer and get rid of these records”.

“It can’t be suggested he was a reluctant participant,” Mr Lampropoulos said. “He counselled the wife to destroy it. He had the intention of preventing it from being effectively used in evidence.”

Mr Lampropoulos also rejected the suggestion the tactics used by the CCC resembled entrapment, saying Mr Brickhill was fully aware of the seriousness of giving misleading testimony when he took his oath.

He also said investigators were not privy to the details of the meeting held between Mr Brickhill and the man’s wife and his father and needed to ask a range of questions to see if any more meetings had been held.

“To suggest there was some kind of entrapment involved is unrealistic,” he said.

“He was well and truly put on notice about the seriousness of telling the truth. The accused was given adequate opportunity to come clean.”

Mr Lampropoulos said by giving deliberately misleading testimony, Mr Brickhill undermined the effectiveness of the investigation, which almost amounted to a form of “perjury” and by counselling a person to destroy evidence “directly interfered” with the investigation and was an attempt to pervert the course of justice.

In handing down his decision, Magistrate Richard Bromfield said he was obligated to give him an 18-month sentence but would reduce it to 15 months because of his good standing.

He then said he took into account his guilty plea and further reduced it to 12 months and ordered that the sentence be suspended for 18 months.

With regards to giving misleading evidence, he fined Mr Brickhill $10,000 and order he pay costs of $3500.

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A clean slate and big in-tray for Barnett

HOME AND HOSED: Premier Colin Barnett and wife Lyn at Cottesloe Beach. Picture: Colin Murty Source: PerthNow

VICTORIOUS: Colin Barnett salutes the party faithful, claiming victory just after 9pm Saturday night.  Source: PerthNow

EBULLIENT Premier Colin Barnett says he will start his new term of office with a clean slate - but also a bulging in-tray.

The destination of billions of dollars in regional funding, the future of the state's embattled farmers, and the potential for new ministerial faces will all be immediate agenda items when Mr Barnett reforms government this week.

But with counting on several knife-edge seats to continue for days to come, Mr Barnett said he would take time to reflect on the future of his government before a party room meeting later this week to decide the make-up of his new cabinet.

"I will take some time to reflect and think about how this government will be structured, but my approach will be that it will be a clean slate,'' Mr Barnett said.

"It is not a continuation of government, it is a formation of a new government. We will go back and start again.''

With the Liberal Party given enough seats to govern in its own right, the make-up of the alliance with the Nationals will be of immediate interest to many, especially Nationals leader Brendon Grylls.

Mr Grylls won a massive personal victory in the Pilbara, securing a 16 per cent swing, but has still not been guaranteed to keep the regional development portfolio in which he steered the fundamental Royalties for Regions program.

Mr Barnett hinted strongly there would a more Liberal imprint on where the Royalties for Regions money would flow.

"The focus will be more on basic services, country roads, rail upgrades, power distribution - those fundamental services, I think there is a need,'' Mr Barnett said.

"No decisions will be made about any portfolio until we sit down and work out how many Liberal ministers and Nationals ministers there will be and who they will be.''

Mr Grylls still anticipated a big role in the government.

"I hope to have a strong influence in any future Liberal/National government,'' Mr Grylls said.

"We've had a great working relationship.''

Mr Barnett's major election promises of a new airport rail line, a tram line from Perth's north to the city and a highway from Perth to Darwin are all dependent on billions of dollars of federal money.

But the premier preferred to reiterate his personal commitment to take up the plight of WA's farmers, rather than focus on the big election promises.

And he said he was also expecting knocks on the door from several new Liberal MPs.

"I hope I have got a lot of ambitious backbenchers. There will be competition and that is good for the long-term future of the Liberal Party,'' Mr Barnett said.

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Libs will make graffiti vandals clean up

CLEAN IT UP: The Libs will make graffiti vandals clean up their own mess if they are re-elected this weekend. Source: NewsLocal

GRAFFITI vandals will have to clean up their own mess under a $1.35 million Liberal election promise.

Announced this morning, the Liberals will create a Graffiti Vandalism Enforcement Act if re-elected on Saturday.

Premier Colin Barnett said the act would combine existing graffiti laws and require courts to impose a graffiti clean-up order on adult and juvenile graffiti offenders.

The Department of Corrective Services would be allocated $1.35million per annum to implement the graffiti clean-up orders.

“Graffiti vandals deserve to be punished appropriately and deterred from committing future graffiti offences,” Mr Barnett said.

“We believe the best way to do this is to force them to understand the time, effort and cost that goes into removing graffiti, and by doing so, make them think twice about vandalising property in the future.”

Currently, only some vandals who target buildings and property owned by State or local governments are made to clean up graffiti.

The proposed laws would force all graffiti offenders to clean up graffiti damage and will also allow business, private residents and State and local governments to benefit.

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