Cleveland Dodd inquest: DoJ witnesses hire own lawyers after top official Doug Coyne admits mistruths to CCC

Top prison officials testifying at Cleveland Dodd’s inquest are hiring their own lawyers as increasingly damning and potentially incriminating evidence keeps flowing. Testifying that he was not involved in the planning of Unit 18 where the Aboriginal boy fatally self-harmed in October, Andrew Beck was represented by Eric Heenan SC when he took the stand on Tuesday. He was the deputy commissioner for women and young people for two years until mid-2022 when the controversial unit was created within Casuarina Prison and remains in the top ranks of the Department of Justice. While he chose not to use State Solicitor’s Office lawyers, former director-general Adam Tomison not only accepted their help but was paid to prepare for and attend the inquest, in line with his previous $426,000 a year salary. He threw his key lieutenants Christine Ginbey and Mike Reynolds under the bus, admitting massive failings in youth detention and saying he relied on accurate information on how it was running from them. Ms Ginbey, who was Mr Beck’s successor, responded by swiftly engaging Grant Donaldson SC and had her testimony delayed while he familiarised himself with the matter. Senior legal figures who did not want to be named said there was an obvious conflict with current and former department officials being represented by the same legal office, given one client may give evidence against the interests of another. “It would surprise me that anybody in that category would not seek their own independent counsel,” top criminal barrister Tom Percy said. The SSO appeared to score an own goal on Tuesday when lawyer David Leigh asked a question of the superintendent at Unit 18 when Cleveland took his own life, Doug Coyne, that led to him admitting he gave incorrect evidence to the Corruption and Crime Commission. Mr Coyne told the watchdog — and initially the inquest — he only became aware of the rampant problem of young detainees covering up their in-cell cameras after the boy hung himself in his cell, his lens having been obscured for hours. But he told the coronial probe on Friday that he knew back in May 2023. Counsel assisting the coroner Anthony Crocker seized on Mr Coyne’s confession, prompting him to say “I wanted to be honest” after the lawyer suggested his conscience got the better of him. Mr Coyne earlier agreed he decided to tell the truth after it occurred his evidence to the CCC “would not withstand the inquest”. He said he thought he was telling the watchdog correct information and only realised later, when reading through what he’d said, that it was not. Throughout this second tranche of the inquest, Coroner Phil Urqhuart has repeatedly brushed aside SSO objections and vented frustration at its lawyers lobbing massive bundles of documents on the court at short notice. Lifeline 13 11 14