A scathing parliamentary inquiry suggesting a state chief prosecutor's position should be considered is nothing more than a "stitch up", the attorney-general says.
A NSW upper house inquiry, in its findings published on Tuesday, accused the state's Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC of falsely denying her involvement in giving information about one of Australia's most well-regarded judges to a media outlet.
The majority of MPs on the committee, established to examine identity protections for children in court proceedings, found Ms Dowling's office leaked information to a commercial radio station to pitch a negative story about District Court Judge Penelope Wass.
Ms Dowling previously admitted her media team leaked restricted court material that ultimately formed the basis of a scathing 2024 broadcast about Judge Wass but has consistently denied giving authorisation.
The committee disagreed, stating the chief prosecutor "authorised the pitching of the story to 2GB and falsely denied having done so".
It further accused her office of "proactively and surreptitiously pitching a story" that "would most likely constitute a breach of the prosecution guidelines", saying it was done "to provoke criticism" of Judge Wass.
The story, aired by 2GB presenter Ben Fordham, concerned Judge Wass allowing a 17-year-old Indigenous boy to perform an Acknowledgement of Country before his sentencing hearing.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions provided the radio station with a screenshot containing sensitive identifying information.
"The committee is satisfied the story was pitched in retaliation for Judge Wass' previous criticisms of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and perhaps for additional reasons unknown to the committee," the report read.
In its final recommendation, the committee majority called on NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley to consider establishing a formal inquiry to determine whether there were grounds to remove Ms Dowling from office.
But Mr Daley said he has "full confidence" in the state's chief prosecutor, accusing the committee of wasting their time making baseless attacks.
"This is the worst parliamentary committee report that I have seen in my nearly 21 years in parliament," he said in a statement.
"The report makes findings that are unsupported by the evidence ... it treats mere suspicion and speculation as fact.
"This was supposedly an inquiry into identity protections for proceedings involving children. It wasn't. It was a stitch-up from the outset."
Greens MP Sue Higginson did not support the findings nor the recommendations, accusing fellow committee members of politically motivated attacks against Ms Dowling and describing the report's findings as "unfounded and biased" and "irresponsible and incredible".
Australia's chief prosecutors rallied behind their colleague in a letter to the attorney-general in June.
"She is a person of integrity who, in our dealings, has always conducted herself in an exemplary and ethical manner," the letter read.
