Simon Overland named new Tasmanian Secretary of Justice

Simon Overland named new Tasmanian Secretary of Justice

FORMER Victoria Police chief Simon Overland has been appointed to a post in the Tasmanian Government.

Mr Overland was today announced as the new Tasmanian Secretary of Justice.

Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings said he had been given the job after being the ”unanimous recommendation of the selection panel as the most outstanding applicant’’.

But she admitted he may be seen as a contentious appointment given his public fall-out with former Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones.

”I acknowledge that this may be seen as a controversial appointment given the intense media scrutiny surrounding Mr Overland’s former role as Chief Commissioner,” Ms Giddings said.

“This appointment has been given careful consideration and I do not believe that anything has occurred which should preclude Mr Overland from taking up this position.

“I am looking forward to Mr Overland’s contribution to the public service in this State. I am sure his wealth of skills and experience will see him have a substantial and positive impact.’’

• New Justice Secretary Appointed

The Premier, Lara Giddings, today announced the appointment of Simon Overland as the new Secretary of Justice.

Ms Giddings said Mr Overland had been unanimously recommended by an independent selection panel after an exhaustive recruitment process that included both national advertising and ‘head-hunting’ by an executive search agency.

“Mr Overland was the unanimous recommendation of the selection panel as the most outstanding applicant,” Ms Giddings said.

Ms Giddings said the independent panel had given their recommendation careful consideration, including extensive reference checks.

“Mr Overland’s referees were extremely positive and this reinforced the panel’s view that he was the best candidate for appointment.

“He demonstrated that he had a very high level of leadership skills, strong management capability and a well-developed understanding of the justice portfolio.

“Mr Overland has turned down a position on the Commonwealth Government’s Migration Review Panel to work in Tasmania and I expect that Canberra’s loss with be our gain.”

Mr Overland has a Bachelor of Laws with first class honours from ANU and has had a strong social justice focus throughout his career.

Mr Overland worked for the Australian Federal Police, between 1984 and 2002, rising through to senior leadership roles and secondment to the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department to lead the formation of the Australian Crime Commission.

He has worked in various positions in Victoria Police from Assistant Commissioner Crime leading the Purana Taskforce investigation into Melbourne gangland violence, to Deputy Commissioner and Chief Commissioner from March 2009 until mid-2011.

“I acknowledge that this may be seen as a controversial appointment given the intense media scrutiny surrounding Mr Overland’s former role as Chief Commissioner,” Ms Giddings said.

“This appointment has been given careful consideration and I do not believe that anything has occurred which should preclude Mr Overland from taking up this position.

“I am looking forward to Mr Overland’s contribution to the public service in this State. I am sure his wealth of skills and experience will see him have a substantial and positive impact.

“I would also like to thank Deputy Secretaries Robert Williams and Michael Stevens who have been sharing the role of Acting Secretary since Lisa Hutton left the office in April.”

http://www.premier.tas.gov.au/media_room/media_releases/new_justice_secretary_appointed

• Simon Overland finds a stern critic in Ombudsman

Spring St must act on whistleblower plea

A report by Ombudsman George Brouwer yesterday also exposed just how dysfunctional the top brass of Victoria Police was during the Overland and Sir Ken Jones saga.

It revealed Mr Overland called an extraordinary meeting of five of his most senior staff on May 6 last year, where they discussed getting rid of then deputy commissioner Sir Ken.

Mr Overland did so later that day.

The report disputed Mr Overland’s claim that Sir Ken issued an ultimatum that Mr Overland had to change his management structure or he would quit.

It also disputed Mr Overland’s claim that the staff at the May 6 meeting unanimously agreed Sir Ken was leaking to the media and had to go.

The Ombudsman found no evidence Sir Ken was the leaker.

Yesterday’s report cleared Mr Overland of breaching the Whistleblower Protection Act, which guards against adverse action.

While it found the actions of Mr Overland were detrimental to Sir Ken’s character and professional reputation, it said Mr Overland did not take those actions because he believed Sir Ken was a whistleblower to the Ombudsman.

Mr Overland resigned as chief commissioner in June last year after Mr Brouwer found his claim of a 27.5 per cent reduction in assaults on Melbourne’s streets was “misleading and inconsistent with all other available data”.

Mr Brouwer said the decision to release the dodgy crime statistics on the eve of the state election was Mr Overland’s “and his alone”.

Mr Overland told the Ombudsman he disputes some of the findings.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/simon-overland-finds-a-stern-critic-in-ombudsman/story-fn6bfkm6-1226404930729

First published: 2012-07-04 06:45 AM