Procedure and Privileges Committee Misleading the House: Statements Made by the Member for Darling Range Report No. 2 May 2018 Legislative Assembly Parliament of Western Australia Committee Members Chair Hon Peter Watson MLA Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Member for Albany Deputy Chair Ms Lisa Baker MLA Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Member for Maylands Members Mr Ian Blayney MLA Member for Geraldton Mr Kevin Michel MLA Member for Pilbara Mr Peter Rundle MLA Member for Roe Committee Staff Principal Research Officer Dr Isla Macphail, BA (Hons), MPhil, PhD Advisers Ms Kirsten Robinson, BA (Hons), MA Clerk of the Legislative Assembly Mr Scott Nalder, BJuris (Hons), LLB, BCL Deputy Clerk of the Legislative Assembly Legislative Assembly Tel: (08) 9222 7219 Parliament House 4 Harvest Terrace Email: lappc@parliament.wa.gov.au WEST PERTH WA 6005 Website: www.parliament.wa.gov.au Published by the Parliament of Western Australia, Perth. May 2018. ISBN: 978-1-925724-07-3 (Series: Western Australia. Parliament. Legislative Assembly. Committees. Procedure and Privileges Committee. Report 2) 328.365 Procedure and Privileges Committee Misleading the House: Statements Made by the Member for Darling Range Report No. 2 Presented by Hon Peter Watson MLA Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Laid on the Table of the Legislative Assembly on 8 May 2018 Chair’s Foreword On Thursday, 30 November 2017, the Legislative Assembly referred the following Inquiry to the Procedure and Privileges Committee: That this House requests the Procedure and Privileges Committee to consider and report back to the House by a date to be determined by the Committee itself whether there have been any breaches of privilege in relation to any statements made to the House by the Member for Darling Range. I believe that this has been one of the most difficult inquiries undertaken by the Legislative Assembly’s Procedure and Privileges Committee. While the Committee in previous Parliaments has examined the actions of members on various occasions, none of these inquiries has involved consideration of matters of such seriousness as to warrant the findings and recommendations detailed in this Report. The Committee does not make these findings and recommendations lightly. The Committee is aware that if the House supports these recommendations, it will be the first time that a member has been expelled from the Parliament of Western Australia. The expulsion of a member is a serious action and one that must never be taken without the strongest justification. The Committee considers there is such justification in this case. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow Committee members— Ms Lisa Baker MLA, Mr Ian Blayney MLA, Mr Kevin Michel MLA and Mr Peter Rundle MLA—for the conscientious, respectful and bipartisan way in which they have approached this task. They have worked together in a manner befitting the significance and seriousness of the matter under investigation. I would also like to thank the staff of the Committee, Principal Research Officer Dr Isla Macphail and advisers Ms Kirsten Robinson, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, and Mr Scott Nalder, Deputy Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, for their professional support, assistance and advice. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the first-rate intellect and work ethic demonstrated by Dr Macphail. Finally, on behalf of the Committee, I would like to thank the many individuals and organisations in Australia and the United Kingdom who have taken the time to provide comprehensive responses to the Committee’s requests for information. Hon Peter Watson MLA Chair Contents Findings and Recommendations 1 2 3 4 Introduction 1 Procedure and Privileges Committee 1 Referral to the Committee 2 Background to the Referral 2 Terms of Reference 6 Contempt of Parliament 8 Scope of the Inquiry 10 Conduct of the Inquiry 11 The Statements in Contention 15 Degree from the University of Leeds 15 Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth 23 Diploma of Local Government from the Western Australian Local Government Association 32 Investigating Atrocities in the Balkans 40 Replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal 57 Cumulative Weight of Evidence Regarding the Statements in Contention 79 Aggravated Contempt 81 Misleading the House’s Referred Inquiry 81 Long-standing Pattern of Deceptive Behaviour 84 Protecting the House 91 A Collective Decision 91 Adverse Consequences of the Member’s Contempt 91 Penalties for Contempt 94 Expulsion 97 Concluding Observations 100 Recommendations 101 Appendices 105 1 Inquiry’s Terms of Reference 105 2 Committee’s Functions and Powers 107 3 Statement Appearing on Mr Urban’s MLA Facebook Page 109 4 Mr Urban’s Personal Explanation 111 5 Extract from Biographical Information 113 6 Mr Urban’s Inaugural Speech 115 7 West Midlands Police Career Review 119 8 Degree from the University of Leeds 123 9 Hertfordshire Constabulary Staff Appraisal 125 10 Certificate of Higher Education in Policing, University of Portsmouth 131 11 WALGA Academic Transcript 133 12 West Midlands Police Assignment History 135 13 West Midlands Police Comparative Assignment Histories 137 14 List of West Midlands Police Officers Seconded to Bosnia 139 15 Photographs of Medals Provided to the Committee by Mr Urban 141 16 Comparison of Mr Urban’s MLA Facebook Page Biography 145 Findings and Recommendations Finding 1 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range was not awarded a BA (Hons) in Physical Education, Applied Social Sciences from the University of Leeds. Finding 2 The Committee is satisfied that: 1. The Member for Darling Range’s statement on his Biographical Information form that he had attended ‘Leeds University 1990–93’ and had achieved a ‘BA (Hons) Physical Education & Applied Social Science’, and his statement during his Inaugural Speech that ‘The police force supported me twice through university’ are misleading. 2. At the time the Member for Darling Range made the statements he knew they were inaccurate. 3. In making the inaccurate statements the Member for Darling Range intended to mislead the House. Accordingly, the Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range deliberately misled the House and has thereby committed a contempt of Parliament. Finding 3 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range was not awarded a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth. Finding 4 The Committee is satisfied that: 1. The Member for Darling Range’s statement on his Biographical Information form that he had attended ‘Portsmouth University 1993–94’ and had achieved a ‘Post Grad – Police Studies’, and his statement during his Inaugural Speech that ‘The police force supported me twice through university’ are misleading. 2. At the time the Member for Darling Range made the statements he knew they were inaccurate. 3. In making the inaccurate statements the Member for Darling Range intended to mislead the House. Accordingly, the Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range deliberately misled the House and has thereby committed a contempt of Parliament. Finding 5 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range was not awarded a Diploma of Local Government nor did he complete ‘nine out of the 10 modules’ of the Diploma of Local Government. Finding 6 The Committee is satisfied that: 1. The Member for Darling Range’s statement on his Biographical Information form that he had achieved a ‘Diploma Local Government’, and his statement in his Personal Explanation that he had ‘completed nine out of the 10 modules’ of the Diploma of Local Government are misleading. 2. At the time the Member for Darling Range made the statements he knew they were inaccurate. 3. In making the inaccurate statements the Member for Darling Range intended to mislead the House. The Committee accordingly finds that the Member for Darling Range deliberately misled the House and has thereby committed a contempt of Parliament. Finding 7 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range did not serve in the Balkans in late 1998. Finding 8 The Committee is satisfied that: 1. The Member for Darling Range’s statement in his Inaugural Speech that ‘In late 1998, following a period investigating atrocities that humans do to each other in the Balkans’ was misleading. 2. At the time the Member for Darling Range made the statement he knew it was inaccurate. 3. In making the inaccurate statement the Member for Darling Range intended to mislead the House. Accordingly, the Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range has deliberately misled the House and has thereby committed a contempt of Parliament. Finding 9 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range did not serve in an international capacity while serving with West Midlands Police and, hence, was not entitled to wear any form of ‘commemorative international police service medal’. Accordingly, the Member for Darling Range could not have ‘mistakenly believed’ he was ‘entitled to wear’ any form of international police service medal and, as a corollary, could also not have been under a ‘genuine but mistaken belief’ that the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal he had been wearing was a ‘correct’ medal for him to wear. Finding 10 The Committee is satisfied that: 1. The Member for Darling Range’s statements in his Personal Explanation that ‘in the early 2000s, I ordered a commemorative international police service medal from a recognised military supplier in Western Australia. What I received instead was an Australian Police Overseas Service Medal, which I mistakenly believed I was entitled to wear but which I now recognise I was not eligible to wear. When I was first asked about the medal by the media and the Premier, I was under the genuine but mistaken belief that it was the correct medal’ are misleading. 2. At the time the Member for Darling Range made the statements he knew they were inaccurate. 3. In making the inaccurate statements the Member for Darling Range intended to mislead the House. Accordingly, the Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range deliberately misled the House and has thereby committed a contempt of Parliament. Finding 11 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range has deliberately misled the House with respect to all five statements in contention and has thereby committed a sustained and gross contempt of Parliament. Finding 12 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range, in both his written submissions to the Committee and in his testimony before the Committee, deliberately sought to mislead the Committee by asserting: 1. He had a degree from the University of Leeds. 2. He had a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth. 3. He had completed nine out of the 10 modules of a Diploma of Local Government. 4. He was, in the second half of 1998, seconded from West Midlands Police and served with the United Nations mission in Bosnia, where he provided security for a team investigating war crimes. 5. He was posted a service medal by UK authorities. 6. He subsequently lost such a medal. 7. He was entitled to wear such a medal. 8. He was under a genuine but mistaken belief that he was entitled to wear a replica police overseas service medal. Finding 13 The Committee further finds that the Member for Darling Range deliberately sought to deceive the Committee by providing to it a forgery of a degree from the University of Leeds. Finding 14 Accordingly, the Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range in providing deliberately misleading testimony and submissions, including the provision of a forged document, to an Inquiry specifically constituted to establish the veracity or otherwise of his statements, has committed a gross and aggravated contempt of Parliament. Finding 15 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range has deliberately misrepresented his educational qualifications and work history over an extended period. Recommendation 1 The Legislative Assembly finds the Member for Darling Range guilty of the following contempts of the Legislative Assembly – (a) he deliberately misled the House when he represented on his Biographical Information that: (i) he had attended ‘Leeds University 1990–93’ and had achieved a ‘BA (Hons) Physical Education & Applied Social Science’; (ii) he had attended ‘Portsmouth University 1993–94’ and had achieved a ‘Post Grad – Police Studies’; and (iii) he had achieved a ‘Diploma Local Government’; (b) he deliberately misled the House in his Inaugural Speech when he said: (i) ‘The police force supported me twice through university’; and (ii) ‘In late 1998, following a period investigating atrocities that humans do to each other in the Balkans’; and (c) he deliberately misled the House in his Personal Explanation when he said: (i) ‘in the early 2000s, I ordered a commemorative international police service medal from a recognised military supplier in Western Australia. What I received instead was an Australian Police Overseas Service Medal, which I mistakenly believed I was entitled to wear but which I now recognise I was not eligible to wear. When I was first asked about the medal by the media and the Premier, I was under the genuine but mistaken belief that it was the correct medal’; and (ii) ‘I completed nine out of the 10 modules’. Recommendation 2 The Legislative Assembly finds that the Member for Darling Range, in committing the contempts above, has committed a sustained and gross contempt of Parliament, and has abused the privilege of freedom of speech. Recommendation 3 The Legislative Assembly finds the Member for Darling Range, in both his written submissions to the Procedure and Privileges Committee and in his testimony before the Committee, deliberately sought to mislead the Committee by asserting that: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) he had a degree from the University of Leeds; he had a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth; he had completed nine out of the 10 modules of a Diploma of Local Government; he was, in the second half of 1998, seconded from West Midlands Police and served with the United Nations mission in Bosnia, where he provided security for a team investigating war crimes; he was posted a medal from UK authorities; he subsequently lost such a medal; he was entitled to wear such a medal; and he was under a genuine but mistaken belief that he was entitled to wear a replica police overseas service medal. Recommendation 4 The Legislative Assembly finds the Member for Darling Range deliberately sought to deceive the Committee by providing to it a forgery of a degree from the University of Leeds. Recommendation 5 The Legislative Assembly finds that the Member for Darling Range, in providing deliberately misleading testimony and submissions, including the provision of a forged document, to an Inquiry specifically constituted to establish the veracity or otherwise of his statements, has committed a gross and aggravated contempt of Parliament, and has abused the privilege of freedom of speech. Recommendation 6 The Legislative Assembly finds that the Member for Darling Range has deliberately misrepresented his educational qualifications and work history over an extended period. Recommendation 7 The Legislative Assembly expels the Member for Darling Range as a member of the Legislative Assembly, and declares the seat of Darling Range vacant by reason of such expulsion. Recommendation 8 The Legislative Assembly resolves to revoke any and all privileges the Member for Darling Range would otherwise have as a former member of the Parliament. Chapter 1 Introduction Members of the Legislative Assembly accordingly acknowledge their responsibility to maintain the public trust placed in them by performing their duties with honesty and integrity, respecting the law and the institution of Parliament, and using their influence to advance the common good of the people of Western Australia. Preamble to the Code of Conduct for Members of the Legislative Assembly 1 Procedure and Privileges Committee The Legislative Assembly Procedure and Privileges Committee (‘the Committee’) is appointed at the commencement of each new Parliament by resolution of the House. As the Committee’s designation would indicate, the Committee has responsibility under Legislative Assembly Standing Order 284 to ‘examine and report on the procedures of the Assembly’ and to ‘examine and report on issues of privilege’. The principal privilege held by members of Parliament is freedom of speech and debate. This privilege has been claimed as a right by members of Parliament at Westminster from the early 16th century and was given statutory force in Article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1689: That the Freedome of Speech and Debates or Proceedings in Parlyament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any Court or Place out of Parlyament. 2 Article 9 applies at the Parliament of Western Australia through both common law and statute. Given Article 9 imposes a jurisdictional bar to courts of law impeaching or questioning statements made by members during parliamentary proceedings, it is the responsibility of the House itself, in the exercise of its exclusive cognisance, to investigate and adjudicate on matters regarding members’ parliamentary speech. Such investigations are customarily delegated to a Privileges Committee, which can make findings and recommendations on the evidence gathered. The determination of any matter of privilege, however, is the collective responsibility of the House. 