14:10 AEST Wed Sep 14 2011
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Former West Australian premier Brian Burke is set to face a
In the Court of Appeal in Perth on Wednesday, the Supreme Court acquittals of Mr Burke, his business partner and former Labor cabinet colleague Julian Grill and former public servant Nathan Hondros, were set aside and a new trial was ordered.
In May last year Justice Michael Murray found there was no evidence Mr Burke and Mr Grill procured Mr Hondros to disclose official documents or tried to sneak through changes to pearl hatchery policy to benefit a client.
Justice Murray found the prosecution failed to provide enough evidence to prove the charges against the two former lobbyists and Mr Hondros, who was the chief of staff to the fisheries minister.
The charges were laid after a 2006 investigation by WA's Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) which used phone taps to listen in to conversations of the three men.
WA prosecutors appealed Justice Murray's decision to dismiss the charges and on Wednesday three appeal court judges ruled in their favour and ordered a new trial.
In a 99-page judgment, the judges found unanimously that Justice Murray had made an error in law in acquitting the three accused and should have decided there was a case to answer.
Outside court, Mr Burke told reporters the appeal court decision was disappointing and "just not fair".
He said the ruling was based on narrow legal grounds.
"The charge itself is just not substantial," he said.
"The cost is horrendous and the burden on the family becomes intolerable so it's a very distressing day for us.
"We wonder what it's all about and when it might stop."
Mr Burke said his legal costs now topped $1.25 million.
"It's just not fair," he said.
Mr Grill told reporters a judge had already "comprehensively" acquitted them on the charges.
"I maintain our innocence and I've got faith in the judicial system and I confidently expect we'll be acquitted next time round," he said.
Mr Grill said the case had gone on for nearly six years and had cost him more than half a million dollars so far.
The three were bailed to reappear in court in October.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
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