Controversial former prosecutor floated as a Federal Court prospect … May be posted to the court’s crime busting unit … Possibly the chief commissioner of attorney general Porter’s “Integrity” Commission … Conjecture alive with possibilities … Judicial eye rolling … Ginger Snatch, associate to judges, reports 

Jaw dropping as this may seem, Cunneen who is a former crown prosecutor, is a favourite of the ultra-conservative Porter – a party room supporter of Peter Dutton for PM. 

He appointed Cunneen last year to advise on the government’s proposed Commonwealth Integrity Commission. What emerged subsequently was a camel like scheme with two divisions, one to investigate complaints about federal law enforcement, such as the AFP, ASIC, the ATO, etc, and the other to examine allegations against politicians, their staff, public servants and government service providers. 

This sham of an “integrity” commission is right up Cunneen’s alley, as she was bruised by a preliminary ICAC investigation in 2014 for allegedly perverting the course of justice over a car accident involving her son’s then girlfriend. 

Cunneen challenged ICAC’s investigation (Operation Hale) and ultimately, as a result of a tortured decision from the High Court on the meaning of “corrupt conduct”, ICAC’s ambit was trimmed by parliament. Cunneen has since said that ICAC could be “completely destroyed”. 

There was an expectation in 2016 that ICAC’s parliamentary oversight committee would release incriminating transcripts of the intercepts by the Australian Crime Commission that also captured some of Cunneen’s conversations. 

However, the lid has remained tightly clamped on the full intercept. 

Cunneen’s prosecutorial style was criticised by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal in 2013, with a finding that her conduct contributed to a miscarriage of justice in a murder case.  

Justice Hormones Harrision said part of Cunneen’s address to the jury was “offensive to the proper understanding of how a prosecutor should behave”. 

The prosecutor had asserted there was blood under “nearly all” of the accused’s fingernails and that this incriminated him. In fact, there was no expert evidence that the blood definitely was that of the victim. 

The government has been pumping money into ASIC, the Commonwealth DPP and the Federal Court to handle what is expected to be a beefed-up corporate crime agenda – a fallout from the Hayne report. 

The federal budget provided an extra allocation of $35 million to the Federal Court for more judges with criminal experience, more staff and new court rooms. In Melbourne, court staff are being shifted into other accomodation in order to create additional judicial chambers. 

Two new “crime” judges have been appointed to the court in Sydney and two in Melbourne. It is conceivable that should Cunneen be appointed to the court she would be allocated to the new corporate crime jurisdiction. 

Another prospective scenario is that she would be the first chief commissioner of Porter’s Commonwealth Integrity Commission, a position with federal judicial status. 

There were reports of judges at the Federal Court rolling their eyes when news reached them that Cunneen might join the bench.

Many established authorities point to the fact that all rumours are true, or at least partially true. In a post-truth era it will be interesting to see if the talk around town about her appointment bears fruit. The NSW DPP’s office says that it has not been involved in exploratory consultations about a prospective appointment for the former prosecutor.