1 The Code of Conduct for Members of the Legislative Assembly was adopted by the House on 28 August 2003 and is a resolution of continuing effect. 2 1 William & Mary Sess 2 c. 2. 1 Chapter 1 When matters of privilege are raised regarding a member of the Legislative Assembly, they can be referred to the Committee for consideration by means of a resolution of the House. Referral to the Committee On 30 November 2017 the Premier, Hon Mark McGowan MLA, moved, without notice, a suspension of Standing Orders to enable the following motion to be moved forthwith: That this House requests the Procedure and Privileges Committee to consider and report back to the House by a date to be determined by the Committee itself whether there have been any breaches of privilege in relation to any statements made to the House by the Member for Darling Range. 3 The suspension motion was carried and, after debate, the Legislative Assembly agreed unanimously to the substantive motion which accordingly became a referral to the Committee. Background to the Referral The following chronology provides the background to the referral: 18 November 2017 — the front page of The Weekend West newspaper featured a story—‘MP’s FAKE MEDAL: “Wrong” police award worn for 17 years’—by the paper’s State Political Editor, Mr Gary Adshead, which claimed that the Member for Darling Range had worn a police service medal to which he was not entitled while attending commemoration services. In the article, Mr Urban was reported as stating that ‘his medal was a legitimate international police award for his peacekeeping and war crimes investigations while serving as a British police officer in Bosnia–Herzegovina in the late 1990s’ but that he must have been sent the wrong medal by the British police in 2000. Later on the same day, a statement was posted on Mr Urban’s MLA Facebook account (attached at Appendix Three), which claimed: In 1997 when I was a Police Constable with West Midlands Police Service I applied to the UK Police to serve as part of a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the NATO peacekeeping force. I was deployed during this campaign for approximately nine months. … In the early 2000s I ordered a Commemorative International Police Service medal from a military store in Western Australia, so I would have a medal to recognise the 3 Hon Mark McGowan MLA, Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 30 November 2017, p. 6397. 2 Chapter 1 work I did in international policing. What I received instead was an Australian ‘Overseas Service Medal’. … The purchase of this medal was incorrect and wrong. I apologise to anyone that has been offended by this mistake. 19 November 2017 — The Sunday Times published a story on page 28 by the paper’s Political Editor, Mr Joe Spagnolo, entitled ‘MP’s wrong medal regret’, which reported Mr Urban’s admission in his Facebook Statement that he had purchased the wrong service medal in the early 2000s. 20 November 2017 — The West Australian published an article on page 9 by Mr Dylan Caporn entitled, ‘Pressure on fake medal MP’, which discussed the fake medal story and reported that the national president of the United Nations and Overseas Policing Association of Australia had called for Mr Urban to release his service record. 21 November 2017 — The West Australian featured a front-page story by Mr Adshead entitled: ‘URBAN MYTH: MP’s service history edited amid medal scandal’. The story reported that Mr Urban’s LinkedIn account had been closed down and his official biography on his MLA Facebook account no longer included his tertiary qualifications or service in Bosnia. Mr Adshead discussed the subject at greater length in a second article—‘Fake medal row pins McGowan’—on page 47 of the same newspaper. The Legislative Assembly met on 21 November 2017 and Question Time was dominated by questions relating to the Member for Darling Range, including questions calling on the Premier to ‘guarantee there are no other concerns with the Member’s CV more widely’.4 The Premier advised that the State office of the Australian Labor Party was seeking confirmation of Mr Urban’s service record and that any information obtained would be made public. 5 The Premier also advised the House that the Member was under medical care. 6 22 November 2017 — The West Australian carried another front-page article by Mr Adshead—‘Uni degree an Urban myth’—which cast doubt on Mr Urban’s claim that he held a BA (Hons) degree in Physical Education from Leeds University. The West Australian’s editorial on page 24 of the same day dealt with the allegations surrounding Mr Urban. Hon Dr Mike Nahan MLA, Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 21 November 2017, p. 5798. 5 Hon Mark McGowan MLA, Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 21 November 2017, p. 5800. 6 Hon Mark McGowan MLA, Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 21 November 2017, p. 5798. 4 3 Chapter 1 Following this story, Question Time in the Legislative Assembly saw a number of questions relating to Mr Urban and his qualifications. The Premier advised that the Labor Party was seeking confirmation of the academic qualifications 7 and the Minister for Police advised that she had sought information from the Commissioner of Police regarding the Member’s police personnel file. 8 The Premier advised that he expected the Member would ‘make a full statement to the House’—an expectation that would be repeated in the House on a number of occasions by the Premier and other Ministers. 9 23 November 2017 — The West Australian published an article on page 7 by Mr Adshead— ‘Minister backs fake medal MP’—which outlined, inter alia, that the State Veterans Affairs Minister had defended Mr Urban and that the Premier had expressed the hope that when Mr Urban was well enough he would make a Personal Explanation in Parliament. Question Time in the Legislative Assembly again featured a number of questions relating to Mr Urban. 24 November 2017 — The West Australian published an article on page 16 by Mr Adshead with the headline ‘Urban poll claims could face scrutiny’ which stated that misleading election material used by Mr Urban during the 2017 Election campaign could be referred to the Western Australian Electoral Commission. 25 November 2017 — The Weekend West included an article on page 13 by Mr Adshead— ‘Fake-medal MP to talk’—which reported that Mr Urban was ‘expected to return to Parliament next week to fully explain his credentials’. 26 November 2017 — The Sunday Times carried a story on page 40 by Mr Spagnolo entitled ‘Medal row tests Labor’s mettle’ which stated that the Premier was ‘weighing up punishments for Urban — knowing he must punish the MP in some way or face the prospect of facing criticism for being soft on liars’. 28 November 2017 — The West Australian published an article on page 10 by Mr Adshead entitled ‘Curtain closes on sour note’ which itemised the various matters Mr Urban would need to clarify in his statement to the Parliament. Hon Mark McGowan MLA, Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 22 November 2017, p. 5925. 8 Hon Michelle Roberts MLA, Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 22 November 2017, pp. 5933–5934. 9 Hon Mark McGowan MLA, Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 22 November 2017, p. 5925. 7 4 Chapter 1 During Question Time in the Legislative Assembly, the Premier advised his expectation that the Member for Darling Range would be making a Personal Explanation ‘tomorrow or the next day’. 10 29 November 2017 — The West Australian published a front-page article by Mr Adshead—‘NEW URBAN DOUBT’—which cast doubt on Mr Urban’s claim that he held a post-graduate qualification in policing from Portsmouth University. On 29 November 2017 Mr Urban, who had not attended sittings at Parliament following the publication of the first newspaper story by Mr Adshead, announced his resignation from the Labor Party, and his intention to relinquish his membership on two parliamentary committees. The Legislative Assembly debated a suspension of Standing Orders motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition, Hon Dr Mike Nahan MLA: ‘That this House calls on the Procedure and Privileges Committee to investigate whether claims made by the Member for Darling Range regarding his education and service record amount to a contempt of Parliament’. 11 This motion was defeated, in large part, because it was widely anticipated that Mr Urban would be addressing the Legislative Assembly on the following day and clarifying matters in a Personal Explanation, and that it would only be ‘natural justice’ to provide the Member with this opportunity. 12 30 November 2017 — The West Australian published a front-page article by Mr Adshead—‘URBAN DECAY: MP quits Labor Party but stays in Parliament’—which reported Mr Urban’s decision to leave the Labor Party and sit as an Independent. A further article by Mr Adshead on page 5—‘No escape from new MP’s web of deceit’— put the case that the Member should resign from Parliament. An editorial, ‘Parliament and voters need to hear full story about Urban’, on page 20, put the position that Mr Urban must provide a full and verifiable account of his service history and educational qualifications when he made his Personal Explanation to Parliament. On Thursday 30 November 2017, the last sitting day of the Assembly for the year, Mr Urban made a Personal Explanation to the House to address ‘allegations that have been made about my past service and education’. 13 The Personal Explanation is attached at Appendix Four. Hon Mark McGowan MLA, Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 28 November 2017, p. 6139. 11 Hon Dr Mike Nahan MLA, Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 29 November 2017, p. 6285. 12 Hon Bill Johnston MLA, Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 29 November 2017, pp. 6286–6287; Hon Mark McGowan MLA, Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 29 November 2017, p. 6292. 13 Mr Barry Urban MLA, 30 November 2017, Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 30 November 2017, p. 6392. 10 5 Chapter 1 In the Personal Explanation, the Member made no mention of service in Bosnia; stated that he was ‘currently seeking further information from the relevant authorities to substantiate’ his police service history and his academic qualifications; and stated his wearing of the incorrect Australian Police Overseas Service Medal was due to his ‘genuine but mistaken belief that it was the correct medal’. Mr Urban then disclosed that he had claimed to have completed a Diploma of Local Government, but had only ‘completed nine out of the 10 modules ... it was not completed’. Mr Urban concluded his Personal Explanation by revealing that he had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a ‘consequence of my service with the UK and WA police’; that he was under medical treatment; and he apologised ‘unreservedly’ to the Parliament. Following the Personal Explanation, the Speaker announced the resignation of the Member from the parliamentary committees on which he was serving, and within half an hour of the Personal Explanation, the Premier moved the suspension of Standing Orders which resulted in the referral of the Inquiry to this Committee. Terms of Reference The Committee met on 30 November 2017 and resolved that the direction to consider ‘any statements made to the House’ in the referred terms of reference, properly included statements made by the Member for Darling Range on the official Biographical Information form he had provided to the Legislative Assembly following his election to the House. The Biographical Information form is a five-page questionnaire which the Legislative Assembly issues to newly elected members. It is clear from the front page of the form, which is headed by the Parliament of Western Australia’s crest, that the questionnaire is an official parliamentary document. The importance of the biographical information being sought—and advice that the information will be published—is underlined in a text box on the front page of the form: The information requested below will be used in preparing the forthcoming Parliamentary Handbook, which will be available in August 2017, and the online Members’ Biographical Register. Both publications are revised and updated after each election and contain biographical details of current and former members of the Parliament of Western Australia. The Western Australian Parliament has the most comprehensive series of historical publications in Australia and the information contained in these two publications together preserve the history of this Parliament for current and future generations. It would be appreciated if you could complete this form as fully as possible and return it to the address listed at the end of the form. Please indicate if any of the information provided below is not for publication or disclosure without your prior consent. At the end of the questionnaire, members are requested to return the form by hand, mail or email to the Legislative Assembly Office. The Member for Darling Range 6 Chapter 1 completed the questionnaire and returned it to the Legislative Assembly Office. The Member did not indicate that he required any of the information he provided to be withheld from publication or disclosure. The relevant extract from the Member’s completed Biographical Information form is attached at Appendix Five. In addition to the statements made to the House by the Member up to and including 30 November 2017, the Committee has relied upon statements which Mr Urban has subsequently made to the Committee as part of its Inquiry. Such statements include Mr Urban’s written submissions to the Committee and his oral testimony at his hearing. The statements made by the Member to the House do not exist in a vacuum. Indeed, Mr Urban on many occasions during the Inquiry has referred at length to his own statements made outside the House. Accordingly, the Committee has informed itself of statements which Mr Urban has made outside the House to enable it to test the veracity of the statements he has made to the House. With respect to the terms of reference, the Committee advises that there is a clear distinction to be drawn between a ‘breach of privilege’ and an ‘abuse of privilege’—a distinction which was explained by the Western Australian Parliamentary Standards Committee in its 1989 report as follows: A breach of privilege essentially occurs when a person or body violates, disregards, obstructs, removes or attempts to remove one of the constituent rights or immunities either of Members individually or either House collectively and which are known by the general name of privileges and which either through common law or statute go to make up what is recognised in law as parliamentary privilege. ... An ‘abuse of privilege’ could occur when a Member, or a House of Parliament, uses parliamentary privilege to act in a manner which exceeds the purpose for which the privilege is claimed or takes unfair advantage of the privilege ... 14 As the Procedure and Privileges Committee of the 38th Parliament observed: ‘It is plain that the act of exercising the privilege of freedom of speech cannot constitute a breach of that privilege—to do so would effectively nullify the privilege’. 15 Notwithstanding this, the House has the capacity to determine that statements made by members constitute an abuse of the privilege. Western Australia, Parliamentary Standards Committee, Report of the Parliamentary Standards Committee, Volume 1, Report, Findings and Recommendations, [Perth], [Government Printer], 1989, pp. 31 and 32. 15 Western Australia, Legislative Assembly, Procedure and Privileges Committee, Comments Made by the Member for Cannington, Report No. 10, 2010, p. 3. 14 7 Chapter 1 Deliberately misleading the House and/or its Committees is an abuse of the privilege of freedom of speech and is regarded under parliamentary law as constituting a contempt of Parliament. Contempt of Parliament A contempt of Parliament has been defined in the leading authority on parliamentary law and practice, Erskine May’s Treatise on The Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament (‘Erskine May’), thus: ... any act or omission which obstructs or impedes either House of Parliament in the performance of its functions, or which obstructs or impedes any Member or officer of such House in the discharge of his duty, or which has a tendency, directly or indirectly, to produce such results, may be treated as a contempt ... 16 There is very little precedent to guide the Committee with the specific contempt of misleading the House. Indeed, the scarcity of precedent was commented upon by the Parliament of Queensland’s Members’ Ethics and Parliamentary Privileges Committee in a 1997 report: Research has been unable to find any instance where a contempt for misleading the House has been found in the Commonwealth Parliament, New Zealand, House of Commons and Queensland other than the Profumo case. This tends to indicate the seriousness of the contempt and the degree of proof required. 