Gaffney backs fight for SNF
INDEPENDENT MLC Mike Gaffney has thrown his weight behind calls to reopen the murder appeal of convicted killer Sue Neill-Fraser.
The 67-year-old grandmother, who has been in custody since 2009 over the highprofile murder of her partner Bob Chappell, is waiting on a decision to be handed down by the Court of Criminal Appeal in her second – and likely final – bid for exoneration.
Her supporters are running a campaign to have the appeal reopened and for the trio of judges yet to decide her fate to be provided with evidence they claim proves Neill-Fraser (pictured) is innocent.
Their cause was bolstered on Tuesday night with Mr Gaffney tabling “critical papers” in state parliament’s Legislative Council, penned by Canberra barrister Hugh Selby and former Integrity Commission CEO Barbara Etter.
“This case will not rest – and for good reason,’’ Mr Gaffney said, outlining a range of issues highlighted in the papers.
“What if Sue Neill-Fraser was a member of your family, a friend or a person you represent in your electorate? I raise this matter here in this place as this place is here to protect the rights of all Tasmanians.”
Former premier and attorney-general Lara Giddings has also put her name to the cause exonerating NeillFraser.
She called on AttorneyGeneral Elise Archer to seek leave to reopen the appeal by enacting her powers under common law.
“The Attorney-General may override a decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute or not prosecute a case or take over proceedings in which the DPP has appeared, at will,” Ms Giddings said.
“While such powers should be rarely used, they continue to exist for extraordinary circumstances such as that we now find ourselves in.
“It is time for the court to hear all the evidence and understand how this miscarriage of justice has taken place.”
Ms Etter said the papers tabled by Mr Gaffney demonstrated the “inadequacy and impropriety of the police investigation” into Mr Chappell’s death.
She said the papers also revealed that at the time of NeillFraser’s trial, important documents and evidence were not disclosed to the then-DPP by police or by his own office.
Ms Etter also said his office also failed to disclose critical information to Neill-Fraser’s defence legal team, “all of which has led to a miscarriage of justice”.
Ms Etter was part of NeillFraser’s legal team until mid-2017.