17 The Profumo case still remains the leading precedent in Westminster parliaments. The salient points of this case are that on 22 March 1963 the British Secretary of State for War, Mr John Profumo, made a Personal Statement in the House of Commons in which he denied the truth of allegations which had been levelled against him. On 4 June 1963 Mr Profumo admitted that part of his Personal Statement had been untrue and on the following day he resigned from the Ministry and the Parliament. The House of Commons at that time was in recess; upon the resumption of sittings, the House—of the view that it ‘should find a formal way of recording the censure of the House’ 18 so as to ‘form part of the record in future for the guidance of all of us’ 19—passed the following resolution: Sir Malcolm Jack (ed.), Erskine May’s Treatise on The Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament, 24th edn, LexisNexis, London, 2011, p. 251. 17 Legislative Assembly of Queensland, Members’ Ethics and Parliamentary Privileges Committee, Report on a Matter of Privilege – The Alleged Misleading of the House by a Minister on 14 November 1996, Report No. 4, [January 1997] p. 4. 18 Mr Iain Macleod, Member for Enfield West, Hansard Official Report, 20 June 1963, Vol. 679, cc. 655– 56. 19 Mr George Brown, Member for Belper, Hansard Official Report, 20 June 1963, Vol. 679, cc. 655–56. 16 8 Chapter 1 That Mr. John Profumo, in making a personal statement to this House on 22nd March, 1963, which contained words which he later admitted not to be true, was guilty of a grave contempt of this House. 20 In determining whether a member has committed the contempt of deliberately misleading the House and/or its Committees, many parliaments in the Westminster system apply tests. One well-known test is formulated in McGee’s Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand (‘McGee’), which states that there are three elements to be satisfied: (1) the statement must, in fact, have been misleading; (2) the member must have known that the statement was inaccurate at the time the statement was made; and (3) the member must have intended to mislead the House. 21 McGee expands upon the notion of deliberately misleading: For a misleading of the House to be deliberate, there must be an indication of an intention to mislead. Remarks made off the cuff in debate can rarely fall into this category, nor can matters of which the member can be aware only in an official capacity. But an inference of an intention to mislead can be drawn where the member can be assumed to have personal knowledge of the stated facts and made the statement in a formal manner or situation, such as by way of personal explanation. 22 The burden of proof to establish whether a member is guilty of contempt is the civil standard of the balance of probabilities. This means that the Committee must be satisfied that it is more probable than not that Mr Urban intended to deliberately mislead the House. The Committee notes, however, that parliamentary practice calls for a higher standard of proof than the balance of probabilities in serious contempt cases which involve serious consequences. Erskine May cautions that: In determining a Member’s guilt or innocence, the criterion applied at all stages should be at least that the allegation is proved on the balance of probabilities. In the case of more serious charges, a higher standard of proof may be appropriate. 23 20 Hansard Official Report, 20 June 1963, Vol. 679, cc. 665. 21 Mary Harris and David Wilson, eds, Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand, 4th edn, Oratia, Auckland, 2017, p. 775. It is worth noting that the term misleading can encompass more than ‘untrue’ or ‘false’ or ‘incorrect’ statements. As the Parliament of Queensland’s Ethics Committee observed in 2013 quoting in part from an earlier Queensland Ethics Committee Report, it would be ‘“possible, although rare and unlikely, that a technically factually correct statement could also be misleading”—for example, by the deliberate omission of relevant information’—Report No. 139, 2013, p. 22. Lawyers often make a similar distinction between ‘suggestio falsi’ (suggesting a falsehood) and ‘suppressio veri’ (suppressing the truth). 22 McGee, p. 776. 23 Erskine May, 24th edn, p. 200. 9 Chapter 1 McGee similarly underlines that ‘The serious nature of the allegation demands that it be properly established’. 24 The requirement for Parliament to establish proof of a high order where the issue and consequences are serious is consistent with the test applied by courts at common law. In the leading High Court case on the matter, Briginshaw v Briginshaw, Chief Justice Latham articulated the principle: ‘The standard of proof required by a cautious and responsible tribunal will naturally vary in accordance with the seriousness or importance of the issue’. 25 Scope of the Inquiry Essentially, the task set for the Committee is to determine whether the Member for Darling Range has committed a contempt of Parliament by deliberately misleading the House. The Committee’s terms of reference direct the Committee to consider if ‘any statements made to the House’ by the Member breach parliamentary privilege. The Committee is of the view that there are five principal statements, or representations, made by Mr Urban to the House that are in contention and the Committee has focused on these statements in its Inquiry. The five areas of contested speech come from statements that were made on Mr Urban’s Biographical Information form, in his Inaugural Speech of 17 May 2017, and in his Personal Explanation of 30 November 2017. Mr Urban’s Inaugural Speech is attached at Appendix Six. The five contested representations are: 24 25 1. That Mr Urban holds a BA (Hons) in Physical Education, Applied Social Sciences awarded by the University of Leeds. 2. That Mr Urban holds a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing awarded by the University of Portsmouth. 3. That Mr Urban achieved a Diploma of Local Government—a statement later retracted and amended to ‘completed nine out of the 10 modules’ for the Diploma of Local Government—awarded by the Western Australian Local Government Association. McGee, p. 776. Briginshaw v Briginshaw (1938) 60 CLR 336 at 343–44. See also McTiernan J in Briginshaw at 372: ‘English law adopts the reasonable rule that the strictness of the proof of an issue should be governed by the nature of the issue and its consequences’. 10 Chapter 1 4. That in late 1998 Mr Urban served in the Balkans. 5. That when he was wearing the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal, Mr Urban was ‘under the genuine but mistaken belief that it was the correct medal’ which he ‘was entitled to wear’. Conduct of the Inquiry In conducting the Inquiry, the Committee has been mindful of the health and state of mind of Mr Urban, given his advice to the House during his Personal Explanation that he was under medical care. Accordingly, when the Committee requested Mr Urban to attend before it to give evidence, the Committee resolved to hold the hearing in closed session. The Committee also resolved to accept all evidence in this Inquiry as closed evidence. This meant that Mr Urban’s testimony, and evidence received in this Inquiry, were not made available to the public, and could only be disclosed on the authorisation of the Committee. At the same time, the Committee is mindful of the legitimate public interest in this Inquiry and the desirability for committees to be transparent and accountable in their operations. The Committee particularly acknowledges the thoughtful representations made by Mr Adshead during his hearing that: Every member of the WA community, not just the MPs here, have an interest in the dissemination and receipt of information covering government and political matters that affect the public. That is particularly so when the issue concerns the conduct and fitness of office of elected members. To balance the competing interests in this matter, the Committee has resolved to publish substantial extracts from the closed evidence in this Report—in particular, lengthy excerpts from the transcripts of the closed hearings—where it can appropriately do so, to provide as full a picture as possible of the Inquiry’s processes and to provide the rationale for the Committee’s findings and recommendations to the House. As is standard practice, the Committee sought evidence from relevant individuals and institutions. Accordingly, the Committee requested written submissions from the Premier, the Premier’s Office, and the Australian Labor Party (WA Branch); from the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the Opposition’s Office and the Liberal Party (WA Branch); from the Commissioner of Police; from the Minister for Police and the Minister for Police’s Office; from the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA); and from the State Political Editor of The West Australian newspaper, Mr Gary Adshead. The Committee accepted an offer from WA Police to progress inquiries on its behalf regarding Mr Urban’s police service with Hertfordshire Constabulary and West Midlands 11 Chapter 1 Police. Later in the inquiry process, the Committee requested Mr Adshead and Mr Matt Dixon, Assistant State Secretary, Australian Labor Party (WA Branch), to provide oral testimony at hearings. At this point it is worth underlining that the Committee has had to navigate significant challenges in the conduct of the Inquiry, which have added time-consuming layers of complexity to the process of obtaining or confirming information. Under section 4 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891 (WA) and Legislative Assembly Standing Order 264, the Committee, as is the case with all Legislative Assembly committees, has the power to order the attendance of persons and compel the production of papers and records. 26 This coercive power does not, however, extend beyond the state boundary of Western Australia. Accordingly, obtaining information from the United Kingdom and the United Nations has been a protracted and complicated process, often, by necessity, mediated through third parties on the Committee’s behalf, and frequently rendered more complex by the existence of privacy and data protection legislation. A further difficulty has been the lapse of time. A number of the matters the Committee needed to substantiate occurred more than two decades ago and, on occasion, records have been archived or weeded out and relevant individuals have moved to new positions, retired, changed their name through marriage, and become difficult to contact. As a consequence, a number of lines of inquiry undertaken by, or conducted by other individuals or organisations on the Committee’s behalf, have taken several months to follow up and conclude. Given the seriousness of the Inquiry to the Member for Darling Range and the Legislative Assembly, the Committee also considered that it had a responsibility to seek evidence of a high probative value. The Committee rigorously tested, and consistently sought to supplement, the evidence which it had received. This painstaking approach necessarily prolonged the duration of the Inquiry. On 30 November 2017, the Committee wrote to Mr Urban requesting his attendance at a hearing on 15 December 2017 at which he could provide evidence regarding those statements to the House that were the subject of the Inquiry. 26 Section 4 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891 (WA) reads as follows: 4. Power to order attendance of persons Each House of the Parliament of the said Colony, and any Committee of either House, duly authorised by the House to send for persons and papers, may order any person to attend before the House or before such Committee, as the case may be, and also to produce to such House or Committee any paper, book, record, or other document in the possession or power of such person. 12 Chapter 1 On 12 December 2017 the Committee was contacted by Mr Urban’s legal representatives who requested a one-month postponement of his hearing due to advice from Mr Urban’s clinical psychologist. The Committee reviewed the medical advice and acceded to this request. Mr Urban’s hearing was re-scheduled to 15 January 2018. On 18 December 2017 the Committee emailed a detailed letter to Mr Urban and his legal representatives. The letter set out the issues that Mr Urban would be questioned on in his appearance before the Committee. The letter expressed the Committee’s expectation that Mr Urban, and his legal team, would proactively assist the Committee in determining the truth of Mr Urban’s five contested statements. On 11 January 2018 Mr Urban’s legal counsel provided the Committee with Mr Urban’s written submissions. The submissions provided information regarding the five contested statements, but did not confirm Mr Urban’s educational qualifications nor his service in the Balkans. Included with the submissions was a medical certificate from Mr Urban’s clinical psychologist, dated 11 January 2018, which advised that Mr Urban had returned to work in his electorate office and was ‘fit to attend this meeting [hearing] and to answer straight forward [sic], reasonable questions’. On 15 January 2018 Mr Urban provided oral testimony to the Committee. Mr Urban was granted the Committee’s permission to be assisted by two legal representatives at his hearing, Mr Mark Trowell QC and Mr Roman Kan. Mr Urban consulted freely and extensively with both counsel during his hearing. In preparation for the hearing, the Committee engaged Mr Philip Urquhart, barrister, who also attended the hearing. Mr Speaker conducted the questioning at the hearing. At the hearing, while Mr Urban reaffirmed that he held a BA (Hons) from the University of Leeds and a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth, he advised that he had been unable to obtain verification from either university that he held these qualifications. With respect to his service in the Balkans, Mr Urban proffered as his sole piece of evidence his 1998 West Midlands Police Career Review in which two of his senior police supervisors spoke prospectively of his ‘aim’ and ‘application’ to serve in Bosnia. The West Midlands Police Career Review is attached at Appendix Seven. Given Mr Urban’s position that he had been unable to confirm the statements in contention, at the hearing the Committee requested, and Mr Urban signed, three consent forms (each entitled ‘Consent to Disclose Information to a Third Party’) to enable the Committee to attempt to secure verification of his educational qualifications and his service in the Balkans. The first consent form was addressed to the York St John University. The second consent form was addressed to the University of Portsmouth. The 13 Chapter 1 third consent form was addressed to: (1) all UK Police Forces; (2) NATO; and (3) the United Nations, and authorised the Committee to receive details of Mr Urban’s service in Bosnia. The Committee received the assistance of WA Police and the Australian Federal Police in pursuing these inquiries, and also enlisted the assistance of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon Julie Bishop MP, to prosecute inquiries with the United Nations via the Australian Permanent Mission. In addition to these lines of inquiry, the Committee made direct contact with current and former police officers who knew Mr Urban in the 1990s at Hertfordshire Constabulary and West Midlands Police. By April 2018 the Committee was satisfied that it had gathered sufficient evidence to enable it to report to the House. A summary and review of the evidence is provided in Chapter 2 of this Report. On 12 April 2018 the Committee forwarded its significant adverse draft findings to Mr Urban and invited Mr Urban to provide a written response to these findings to the Committee by 26 April 2018. Mr Urban’s lawyers responded on his behalf to the Committee on 26 April 2018, advising the following: Without disclosure of the Committee's reasoning, Mr Urban is unable to respond substantively to the draft significant adverse findings. Further, we note that the Committee has conducted its enquiries into these matters. As such, it is likely that the Committee is in possession of material that Mr Ubran [sic] does not have. This also prevents Mr Ubran [sic] from responding substantively. Procedural fairness would dictate that the Committee provide its reasons and disclosure of the material that it has in its possession. To merely produce the results without reasoning or disclosure is unfair and a denial of natural justice. Nevertheless, we accept that Parliament controls its procedures. One of which is to not provide reasoning of for its own decisions in cases of contempt. As no new evidence was adduced by Mr Urban, the Committee finalised its findings and on 2 May 2018 advised Mr Urban and his legal counsel of the penalties which the Committee would be recommending to the House in this Report. Mr Urban was invited to provide a written or oral response to the Committee regarding the proposed penalties by 10.30 am on Friday 4 May 2018. Mr Urban’s legal counsel submitted a response at 4.06 pm on Friday 4 May 2018. The Committee considered the response and resolved to adhere to its proposed penalty. 14 Chapter 2 The Statements in Contention Members must be mindful of the privileges conferred when speaking in the Legislative Assembly … Rule 9, Code of Conduct for Members of the Legislative Assembly Members must not knowingly mislead the Parliament or the public in statements they make and are obliged to correct the Parliamentary record as soon as possible when incorrect statements are made unintentionally. Rule 10, Code of Conduct for Members of the Legislative Assembly Degree from the University of Leeds Statements made by Mr Urban On his Biographical Information form, which he submitted to the Legislative Assembly, Mr Urban stated that he attended ‘Leeds University 1990–93’ and that he received a ‘BA (Hons) Physical Education & Applied Social Science’. Mr Urban in his Inaugural Speech stated that ‘The police force supported me twice through university, for which I will be eternally grateful’. In his Personal Explanation Mr Urban stated: ‘in relation to the allegations made against me regarding my tertiary qualifications, I am also seeking information to substantiate those qualifications’. By way of background, the Committee advises that in 1990 the College of Ripon and York St John, in Ripon, North Yorkshire, became a college of the University of Leeds. Students enrolled at the College of Ripon and York St John attended classes at the College in Ripon and were awarded their degrees at ceremonies held in York Minster. Their degrees, however, were conferred under the aegis of the University of Leeds. In 2006 the College of Ripon and York St John became a university in its own right taking on the name ‘York St John University’. In his written submission to the Committee regarding his BA (Hons) degree from the University of Leeds, Mr Urban instructed his lawyers to advise (para 24): a. b. He attended the College of Ripon and York St John (‘College’) to study physical education. He was a Police Officer at Hertfordshire Constabulary at the same time as attending the College. 15 Chapter 2 c. d. e. f. The Hertfordshire Constabulary supported him by scheduling his shifts around his College time table. During this time the University of Leeds took over management of the College. The course continued as usual and when he received his degree it noted the relationship between University of Leeds and College of Ripon and York St John. He did not attend his graduation however he received his certificate by mail some months later. In his written submission, Mr Urban further instructed his lawyers to advise that (para 28): … the statement he made to the House on 17 May 2017 was not intended to mislead the House; however, it is accepted that the account was not strictly accurate in that: a. b. he did not attend the actual campus of Leeds University; and that when he originally enrolled in the course there was no relationship with Leeds University and as such [he] should have been more clear to the House when making this statement. Mr Urban also instructed his lawyers to advise the Committee that he had in his possession a certified photocopy of his BA (Hons) degree from the University of Leeds and that ‘he has not been able to obtain any further relevant documents relevant to this area of enquiry’ (paras 25 and 27). Annexed to the submission was a photocopy of the certified photocopy. The photocopied degree describes the degree as a ‘Bachelor of Arts with Honours, Class II Division I in Physical Education Applied Social Sciences’. At his hearing with the Committee on 15 January 2018, Mr Urban made the following statements regarding his University of Leeds degree: The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, the committee first wants to question you about the Bachelor of Arts degree you obtained in 1994 from the College of Ripon and York St John ... Could you please have a look at the copy of the 1994 degree that you have provided to the committee? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Could you please confirm that this is the copy of your degree? Mr B. URBAN: Yes, it is. The SPEAKER: And do you maintain that you obtained the degree in 1994 from the College of Ripon and York St John? Mr B. URBAN: I do, yes. The SPEAKER: The written submissions filed on your behalf by your legal representatives states at paragraph 27 that you have instructed them you have not been able to obtain any further documents relevant to the committee’s inquiry regarding this degree. Is that correct? Mr B. URBAN: That is correct. The SPEAKER: The committee has made its own inquiries with the York St John University and the university has stated it is prepared to release student information 16 Chapter 2 provided that the student signs a consent form permitting that release. Would you be prepared to sign a consent form so that the university can disclose information to the committee regarding your attendance at the College of Ripon and York St John? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: We will just provide you with this form—consent to disclose information to a third party. … The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, the committee now would like to ask you some questions regarding the Bachelor of Arts degree you obtained from the College of Ripon and York St John. Where did you attend the lectures for this degree? Mr B. URBAN: In Ripon at the college campus. The SPEAKER: Can you name any of the units that you studied for this degree? Mr B. URBAN: No, no. I spent most of my time in a Judo suit if that helps. [Conferring with counsel.] 1993. I honestly cannot remember, truth be known. The SPEAKER: Can you recall any of the names of your lecturers? Mr B. URBAN: No, but I recall the ex-dean of the campus, who used to turn up on a Wednesday afternoon to the rugby and watch us play rugby and he had the college scarf on. I made comment on that when I sent the email to them. No. … The SPEAKER: Did you ever get a copy, Mr Urban, of any documents? Mr B. URBAN: All my documents were left at my mother’s, and just like all my degrees, which were on the wall, when I eventually emigrated to Australia we fell out and I have never spoken to her since. Since then she has passed and she has destroyed everything which I had. At his hearing Mr Urban provided the Committee with a file of documents which included the certified photocopy of his BA (Hons) degree from the University of Leeds. The Committee has electronically scanned the front and back of this document and has reproduced these two pages at Appendix Eight. Summary of Evidence In his written submission to the Committee and at his hearing Mr Urban provided a photocopy of his BA (Hons) degree from the University of Leeds which had been certified on 10 December 1998 by Police Constable Peter Godwin from West Midlands Police. In an attempt to verify the degree, the Committee sent the ‘Consent to Disclose Information to a Third Party’ form, which Mr Urban had signed during his hearing, to both the University of York St John (the successor institution to the College of Ripon and York St John) and the University of Leeds. The form sought confirmation that Mr Urban had been awarded a BA (Hons) degree in Physical Education, Applied Social Sciences from the University of Leeds in July 1994. 17 Chapter 2 On 18 January 2018 Mr Jim Irving, Academic Registrar at York St John University, advised the Committee: York St John University holds electronically archived student record index cards, enrolment lists, and transcripts for past students of the University and its antecedents, including the College of Ripon and York St John at which time awards were issued under the aegis of the University of Leeds. Despite an extensive search of the University’s archived records through which we were able to locate records of students who were awarded the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education Applied Social Sciences in July 1994, we were not able to locate any record relating to Mr Urban. In addition to our investigation of the University’s archived student records, we have reviewed the University’s paper archives, our digital historical archives, locally held information within the University’s academic shcools [sic], and our heritage materials (including Graduation brochures, White Rose magazines, and the Ripon and York St John College rugby team photographs). We have received award listings published in the Yorkshire Evening Press via the publically accessible local newspaper archive. No record relating to Mr Urban was identified as a result of these investigations. I am therefore not able to confirm that Mr Barry Urban was awarded a BA (Hons) in Physical Education Applied Social Sciences in July 1994 from the College of Ripon and York St John. The Committee requested a copy of the awards listing published in The Yorkshire Evening Post and confirmed that while the article ‘Students take day’s honours’ listed the recipients of the BA (Hons) degrees conferred on students of Ripon and York St John College in 1994, the alphabetical listing did not include Mr Urban’s name. The Committee queried with Mr Irving whether graduands’ names would appear in the newspaper if they had been awarded their degree in absentia as Mr Urban claimed to have received his degree. Mr Irving confirmed that university practice has been to send the full list of graduating students to the newspaper—although students are able to opt out of the newspaper listing. The Committee having also requested the graduation booklets for the BA (Hons) ceremony in 1994 notes that The Yorkshire Evening Post listed the names of 40 students whose names did not appear in the graduation programmes. On 14 February 2018, Mr Roger Gair, University Secretary at the University of Leeds, advised the Committee: Let me begin by setting the context. At the time in question (1994 and the immediately preceding four years), the University of Leeds validated programmes of study provided by the College of Ripon and York St John. In brief, this meant that the University satisfied itself as to the standards of education and provision at the College, and, on that basis, awarded degrees to students who successfully completed the programmes in question. The students remained students of the College, and were not in any sense registered with the University of Leeds: we held no records about them save at the very end of the programme when the College would convey pass lists to us as the basis for the award of degrees. 18 Chapter 2 Mr Urban’s name does not appear on the pass lists for July 1994. For completeness, I would add that his name does not appear on the list of debtors who were excluded from the pass list pending payment of outstanding debts. We have managed to track down the programmes for the two degree ceremonies held in York Minster in respect of the class of 1994. Mr Urban’s name does not feature in the programmes. Given the difficulties of proving a negative, I cannot be 100 per cent certain; but, in the light of the above finding, and given too that I understand that the College of Ripon and York St John has not been able to locate any record relating to Mr Urban, I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Urban was not awarded a degree by the University of Leeds in July 1994. In addition to seeking the above advice from York St John University and the University of Leeds, the Committee instituted parallel inquiries with Hertfordshire Constabulary through the assistance of WA Police. On 7 December 2017 Acting Detective Inspector David Ireland provided the following written advice to WA Police, who forwarded it to the Committee: I have recovered our Hertfordshire Constabulary HR record of service for Barry URBAN. The records are not very comprehensive. Nonetheless there was a record. There are no qualifications listed, no commendations / awards / medals. It does show that he failed the PC to Sergeant promotion exam twice ( 1993 and 1996 ). This would have been a multiple choice examination which would allow you, if you passed, to apply for promotion. This is a National Exam process and still exists to this day … the process hasn’t really altered since the mid-nineties. … He does have a tactical Firearms course on his training record but there are no specific details to show if he was a fully qualified Firearms Officer as a result of that course. The Committee also received from WA Police a copy of Mr Urban’s 1992 ‘Staff Appraisal (Full)’ undertaken by then Inspector Paul Hart, Hertfordshire Constabulary, dated 3 December 1992. In this appraisal, Inspector Hart comments that Constable Urban ‘is studying to take the Sergeant’s Examination in 1993’ and also notes: The officer represents the Force at P.A.A. level in Rugby and Tug of War. He also instructs in self defence in the disciplines of Akideo [sic], Tai [sic] Boxing and Judo at Club Coach level. His other outdoor pursuits include parachuting and wind surfing. Inspector Hart does not mention that Mr Urban is also studying full-time at university in 1992 to complete a degree in Physical Education. The Staff Appraisal is attached at Appendix Nine. 19 Chapter 2 The Committee made numerous unsuccessful attempts to locate Mr Paul Hart, including through the United Kingdom National Association of Retired Police Officers. The Committee did manage to contact Mr Ian Langdon, Domestic Violence Safeguarding Manager, Hertfordshire Constabulary, who was Mr Urban’s firearms instructor in the mid-1990s and whom Mr Urban referred to as a ‘mentor’ in his Inaugural Speech. Mr Langdon advised that he was unaware of Mr Urban possessing a degree, but noted that Mr Urban would have come onto his team subsequent to the claimed conferral date of the degree in mid–1994. With respect to a police constable undertaking full-time university studies whilst working full-time and completing their two-year probation programme, Mr Langdon advised that ‘probation is tough, focused very heavily on doing the job’ and probationers ‘don’t have any time at all. You are learning your job’; that in forty years of policing he had never known anyone combine full-time study and probation; and that ‘I would take my hat off to anyone who could do that’. The Committee next spoke to Mr Richard Harbon who is listed on Mr Urban’s 1992 Staff Appraisal as one of the Sergeants ‘consulted’ by Inspector Hart in completing the appraisal. Mr Harbon, who is currently a Governor at Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, retired in 2016 from the position of Chief Inspector of Stevenage Police Station, Hertfordshire Constabulary. Mr Harbon advised that he was Mr Urban’s supervising Sergeant at Stevenage Police Station at the time of the 1992 Staff Appraisal and that ‘As Sergeant you were expected to have in depth knowledge of the police constables you were responsible for’. Mr Harbon continued: ‘I knew Barry Urban really well. I played rugby with him. We participated in a number of events together … running, hill climbing …’. Mr Harbon confirmed to the Committee that Mr Urban did not undertake university study during this period: I would certainly have known if Barry was studying at university … There is no way I wouldn’t have known if Barry was undertaking a degree or study … I would have remembered if he had been undertaking a degree … I would have known if he was doing a degree. Mr Harbon also advised that ‘I can’t remember Barry at the time … wanting time off … I would remember that’ and, further, ‘I doubt you would get time off for a PE degree at that time’. When asked whether it would be possible to combine a full-time job with full-time study, including the two-year probation programme, Mr Harbon observed that: … [the] Probation period is two years; still is two years. You have a little blue book and have to prove that you can do the things in the book. You need to demonstrate in depth that you can do the things … I had completed a Civil Engineering degree 20 Chapter 2 before joining the police, but it was a lot of work to get through the probation period … [It’s not] impossible to do other things, but very difficult. I gave up Rugby while on probation … Barry would have found it impossible. Mr Harbon advised that he was still in contact with Mr Urban’s then wife [NAME REDACTED] during the period Mr Urban purported to be studying for his BA (Hons) degree and offered to make contact on the Committee’s behalf. The Committee accepted this offer and requested Mr Harbon to inquire if [NAME REDACTED] would be prepared to assist the Committee by confirming whether Mr Urban studied for a degree during 1990 to 1993. Ms [NAME REDACTED], who is a current serving police officer, provided written advice to the Committee on 23 February 2018 as follows: My involvement with Mr Urban lasted from 1991 to 1995. At no time during this period was I aware of him studying for or completing any part of a degree, nor did he attend any classes / lectures or write any assignments or sit any examinations outside of his police requirements. At no time was I invited to any university graduation or presentation and I was not aware at the time that Mr Urban had ever taken any such course in the past. Analysis of Evidence Mr Urban was unable to provide the Committee with his original degree. His testimony to the Committee was that his degree was hanging on the wall of his mother’s house in England when he emigrated to Australia; that he and his mother had a falling out; and that his mother had destroyed the degree. Thus he was only able to present to the Committee a certified photocopy of the degree. The photocopy of the degree was certified on 10 December 1998 by Police Constable Peter Godwin, who served with Mr Urban at West Midlands Police. The certification is in the following terms: I can verify that these are true copies of documents shown to me. PC 5791 GODWIN W. MIDS. POLICE 10/12/98 As can be seen, the certifier, PC Godwin, does not purport to verify the authenticity of the original document that he sighted. The Committee also notes that as the copy of the degree in its possession is this certified photocopy, there is no capacity to verify the degree’s authenticity by checking its size and paper stock or embedded security features such as watermarks or embossing. The Committee also notes that Mr Urban’s advice during his hearing that he had his degree ‘mailed’ to him makes it impossible to verify the conferral of his degree via the 1994 graduation ceremony programmes because Mr Irving could not confirm whether the programmes included in absentia conferrals. 21 Chapter 2 The Committee, however, finds the unequivocal evidence from the two universities to essentially speak for itself and rule out any doubt that a degree was not awarded. Neither university could locate any record for Mr Urban despite exhaustive searches, and the fact that both universities had the same negative result was sufficient for Mr Gair to declare that he was ‘satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Urban was not awarded a degree by the University of Leeds in July 1994’. The Committee also shares the view that it defies probability that two universities could lose all records of the same student—which in the case of the University of York St John means that the University has not only lost the electronic record of Mr Urban’s index card, but has also lost Mr Urban’s records on its enrolment and transcript lists. As the next section of this Report will establish, however, there are actually three English universities which are unable to locate any records for Mr Urban. The Committee finds the advice from Hertfordshire Constabulary also to be conclusive. Mr Urban’s ‘training record’ for his time with Hertfordshire Constabulary includes that he has completed a ‘tactical Firearms course’, but there are ‘no qualifications listed’ on his ‘training record’ or on his ‘HR record of service’. The Committee further notes that Mr Urban had left school at 16 without matriculating i.e. being prepared for university studies, yet Mr Urban makes no mention of undertaking bridging courses to bring him up to the level required for tertiary study. Likewise, the Committee considers it to be highly significant that Inspector Hart did not mention that Mr Urban was studying full-time at university in 1992 when he completed Mr Urban’s Staff Appraisal. The Committee considers that full-time university studies in Physical Education would be equally worthy of mention as the fact that Mr Urban ‘represents the Force at P.A.A. level in Rugby and Tug of War’ and went parachuting and wind surfing on the weekend. Indeed, the ability to manage full-time university study in any discipline whilst working full-time and undertaking probation would be a matter worth noting on a staff appraisal—especially given Mr Langdon’s observation that in forty years of policing he had never heard of anyone doing it. In the Committee’s view, this omission flagged the presence of a palpable absence. The Committee is also of the view that it is highly unlikely that Mr Urban could not remember the name of a single unit he studied during his degree nor the name of one lecturer. Finally, the testimony from Mr Urban’s supervising Sergeant at the time and his then wife that adamantly rebuts the notion that Mr Urban was undertaking university study during the period 1990 to 1993 leaves the Committee with no doubt that Mr Urban did not acquire a university degree. 22 Chapter 2 Findings Finding 1 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range was not awarded a BA (Hons) in Physical Education, Applied Social Sciences from the University of Leeds. Finding 2 The Committee is satisfied that: 1. The Member for Darling Range’s statement on his Biographical Information form that he had attended ‘Leeds University 1990–93’ and had achieved a ‘BA (Hons) Physical Education & Applied Social Science’, and his statement during his Inaugural Speech that ‘The police force supported me twice through university’ are misleading. 2. At the time the Member for Darling Range made the statements he knew they were inaccurate. 3. In making the inaccurate statements the Member for Darling Range intended to mislead the House. Accordingly, the Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range deliberately misled the House and has thereby committed a contempt of Parliament. Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth Statements made by Mr Urban On his Biographical Information form, which he submitted to the Legislative Assembly, Mr Urban stated that he attended ‘Portsmouth University 1993–94’ and that he achieved a ‘Post Grad – Police Studies’. Mr Urban in his Inaugural Speech stated that ‘The police force supported me twice through university, for which I will be eternally grateful’. In his Personal Explanation Mr Urban stated: ‘in relation to the allegations made against me regarding my tertiary qualifications, I am also seeking information to substantiate those qualifications’. In his written submission to the Committee, Mr Urban instructed his lawyers to advise the following (para 32): a. In early 1995 he was informed by a colleague, who was a member of Hertfordshire Constabulary, that Portsmouth University would award Certificate’s [sic] of Higher Education in Policing to Police Officers who submitted their Police Probation File for assessment; and paid the relevant fee. 23 Chapter 2 b. c. Mr Urban completed the above-mentioned process and a number of months later received a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from Portsmouth University dated 10 May 1995. By way of observation, Mr Urban believes that there is a similar arrangement for accreditation in Western Australia between Edith Cowan University and the Western Australia Police Force. In his written submission, Mr Urban further instructed his lawyers to advise that (para 35): … the statement he made to the House on 17 May 2017 was not intended to mislead the House; however, it is accepted that the account was not strictly accurate in that: a. b. Mr Urban did not attend the actual campus of Portsmouth University; and the process of obtaining the qualification should have been more clearly explained. Mr Urban also instructed his lawyers to advise the Committee that he had in his possession a photocopy of his Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth and that ‘he had no further relevant documents, in his possession, custody, or control, that support his statement to the House in respect to this specific area of enquiry’ (paras 33–34). Annexed to the submission was a photocopy of a photocopy of his Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth. At his hearing with the Committee on 15 January 2018, Mr Urban made the following statements regarding his University of Portsmouth Certificate of Higher Education in Policing: The SPEAKER: We will give you a copy of the Certificate of Higher Education from the University of Portsmouth. Mr Urban, could you please confirm that this is a copy of the certificate you obtained from the University of Portsmouth in 1995. Mr B. URBAN: Yes, that is correct. The SPEAKER: Do you maintain you complied with all the requirements in order to obtain that certificate? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: The written submission filed on your behalf by your legal representative states at paragraph 34 that you instructed them that you have not been able to obtain any further documents relevant to the committee’s inquiry regarding this degree. Is that correct? Mr B. URBAN: That is correct. The SPEAKER: Are you also prepared to sign another consent form — Mr B. URBAN: Absolutely. The SPEAKER: — so that the committee may have disclosed to it information relating to you regarding a certificate held by Portsmouth University? 24 Chapter 2 Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Thank you. … The SPEAKER: … the committee would now like to ask you some questions regarding the certificate of higher education you obtained from the University of Portsmouth. Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, your explanation for how you obtained this certificate appears at paragraph 32 of your legal representative’s written submissions filed on your behalf. Are the contents of that particular paragraph accurate? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, so all you did to acquire the certificate was to submit your police probation file for assessment to the university and pay the relevant fee? Mr B. URBAN: That is correct. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, who paid that fee? Mr B. URBAN: I did. The SPEAKER: You did. So it is correct to say that the UK police service supported you in obtaining the certificate by sending your details? Mr B. URBAN: Sorry? The SPEAKER: So is it correct to say that the UK police service supported you in obtaining the certificate? Mr B. URBAN: They supported me, yes. Not financially, but supported me. The SPEAKER: How do you say it supported you? Mr B. URBAN: Changing shifts and then obviously with the Portsmouth one particularly it was just a matter of sending the PDP, the personal development file, to Portsmouth, but it was completed by probationary constables and superintendents, yes. So it would have just been that way—shifts being altered, more than anything else. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, at paragraph 35a of your lawyer’s written submission to the committee it states that you did not attend the actual campus at Portsmouth University. That is correct, is it not—you never actually even set foot on the campus? Mr B. URBAN: Yes, I would not even know where it is, apart from in Portsmouth. The SPEAKER: Thank you. That being the case, it would be wrong to say that you attended Portsmouth University. Mr B. URBAN: Sorry? The SPEAKER: That being the case, it would be wrong to say that you attended Portsmouth University. Mr B. URBAN: I did not physically attend there, but I obviously met the criteria of the certificate, so I attained the certificate rather than attend. I still had to do all the work to get them to look at that, so I think it is just playing with words. The SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr Urban. Mr Urban, we will show you the biographical information form that you completed after being elected to Parliament. 25 Chapter 2 Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, if you could go to page 2 and item 5 at the top of that page, it asks the Member completing the form to name the schools he or she has attended and the dates. Did you see that? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, you have written Portsmouth University 1993–94, have you not? Mr B. URBAN: It is the wrong year anyway, but yes, I can see it, and that is not right. The SPEAKER: You actually never attended that university, Mr Urban, in those years or any other years? Mr B. URBAN: No, it is incorrect. … The SPEAKER: Do you agree it is misleading to assert that you attended Portsmouth University to study in any year? Mr B. URBAN: When I filled this form out I thought that because I had got that certificate then I was eligible to put it on there. I technically attended Portsmouth University, even though I did not put foot on the campus, so I would think that that is not a school either, but I think that is quite plausible to be able to put that on there. The SPEAKER: Okay. Mr Urban, do you agree that if someone says they have been through university it means they have actually attended that university or, in more recent times, participated in study at that university online? Mr B. URBAN: No, I disagree with that because I think you can do it online. Open University does it online. I applied for Open University a few years ago. I did not continue after the first thing because I had to have a shoulder recon when I was in the police, but it is — The SPEAKER: So you agree that you do not have to have it? Mr B. URBAN: I think that if you have done a course then you are eligible to put it on there. The SPEAKER: Okay. Mr Urban, was it wrong to tell the house in your inaugural speech or maiden speech on 17 May 2017 that the police force supported you twice through university? Mr B. URBAN: If you want to be technical about it, I say no first of all, but if you want to be technical about it, they actually supported me through a college which then later turned into a university, so without the reciprocal agreement with Portsmouth University then I would not have got the certificate, so technically the statement is quite right and true and fair. The agreement is between the police Met, all the police forces and the university at that time. … It actually says on there, has been awarded the certificate of higher education having followed an approved program in policing, which is your personal development, which is what I have attained. At his hearing Mr Urban provided the Committee with a file of documents which included a certified photocopy of his Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University 26 Chapter 2 of Portsmouth. The Committee has electronically scanned the front and back of this document and has reproduced these two pages at Appendix Ten. Summary of Evidence In his written submission to the Committee and at his hearing Mr Urban provided a photocopy of his Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth which had been certified on 10 December 1998 by Police Constable Peter Godwin from West Midlands Police. In an attempt to verify the Certificate, the Committee sent the ‘Consent to Disclose Information to a Third Party’ form, which Mr Urban had signed during his hearing, to the University of Portsmouth. The form sought confirmation that Mr Urban had been awarded a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth in May 1995. On 31 January 2018, Mr Adrian Parry, Director of Corporate Governance at the University of Portsmouth, advised the Committee: Mr Urban has previously been in contact with us and has provided us with a scanned copy of a certificate which he informed us he received following the submission of his police officer’s Probation Development File and the payment of a fee to the University. On the basis of that information alone, despite extensive searches, we are unable to verify that Mr Urban has been awarded a Certificate of Higher Education by the University of Portsmouth. In the mid-1990s, the University was engaged in a number of academic collaborations with other organisations. Regrettably, we suspect that our archived records for some of those partnerships are incomplete. If Mr Urban can provide further information or further context such as when he submitted his work or where or to whom he sent it then we are happy to conduct further inquiries. However, on the basis of the information we have received, I am afraid that the University is currently unable to verify any award, any period of registration, or the receipt of any fee relating to Mr Urban. It may be possible for Mr Urban to contact the police force for which he was working at the time to ask if they hold any of the information outlined above as that might enable us to assist him further. The Committee wrote back to Mr Parry requesting responses to seven specific questions. The questions and Mr Parry’s written responses are reproduced below. 1. Does the University of Portsmouth hold a list of students who were enrolled for the Certificate of Higher Education in 1995? The University does hold details of students who were enrolled for the Certificate of Higher Education in 1995. However, in the mid-1990s, the University was engaged in a number of academic partnerships and collaborations with other organisations. Regrettably, we suspect that our archived records for some of those partnerships are incomplete and thus our list of enrolled students may not be complete. Our archived databases cannot be filtered by award to produce a list. We can only search 27 Chapter 2 by individual student. 2. Does the University of Portsmouth hold a list of students who were awarded the Certificate of Higher Education in 1995? The University does hold details of students who were awarded the Certificate of Higher Education in 1995. However, in the mid-1990s, the University was engaged in a number of academic partnerships and collaborations with other organisations. Regrettably, we suspect that our archived records for some of those partnerships are incomplete and thus our list of students who received awards may not be complete. Our archived databases cannot be filtered by award to produce a list. We can only search by individual student. 3. Does the University of Portsmouth hold graduation booklets or other printed records of students who participated in graduation ceremonies (or had their certificates awarded in absentia) for the Certificate of Higher Education in 1995? Students who attained a Certificate of Higher Education in the 1990s did not attend graduation ceremonies and so their names would not be recorded in the graduation programme. 4. Does the University of Portsmouth hold any information regarding the Certificate of Higher Education in Policing circa 1995? (That is, can it be confirmed that a Higher Certificate was awarded for the submission of a police probation file?) We hold no information that would enable us to confirm that a Certificate of Higher Education would have been awarded for the submission of a police probation file. 5. Did the University of Portsmouth award any Certificates of Higher Education in Policing in 1995? The University first offered specific undergraduate degrees in policing in 1997. Prior to this, the University did offer a Degree Partnership Programme, whereby students could remain in work and study a range of subjects, with a variety of awards available. This was first offered in 1994. It is therefore possible that Mr Urban might have studied policing under this programme. However, the earliest records that we have for a specific policing partnership under this programme date from 1997 and 1998 and were with the Hendon Police College. 6. How common an occurrence is it that a holder of a Certificate of Higher Education awarded by the University of Portsmouth is unable to have their academic record verified? This is an extremely rare occurrence. 7. If a student record cannot be verified, what would be the most common reasons for this? 28 Chapter 2 The most common reasons would be that the enquirer is mistaken about the nature of the award or did not receive the award. However, we would reiterate that we suspect that our records are incomplete for the period under scrutiny. In addition to contacting the University of Portsmouth, the Committee, through the offices of WA Police, contacted Hertfordshire Constabulary regarding Mr Urban’s educational qualifications. As advised above, on 7 December 2017 Acting Detective Inspector David Ireland provided the following written advice: I have recovered our Hertfordshire Constabulary HR record of service for Barry URBAN. The records are not very comprehensive. Nonetheless there was a record. There are no qualifications listed, no commendations / awards / medals. It does show that he failed the PC to Sergeant promotion exam twice ( 1993 and 1996 ). … He does have a tactical Firearms course on his training record but there are no specific details to show if he was a fully qualified Firearms Officer as a result of that course. The Committee also directly contacted current and former police officers at Hertfordshire Constabulary who had known Mr Urban during this period. Mr Ian Langdon, who had been Mr Urban’s firearms instructor in the mid–1990s advised that he was ‘not aware of the provision’ whereby a police constable could submit their probation file at this time and receive a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing. Mr Richard Harbon, who was Mr Urban’s supervising Sergeant during the 1990s, and who rose to the position of Chief Inspector with Hertfordshire Constabulary before retiring in 2016, advised: I’ve never heard of a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing. The Police Federation was very good at advertising benefits such as getting recognition for police probation. It would have been widespread knowledge if you were able to get a Higher Certificate for just putting in your probation file ... It would have been advertised by the Police Federation. Most of us would have done it to get a university certificate on the wall ... we would have found out about it. The Committee also inquired of Mr Urban’s first wife who was at Hertfordshire Constabulary with Mr Urban from 1991 to 1995 and Ms [NAME REDACTED] provided the following written advice to the Committee: … as far as I can recall there was no Certificate of Education issued just for finishing your police probation – neither I nor my colleagues have heard of this scheme and I’m reasonably confident that if there had been such a scheme we would have all been encouraged to take part. Given Mr Urban’s contention during his hearing that the Certificate was open to ‘all the forces’, the Committee also spoke to officers at West Midlands Police and inquired if 29 Chapter 2 they were aware of a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth in the mid-1990s. Mr Mark Sheasby, who was the Chief Inspector at Chace Avenue Police Station, Coventry, at that time, advised: Sounds like a load of nonsense … I’ve never heard of anyone getting an external qualification for doing probation. It sounds extraordinarily unlikely. I’ve never heard of it. If there was such a certificate, it would be an out and out money-making proposition and worth nothing as an academic qualification. Passing probation is a significant achievement, but it’s not an academic achievement. I can’t believe a university would accept probation as an academic achievement. The Committee also consulted with Ms Ellie Bird, who was Mr Urban’s Inspector at West Midlands Police in the 1990s, before rising to the position of Chief Inspector with West Midlands Police. When asked if she had heard of the Certificate, Ms Bird replied: No. Portsmouth did eventually do a course around counter-terrorism many years later. Later they developed a police probation programme. All he [Mr Urban] would have got is a certificate after completing probation. I would have known about this Certificate. I’ve never heard about this Certificate. Analysis of Evidence The Committee first notes that in only possessing a photocopy of the Certificate of Higher Education in Policing there is no capacity to verify the Certificate’s authenticity by checking its size and paper stock or embedded security features such as watermarks or embossing. The fact that the University of Portsmouth cannot find any record of Mr Urban’s registration or the award of any Certificate of Higher Education in Policing to him, and cannot prove the existence of the programme or partnership through which the Certificate was putatively issued, does not corroborate Mr Urban’s claim that he received a qualification in policing from that University. Likewise, Mr Parry’s admission that the University not being able to verify a student’s record is a ‘rare occurrence’ and would generally indicate the student was ‘mistaken about the nature of the award or did not receive the award’, does not provide support for Mr Urban’s claim. The University of Portsmouth, however, registers a caveat: that they ‘suspect’ that some of their archived records are ‘incomplete’. Accordingly, the Committee must acknowledge that there is a remote possibility that both Mr Urban’s record and that of the existence of a programme which awarded a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing have been lost. The Committee finds conclusive, however, that the ‘Hertfordshire Constabulary HR record of service for Barry URBAN’ does not list any qualifications for Mr Urban. 30 Chapter 2 In addition, the Committee finds the testimony from senior police officers at both Hertfordshire Constabulary and West Midlands Police to be highly persuasive. Not one of the five officers consulted had heard of the Certificate; three have affirmed their conviction that they would have known if such a Certificate had existed; and one, a former Chief Inspector, after denying any knowledge of the Certificate, dismissed the existence of a Higher Certificate based on the mere fact of completing probation as being ‘extraordinarily unlikely’. The Committee accordingly concludes that the Member for Darling Range was not awarded a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth. The Committee further notes that even if it had been possible in 1995 for a police officer to submit his or her police probation file and, after payment of a fee, receive a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing, it would have been deliberately misleading for Mr Urban to state that he had attended a university over a period which straddled two years and that his employer had ‘supported me … through university’. Findings Finding 3 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range was not awarded a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth. Finding 4 The Committee is satisfied that: 1. The Member for Darling Range’s statement on his Biographical Information form that he had attended ‘Portsmouth University 1993–94’ and had achieved a ‘Post Grad – Police Studies’, and his statement during his Inaugural Speech that ‘The police force supported me twice through university’ are misleading. 2. At the time the Member for Darling Range made the statements he knew they were inaccurate. 3. In making the inaccurate statements the Member for Darling Range intended to mislead the House. Accordingly, the Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range deliberately misled the House and has thereby committed a contempt of Parliament. 31 Chapter 2 Diploma of Local Government from the Western Australian Local Government Association Statements made by Mr Urban On his Biographical Information form, which he submitted to the Legislative Assembly, Mr Urban stated that he had achieved a ‘Diploma Local Government’. Mr Urban in his Personal Explanation stated: I also today acknowledge that I claimed to complete a Diploma of Local Government. I completed nine out of the 10 modules, and the final module was not assessed; it was not completed. I have amended my resume to reflect this and I request that any records be corrected. In his written submission to the Committee, Mr Urban instructed his lawyers to advise the following (para 41): a. b. c. d. e. He understood that the Diploma consisted of 10 days of face to face training modules; and 10 subsequent assessments. Each of the training days related to an individual module. He remembers that he attended the 10 face to face training modules. He recalls completing 9 of the 10 assessments with Councillor Bruce Moore. He recalls sending 9 of the assessments to WALGA. 1 of these modules was returned to him with a request for further completion/information. He recalls amending the assessment however does not recall whether it was submitted. At his hearing with the Committee on 15 January 2018, Mr Urban made the following statements regarding the Diploma of Local Government: The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, the committee now wants to question you regarding your participation in the Western Australian Local Government Association’s diploma of local government course. Mr Urban, do you agree that to obtain a diploma of local government through WALGA, it is necessary to attend not just a number of training sessions but also complete and pass 10 written and oral assessments? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: And if all those 10 assessments are not completed and given a pass mark, then it would be wrong to state then that the person holds a diploma of local government? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, you have a copy of your bachelor of arts degree and also a copy of your certificate of higher education and policing. Do you have a similar document which shows that you have attained a diploma of local government from WALGA? Mr B. URBAN: No. In my submission and in Parliament I said that I did not complete the final assessments … I did say in Parliament that I did not complete the full assessments and I was righting the records then, at that point. 32 Chapter 2 The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, paragraph 41 of your lawyer’s written submission sets out your instructions to them regarding your account of competing this Diploma of Local Government course. Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Are the contents of that paragraph true and correct? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Do you recall when it was that you attended the face-to-face training modules referred to in paragraph 41a? Mr B. URBAN: It was 2012, I think. … The SPEAKER: Does 29 November 2011 through to 24 September 2012 sound right? Mr B. URBAN: Probably. The SPEAKER: So given these dates, Mr Urban, can you say when you completed the assessment part of the course? … Mr B. URBAN: No, I cannot give you dates. I did send a few in to WALGA. I got one sent back for extra bits to be added. But I cannot give you dates … It would be after the training sessions, after the face to face. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, do you accept that you were not entitled to a Diploma of Local Government? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. I have made that statement in Parliament. The SPEAKER: Is that because you did not complete and pass all the assessment required? Mr B. URBAN: Yes, that is right. The SPEAKER: Thank you. Why then did you say you had a Diploma of Local Government in the biographical information form that you completed last year? Mr B. URBAN: It was because I had done the final assessment, and I was doing a CV for a job at the time, and it was just a matter of sending it off, and I thought, well, by the time this comes up, it would be done, but obviously I did not. The SPEAKER: But, Mr Urban, you filled out the biographical information in 2017, which was five years later. Mr B. URBAN: Yes, that is correct, and it was wrong. The SPEAKER: So that was a misleading statement? Mr B. URBAN: Not intentionally, but, yes. It was mistaken. It was not intentional, but it was, yes. The SPEAKER: How could it be not intentional, Mr Urban, when you did not have a diploma? Mr B. URBAN: It was just on the CV, when we were just writing off one onto the other. The SPEAKER: Why then did you make it, Mr Urban? Mr B. URBAN: Just a genuine mistake. 33 Chapter 2 … The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, when you say in your personal explanation that you had completed nine out of the 10 modules, are you referring to the assessment component of the diploma? Mr B. URBAN: No. I thought I had only done nine of the 10 modules face to face. I thought I had done a number of assessments, but I do not know how many I had done. But I had not completed it. It does not matter whether you have done nine or one; I had not completed it, so I wanted the record straight that I had not completed it. That is why I wanted it corrected. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, how many assessments do you say that you have completed? Mr B. URBAN: I would not have a clue. I would have to have a look at the training records which WALGA have got, and the shire. WALGA has already produced my training records to The West Australian, so I would have to read The West Australian and read how many I have done. … The SPEAKER: Thank you. Do you recall regular communications with WALGA after you completed the face-to-face training sessions in which you were asked when you were going to complete the assessments? Mr B. URBAN: No. I cannot remember much … The SPEAKER: … Do you recall indicating to WALGA that it was your intention to submit the assessment by March 2013? Mr B. URBAN: I would not have a clue. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, the executive assistant from WALGA has advised the committee that WALGA received no assessment work from you at all—not a single one. What do you have to say about that? Mr B. URBAN: That is incorrect, because I know one of them actually got sent back to me, wanting further work, so that is incorrect—from Steve Smith, I think, if I remember correctly, the training officer. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, the committee has been provided with a transcript of your academic record from WALGA. Mr B. URBAN: Thank you. What is “W–FP”? Ms L.L. BAKER: Withdrawn formally. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, did you do the assessments with anybody else at the time? Mr B. URBAN: Yes, with Dr Bruce Moore, who was the shire president at the time. The SPEAKER: Did you do those individually or was it done as a group? Mr B. URBAN: Done as a group. The SPEAKER: So when you put in your assessments — Mr B. URBAN: We individually sent them. The SPEAKER: So you did yours individually to him? 34 Chapter 2 Mr B. URBAN: We put them in separate envelopes. We did the assessments as in sitting around, and then we put the assessments in individual envelopes and then posted them. The SPEAKER: So yours would be in an envelope under your name? Mr B. URBAN: It was, yes. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, the transcript of that academic record shows, about halfway down the first page, that the status of the Diploma of Local Government that you were enrolled in was cancelled. Do you see that? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: And that for every one of the 10 assessments which appear below that, the status is not marked “C”, which means completed, but “W–FP”, which stands for withdrawn formally after some participation. Do you say that these records are not correct? Mr B. URBAN: I would not have a clue. What I am saying is that I did not complete the diploma. But I did attend 11 of the short courses, and I believe that I sent a number of assessments in. But if they are saying they did not receive them, I did not get them back, and I did not chase them up, because I did not complete the rest of them. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, you did say you received some back? Mr B. URBAN: Yes, I received one of them back, the financial one back, saying that it needed extra work put into it. I am sure I completed the extra work and then sent it into them. It was financial reports and budgets, number 3. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, were you advised that you had passed any of the others? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: And do you still maintain you completed and submitted at least a number of the assessments? Mr B. URBAN: W–FP is withdrawn formally after some participation. The SPEAKER: Yes; I said that before. Mr B. URBAN: The top and bottom to it is I had not completed the course, and I made a statement in Parliament saying I had not completed the course. This is the same academic record which The West Australian published. So I am quite happy to say that I did not finish this course. It does not matter if I have done one assessment, six assessments or nine assessments; I did not complete it. I have made a statement saying that that was incorrect. I did not have the intention of misleading. It was a mistake that it was on there, and I was setting the record straight. Summary of Evidence Within hours of Mr Urban making his Personal Explanation to the House in which he stated that he had completed ‘nine out of the 10 modules’ for the Diploma of Local Government, Western Australian media was reporting that WALGA had publically rebutted Mr Urban’s claim. 35 Chapter 2 The Committee wrote to WALGA on 6 December 2017 requesting official confirmation of Mr Urban’s status regarding the Diploma and on 7 December 2017 Ms Ricky Burges, Chief Executive Officer at WALGA, provided the following written advice: • Mr Urban was enrolled in the Diploma by the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale on 2.11.2011. • He completed 10 days of training, and zero assessments. • He did not complete any 'modules' of the Diploma, as he did not undertake any of the assessments which are part of each module. • You cannot 'complete' a module unless you undertake the assessments attached to each of the training days. • The full Diploma program was paid for by the Shire at a cost of $6,200.00 ($2,250.00 of this was the assessment cost — which was never undertaken). • Mr Urban was cancelled off the Diploma on 12.11.2013. • During the 2 years of Diploma enrolment, Mr Urban was constantly followed up by the Association as to his lack of assessment work (with the result being a cancellation off the Diploma program in 2013). In response to this advice the Committee wrote to Ms Burges on 19 December 2017 and requested further information: 1. How would Mr Urban have been aware that he needed to complete ‘assessments’ to complete a ‘module’ for the Association Diploma in which he was enrolled? 2. If advice regarding the necessary completion of assessments was provided in course materials or course instructions for the Diploma in which Mr Urban was enrolled, could the Association provide copies of these course materials or instructions? 3. Was Mr Urban personally followed up by the Association regarding his noncompletion of assessment work and, if so, could the Association provide records of this? On 20 December 2017 Ms Burges provided written advice to the Committee confirming the following regarding Mr Urban’s training with WALGA: Participants are provided with information on the Diploma and an Enrolment Pack which explains how to complete the training along with the process for completion of the Diploma qualification that includes, additional to the training, the completion of assessment components. Mr Urban enrolled on the Diploma in 2011 at which time the Enrolment Pack consisted of: 1. 2. Enrolment Form (completed and on file) Confirmation letter (no record on file) Explanatory Cover Letter 36 Chapter 2 3. 4. 5. Participant Enrolment Record (completed and on file) Participant Information Package Primary Supervisor's Guidelines All documents have been scanned and are available to the Committee along with an example of the Course Notes, in particular a copy of the first course attended by Mr Urban on 29 November 2011, Land Use Planning. Parts 1 and 2 (pages 8-16) clearly outline the Diploma and the expectation of Assessment tasks required to contribute towards attainment of the Diploma qualification. Regular communication was maintained with Mr Urban. The Association has not located all communications with Mr Urban however we have a record of a conversation specifically relating to assessments from 8 October 2012. The conversation indicates that no assessments had been completed at that time however Mr Urban indicated that it was his intention to submit them by March 2013. These assessments were never received. A further telephone record indicates that Mr Urban made enquiries via the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale regarding completion of the assessments on 13 January 2016. A file has been compiled for the Committee deliberations and includes: 1. 2. 3. 4. An Enrolment Pack Land Use Planning Course Notes Phone Conversation Records; and A Transcript of Academic Record The Committee took receipt of this file and, for completeness, subsequently requested, and received, the full suite of course material which enrolled Diploma of Local Government students received. The Committee could thereby review the assessment requirements for all 10 modules. The Committee examined the Diploma course material and it is clearly stated at the front of each of the 10 modules that enrollees have a choice of three ‘Optional Learning Paths’ ‘depending on their needs and preference’: ‘Certificate of Participation’, ‘Certificate of Attainment’, and ‘Diploma’—and that the award of a Diploma requires ‘assessment’ and submission of ‘evidence’. The course material for each module includes all assessment information and instructions. This advice is also made explicit in the ‘Explanatory Cover Letter’ sent to enrolled students: You may choose to undertake the training component only. This means that you will receive a Certificate of Participation. This is not nationally recognised and will not qualify you to receive the Diploma in Local Government (Elected Member). If you wish to receive a Statement of Attainment at the completion of each unit of competency which is nationally recognised and can be used as credits towards a nationally recognised qualification, you will need to complete both the training and assessment component of the unit. After completion of all 10 units of competency you will be awarded the Diploma in Local Government (Elected Member). 37 Chapter 2 The Committee reviewed the assessments for the 10 modules and they are numerous and rigorous. The first module, ‘Land Use Planning’, for example, includes 14 ‘Assessment Activities’ which may be completed in groups during the training session but which are still required to be submitted individually in hard copy at the end of the course with a cover sheet. In addition, for this module, students were required to complete and submit in hard copy: 20 ‘Knowledge Assessments’; two typed ‘Post Course Assessments’; provide four examples of ‘evidence’ (e.g. ‘Evidence of a community consultation or presentation you have undertaken relating to a planning issue. Attach minutes or meeting notes with an attendance list.’). Finally, for this module, enrollees were required to submit a ‘Third Party Report’ completed by a ‘CEO, Mayor, President or an Elected member with 4 years experience’. In this report the third party was required to answer more than 20 questions which attested to the enrollee’s experience with the subject matter of the module. Although there was some variety in assessment between the 10 modules, all mandated the submission of ‘Assessment Activities’, ‘Knowledge Assessments’ and ‘Post Course Assessments’. In total, over the 10 modules, well over 200 items of assessment and/or evidence were required to be submitted in hard copy. In short, the requirement for enrollees to submit a large number of detailed assessments if they wished to be awarded the Diploma is unequivocal. WALGA affirms it received ‘zero assessments’ for Mr Urban. The Committee viewed printouts of phone conversation logs and contact notes which recorded the name of the officer at WALGA who made or took a phone call and the time of that phone call. These logs confirm that Mr Urban advised at 11.01 am on 8 October 2012 that he was ‘Working with Bruce Moore to complete Diploma (doing all assessments together) by March 2013’ and, further, that at 2.45 pm on 13 January 2016: Shannon Clark from Shire of SJ [Serpentine Jarrahdale] enquired about Cr Urban doing his assessments. I advised that he attended courses in 2011–12 enrolling on [sic] the Diploma in May 2012. As no assessments were completed his enrolment was cancelled in Nov 2013. He will therefore either have to do the courses again or apply for RPL at a cost of $495 per unit. The Committee viewed Mr Urban’s academic transcript which records that he ‘Attended’ all training sessions, but that for each of the ten modules his status is ‘W-FP’ which means ‘Withdrawn formally (after some participation)’. The academic transcript confirms he was ‘Cancelled’ off the Diploma. The transcript is attached at Appendix Eleven. Analysis of Evidence The Committee is satisfied that the records held by WALGA in its electronic student management system are comprehensive and that the supplied phone logs and academic 38 Chapter 2 transcript for Mr Urban establish that he did not complete any assessments for the Diploma and was cancelled off the course. The Committee notes that the correspondence and course materials for the Diploma make it unmistakeably clear that there is a large component of assessments which must be submitted in hardcopy to WALGA for enrollees to be awarded the Diploma of Local Government as opposed to simply receiving a Certificate of Participation. The Committee further notes that during his hearing, Mr Urban’s evidence was inconsistent and unreliable. Mr Urban initially confirmed the accuracy of his written submission, viz that he attended all 10 face-to-face training sessions and completed nine out of the 10 assessments, but as the hearing progressed he changed his account materially to signify that by ‘completing 9’ he was referring to the training sessions, not the assessments, i.e. he was only claiming that he had completed/attended nine face-toface training sessions. Similarly, his claim that he had completed nine of the 10 assessments morphed into completion of a ‘few’ assessments to ‘not having a clue’ how many assessments he had completed and ‘I do know how many I had done’. In response to the direct question, ‘do you still maintain you completed and submitted at least a number of the assessments?’ Mr Urban adverted to the fact that his transcript referred to ‘W-FP’ which signified ‘some participation’. Further written advice from Ms Jacqui Dodd, Manager, Training Services at WALGA, on 12 March 2018 confirmed that ‘Some participation means that some training and / or assessment is undertaken by a student prior to withdrawal. In Mr Urban’s case it refers to the training component’. The Committee accordingly concludes that the Member for Darling Range was not awarded a Diploma of Local Government nor did he complete ‘nine out of the 10 modules’ of the Diploma of Local Government. The Committee also concludes that the Member’s testimony regarding the advice he put on his Biographical Information form was implausible and, essentially, a prevarication. The Member knew that he had not completed and been awarded a Diploma of Local Government yet in his own handwriting he wrote on the Biographical Information form that he had achieved a ‘Diploma Local Government’. Mr Urban’s attempts to portray this as a ‘genuine mistake’ made through simply copying over information from a previous CV in which he anticipated acquiring the Diploma is simply dissembling. Mr Urban knew in 2017 that he did not have the qualification and it was inaccurate and dishonest to claim that he did. This cannot be explained away as ‘It was mistaken. It was not intentional’. 39 Chapter 2 Findings Finding 5 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range was not awarded a Diploma of Local Government nor did he complete ‘nine out of the 10 modules’ of the Diploma of Local Government. Finding 6 The Committee is satisfied that: 1. The Member for Darling Range’s statement on his Biographical Information form that he had achieved a ‘Diploma Local Government’, and his statement in his Personal Explanation that he had ‘completed nine out of the 10 modules’ of the Diploma of Local Government are misleading. 2. At the time the Member for Darling Range made the statements he knew they were inaccurate. 3. In making the inaccurate statements the Member for Darling Range intended to mislead the House. The Committee accordingly finds that the Member for Darling Range deliberately misled the House and has thereby committed a contempt of Parliament. Investigating Atrocities in the Balkans Statements made by Mr Urban Mr Urban in his Inaugural Speech to the House stated: ‘In late 1998, following a period investigating atrocities that humans do to each other in the Balkans, I left the British police …’. In his written submission to the Committee, Mr Urban instructed his lawyers to advise the following (paras 9–12): 9. 10. 11. 12. We confirm that Mr Urban’s submission is that the account that he provided to the House on 17 May 2017 was accurate. Relevantly, Mr Urban has in his possession his West Midlands Police Career Review dated July 1998 (‘WMP Career Review’) - Annexure ‘BU1’. We note that on page 3 of the WMP Career Review it states under the SubDivisional Comments heading, “he is currently focused on passing his sgts. [sic] exam and a posting to Bosnia”. Mr Urban has instructed that he does not have any further documents in his possession in [sic] that supports his statement to the House on 17 May 2017. 40 Chapter 2 At his hearing with the Committee on 15 January 2018, Mr Urban made the following statements regarding his service in the Balkans: The SPEAKER: … My next set of questions is your secondment from the UK police service to the Balkans in 1998. Mr Urban, you said in your inaugural speech to the house on 17 May 2017 … that there was a period of time when you were investigating atrocities that humans do to each other in the Balkans. Were you referring to, at the time, when you were physically deployed in the Balkans? … Mr B. URBAN: I was referring to lots of things for that statement. I just think a lot of atrocities that people do to each other across the world—the Balkans is one of them; Sudan; Nigeria; we can go into South America if you want. But the atrocities that were happening in the Balkans—I left the police just after that—that was a turning point of my life of going from an investigation role to a humanitarian role. So that is what that refers to. It refers to the humanitarian role which I do, not necessarily the investigation role. … … The SPEAKER: So were you ever physically deployed to the Balkans? Mr B. URBAN: Yes, I was … The SPEAKER: Were you investigating atrocities when you were in the Balkans? Mr B. URBAN: I was working with a team that did that, yes. The SPEAKER: Were you seconded to the Balkans when you were stationed at West Midlands Police? Mr B. URBAN: Was I seconded there? Yes, I was. The SPEAKER: On what date were you deployed to the Balkans? Mr B. URBAN: July 1998. I cannot give you a day date. … The SPEAKER: What date did you complete your deployment? Mr B. URBAN: It was early December. I got back to force. I decided I was leaving. I resigned. … I left. With leave, I think I left somewhere in around … It was midDecember when I physically left the West Midlands Police … The SPEAKER: In your statement you posted on Facebook in November, you stated that you were deployed for approximately nine months. Mr B. URBAN: Yes, but I corrected that. That should have been six. … The SPEAKER: Yes, but we have not got anything there [Mr Urban’s submission to the Committee] about you being in Bosnia. Mr B. URBAN: We have submitted a staff appraisal, because that is the only thing I have got. … That is the only document that I physically have. … The SPEAKER: What part of Bosnia–Herzegovina were you in? 41 Chapter 2 Mr B. URBAN: We were staying in Croatia, in Split, and then we were moving into the southern part of the British sector. The SPEAKER: What part of the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia–Herzegovina were you attached to? Mr B. URBAN: The UN. It was just part of the UN peacekeeping mission. The SPEAKER: Was it the International Police Task Force? Mr B. URBAN: Was it the International Police Task Force? No. The SPEAKER: It was not? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: Okay. What was it then? Mr B. URBAN: It was UN peacekeeping; that is all. The SPEAKER: Do you remember the name of your commanding officer? Mr B. URBAN: It was a superintendent from Dorset police. I would not have a clue. I cannot remember his name. The SPEAKER: Were there any other UK police officers on secondment in Bosnia– Herzegovina — Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: — at the same time as you? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Can you remember their names? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: Were any of them from the West Midlands Police? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: Had any officers from West Midlands Police served in Bosnia– Herzegovina before you were deployed there? Mr B. URBAN: I would not have a clue. … The SPEAKER: Can you remember a single name from anyone you worked with over there? Mr B. URBAN: No … The SPEAKER: That is okay. Were you stationed at only one location, Mr Urban? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: What exactly were the duties you performed in Bosnia–Herzegovina? Mr B. URBAN: We went out with interpreters to various sites to speak to people, and then the forensic teams—once we found areas with the British Army, the forensic teams went in and did war graves and photography and all the actual forensic investigations. [Conferring with counsel.] The army did not do the police work. We were just there as security investigators, I suppose. The SPEAKER: So who is “we”? You keep saying “we”. 42 Chapter 2 Mr B. URBAN: The police—the group that I was with. The SPEAKER: Police? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Do you know what countries the other police were from? Mr B. URBAN: The ones I was with were all from the UK, but there were police there from all over the place. The SPEAKER: Do you remember any of their names? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: How many would you say from the UK? Mr B. URBAN: We were in a team of six. The SPEAKER: A team of six—you cannot remember any names from that six? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: Okay. And you do not know what stations they were from. Mr B. URBAN: No. I did not keep in contact with them after that. When I got back, I was in the sort of state I was in when all this happened. The SPEAKER: Did you establish any relationships or friendships with — Mr B. URBAN: All the stuff that happened there was what triggered my PTSD initially. The SPEAKER: Okay. But you cannot remember any of the people’s names or you did not any have any friendships or mates or anything? Mr B. URBAN: No. I never spoke to anybody since. The SPEAKER: Do you know who was the overall commanding officer of the task force? Mr B. URBAN: No. There was a General Molineux there. No, I cannot remember that. The SPEAKER: So you did not keep any contact with anyone after you completed — Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: Did you do any other work, Mr Urban, other than investigating war crimes in Bosnia? Mr B. URBAN: Just security. The SPEAKER: Security? What sort of security? Was it protecting the groups who were going out? Mr B. URBAN: Yes—protecting the interpreter particularly. The SPEAKER: Did you carry a weapon? Mr B. URBAN: No—officially. [Conferring with counsel.] We were not supposed to carry weapons. We did not carry weapons. British police did not carry weapons. The SPEAKER: What sort of uniform did you wear, Mr Urban? Mr B. URBAN: Blue. 43 Chapter 2 The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, did you take any leave when you were stationed in Bosnia? Mr B. URBAN: Yes, I went BASE-diving. I spent an extra long weekend BASE-diving down in Croatia. There are a couple of BASE-diving sites down there which are world renowned, so I went there and jumped into caves and caverns. The SPEAKER: So you did not return to England in that time? Mr B. URBAN: No. I went down into Croatia. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, do you have any photographs of when you were in Bosnia? Mr B. URBAN: No. That was a period of my life which was triggered with PTSD with this lot of stuff in November. All recollection of Bosnia, I have been trying to put away in my mind. It is strange how PTSD actually works, because at the time I had a busted nose and I could not breathe; my bone was split. The interpreter actually smoked those stupid, horrible Camel cigarettes, but I could never actually physically smell it when I was there. But when all this stuff happened in November, one of the things I could actually smell were those Camel cigarettes, which is really, really strange. There was lots of other strange stuff that happened. It was just a period of my life which you close off and I have closed off and I want to close off. The SPEAKER: So when were you diagnosed with PTSD, Mr Urban? Mr B. URBAN: In 1999, I suppose. I have been going to a PTSD psych recently as well. I normally can deal with the triggers because I know what the triggers are. Unfortunately, when this incident happened, all the triggers happened at once and I could not control it. … The SPEAKER: Who did you apply to before you left to go to Bosnia? Mr B. URBAN: I applied through an internal application. The SPEAKER: Through the police? Mr B. URBAN: West Midlands Police, yes. The SPEAKER: Okay. Mr B. URBAN: And I know they have got no records of me now, apart from my service. That is it. The SPEAKER: Okay. When you went to Bosnia, did you need your passport? Mr B. URBAN: No, because you could travel. No. I have not got that passport now, anyway, but I did not have to use a passport. The SPEAKER: Okay. So you did not have a UN-issued passport, Mr Urban? Mr B. URBAN: Sorry? The SPEAKER: You did not have a UN-issued passport? Mr B. URBAN: I do not think so. I do not think so. I had a UN ID, but I cannot remember having a UN passport. The SPEAKER: Okay. Do you have an older brother, John? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Did he also serve in Bosnia–Herzegovina? 44 Chapter 2 Mr B. URBAN: Yes. He went back as a reservist. The SPEAKER: Was he in the British Army when he served over there? Mr B. URBAN: No, he returned to the Army. He was a reservist, so he was in the same regiment I was and we both were there. We were not there together; I think I was there just prior to him being there. I know Jimmy Hilton was there at the time. He was a mate of mine. The regiment went there, to Bosnia, and my brother went back as a reservist to Bosnia. The SPEAKER: So when was he stationed there? Mr B. URBAN: Would not have a clue. The SPEAKER: Okay. Do you know where he was stationed? Mr B. URBAN: Would not have a clue. … The SPEAKER: How were you notified that your application to be seconded to Bosnia was successful? Mr B. URBAN: I got spoken to by the superintendent, or was it the chief inspector. I was notified by somebody at the police station. The SPEAKER: Okay. Did you receive written acknowledgement that you — Mr B. URBAN: I would not have a clue. The SPEAKER: Okay. Did you regard your secondment as a significant achievement? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Was it the case that the investigations you undertook in Bosnia were very significant and important ones? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. Well, I will say yes, but we did not do the glory ones. The SPEAKER: Could you give us an example of one of the significant things you did in Bosnia—investigations, or — Mr B. URBAN: No, I do not want to go into this, but I am quite happy to explain that when you go into a town and you see bore water on the side of a wall of limestone, it is not bore water; it is actually blood where people were put on and they were shot at. That is what sort of things happened over there, and that is the sort of thing which actually triggers me back through there. So if you want to keep hunting me down and saying that I was not there, then trust me, I can tell you more gory stories of fields where DNA were 100 metres apart, body parts, where it was just artillery fire. Is that the sort of glory that you want? It is ridiculous. The SPEAKER: Do you want to take a break, Mr Urban? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: Our job today is to ask these questions. There is nothing personal. We have been charged by the Parliament to ask these questions. There is no way that I want to upset you, Mr Urban, but we have a job to do. Mr B. URBAN: That is why we did the submissions. The SPEAKER: Yes, we got the submissions, but that is why we are asking questions. We have to make sure those submissions are correct. 45 Chapter 2 So you would say your service as a UN international police task force would be an important inclusion in any resume that you prepared following your resignation from the UK police service? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: Okay. Why would it not be? Mr B. URBAN: Because I wanted to forget about it. The SPEAKER: Okay. Mr B. URBAN: I still want to forget about it. The only reason why I mentioned the Balkans in my inaugural speech was to put a humanitarian side to it, and that is the side which I actually work with—with youth and the humanitarian side, because that was the trigger of why I started doing humanitarian work. It is not because I was a huge investigator—“oh, look at me”—I have never, ever been like that. I do it because I look at humanitarian people and what humanitarian people do to people. That is why I do it. If you want me to write, I want to forget about this rubbish. I could have mentioned it in the WA Police when I applied to WA Police; I did not. I take everything as my own experience and moving on, and I want to forget about that part of my life and that is why I mentioned it in my inaugural speech—to realise how much humanitarian feeling I have, which goes to the core of my values. … The SPEAKER: Okay. Mr Urban, who else would be able to say that you spent time on secondment in Bosnia–Herzegovina sometime around 1998? Mr B. URBAN: I would not have a clue. The only evidence which I have got is the one that you have got from a staff appraisal, but I have not got anything else. The SPEAKER: What about members of your family? Mr B. URBAN: I did not want to get my brother involved in this … besides which, I think if I remember correctly, I was not actually—at the time I had fallen out with just about everybody. I do not mean that nastily, but — The SPEAKER: What about people you served with? You cannot remember? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: Okay. What about other police officers from West Midlands Police who also deployed to Bosnia? Mr B. URBAN: I have never known anybody—I have answered that. I did not know anybody before or after who was in West Midlands Police. … The SPEAKER: Are there any other members of your family apart from your brother — Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: — who would have known that you were in Bosnia? Mr B. URBAN: No. … The SPEAKER: Okay. Any friends at all? Mr B. URBAN: All the friends we have been trying to contact through this period who would have known, we have not been able to get hold of—Pete Godwin, 46 Chapter 2 particularly, who certified those—have not been able to get hold of him. West Midlands Police will not release it; the Police Federation will not release this information, so no. … The SPEAKER: … You have not got anyone who was a friend of yours in 1998 who knew you were in Bosnia? Mr B. URBAN: No. … The SPEAKER: The next question, Mr Urban. The committee has made its own inquiries with the West Midlands Police. The committee is now going to hand you a copy of an email from an officer at West Midlands Police to Acting Detective Inspector David Ireland, a police officer with the anticorruption unit at People’s Way Police Station who has been conducting inquiries on behalf of the WA police service. Can I read this out, Mr Urban? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER… Hi Dave, Unfortunately no luck in the archives for Barry URBAN’s personnel file, it has been weeded out. From the information that we do hold, I can confirm years of service 1996– 1998; his reason for leaving is stated as to join a private company in Australia. There is no mention of international policing efforts on his deployment history. … Would you like to make any comment on that, Mr Urban? Mr B. URBAN: Just pure speculation. The SPEAKER: Pure speculation? Mr B. URBAN: Yes, the file has been weeded out. … The SPEAKER: I now hand you a copy of another one. It is from Natalie Parker, West Midlands Police — I have now spoken with three current police officers who were deployed to Bosnia with WMP who collectively cover the period 1996–1999 and none are familiar with the name Barry Urban; all were involved in the war crimes investigations during that period. I appreciate it is not exactly ‘concrete evidence’ so to speak but I can’t imagine that it was a large group of officers who were deployed from WMP to undertake those duties and would suspect that the name of Barry Urban would at least ‘ring a bell’ had they worked together in that environment. All have absolutely no recollection of him. Would you like to make any comment on the contents of this email, Mr Urban? 47 Chapter 2 Mr B. URBAN: No; it is just hearsay and speculations again. That does not help at all. There are no names of who they are, who the current police officers were. That is incorrect. It is 20 years ago. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, is it the case that the only document to support your account that you were posted to Bosnia–Herzegovina is a reference in your West Midlands Police career review from July 1998? Mr B. URBAN: That is the only record that I have, yes. The SPEAKER: Is that reference found at page 3 under the heading “Sub-divisional Comments”? Mr B. URBAN: Yes, by Mark Sheasby, yes. The SPEAKER: That includes the handwritten comment — He is a determined character with high standards + clear goals; he is currently focused on passing his sgts exam and a posting to Bosnia. I wish him well with both aims … Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Can you assist the committee with the name of the assessor who made that comment? Mr B. URBAN: Mark Sheasby, chief inspector. He is retired now by all accounts. He has signed at the bottom of the form, Mr Speaker. The SPEAKER: Have you made any inquiries with him about your service? Mr B. URBAN: He is no longer in the police, and nor is Ellie Bird. They are both retired police officers. The SPEAKER: Have you made inquiries to him? Mr B. URBAN: They will not give me any details of ex-serving police officers. I have been trying to get hold of quite a few ex-serving police officers through this process, and West Midlands Police and Hertfordshire police, the Police Federation as well of the UK, will not release any names. Even the Met Police will not release any names or details. They just will not do it. The SPEAKER: Can you provide the names of those police officers you want to speak to? Mr B. URBAN: I have just given you them—Mark Sheasby, Ellie Bird, Simon Wallace and Pete Godwin. The SPEAKER: Thank you. … The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, I can advise you that the date the comment was made—it was cut off from the copy that was attached to your written submission—is 16 June 1998. When that comment was made, do you agree it was only a goal of yours to obtain a posting to Bosnia? Mr B. URBAN: No. Ms L.L. BAKER: It is the assessor’s comment. Mr B. URBAN: It is the assessor’s comment, not my comment. I would have been focused on going to Bosnia, because I was going within a few weeks of the 48 Chapter 2 assessment, so of course I was focused on—and the trying times that was in there was — The SPEAKER: Do you agree that the writer is stating that it was one of two aims that you had, the other being passing your sergeant’s exam? Mr B. URBAN: Sorry. Can you say that again? The SPEAKER: Yes, sure. Do you agree that the writer is stating that was one of two aims that you had, the other being to pass your sergeant’s exam? Mr B. URBAN: Aims? No. That is not correct. It was not an aim. I was focused on going—not an aim of going or thinking about going. Whilst I was there, I had the intentions of sitting and studying for the sergeant’s exam, but I did not have time to do it. But that is a different argument. In June, when this was done, I was focused on going. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, on 16 June, had you already received your posting to Bosnia? Mr B. URBAN: Yes, I had. By the time I got this, I did. … The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, I gather, then, that you would have no difficulty in the committee requesting a copy of your service records from either the United Nations or NATO or the UK police service regarding your secondment to Bosnia– Herzegovina? Mr B. URBAN: I am quite happy to sign it. Whether there are records from back then — The SPEAKER: Sure … Summary of Evidence Prior to the hearing with Mr Urban, the Committee contacted West Midlands Police through the assistance of WA Police. As indicated in the transcript above, West Midlands Police advised that Mr Urban’s personnel file had been weeded out, but that his ‘deployment history’, which they still held, did not show any ‘international policing efforts’. West Midlands Police also advised that they had been in discussion with three currently servicing West Midlands Police officers who had been deployed from West Midlands Police to work in war crimes investigations in Bosnia. The three officers who collectively worked in Bosnia over the period 1996–1999, which covered the period of Mr Urban’s claimed service, all advised that they had ‘absolutely no recollection’ of encountering a Police Constable Barry Urban serving in Bosnia during this period. Following the hearing with Mr Urban, the Committee provided the signed ‘Consent to Disclose Information to a Third Party’ form to WA Police and requested they renew their approaches with West Midlands Police—in particular, to request a copy of Mr Urban’s deployment history. On 20 March 2018 WA Police advised the Committee that West Midlands Police had provided Mr Urban’s assignment history which covered his service with them and that the assignment history did not list a secondment to the Balkans. Mr Urban’s West Midlands Police assignment history is attached at Appendix Twelve. 49 Chapter 2 The Committee contacted West Midlands Police directly on 9 April 2018 and requested a copy of Mr Urban’s ‘deployment history’. West Midlands Police provided the following written advice on 9 April 2018: … we do not have deployment history on our HR records but do have assignment history, which has already been provided. Deployment history was recorded on Promis postings which no longer exist … Our colleagues have done a significant amount of work on this last year with an FOI (13327–17) relating to Bosnia deployments. We have identified 38 individuals who went to Bosnia from WMP [West Midlands Police] using the same Assignment History data that doesn’t show Barry Urban, meaning the force was recording the secondments at the time. The Committee wrote to West Midlands Police on 10 April 2018 and requested confirmation as to the period of time the 38 West Midlands Police secondments spanned, and also requested an example of a West Midlands Police assignment history which recorded a deployment to Bosnia. West Midlands Police responded to the Committee on 10 April 2018 and confirmed that their records covered the secondment of West Midlands Police officers to Bosnia for the period 1994 to 2004—which included the year of service claimed by Mr Urban. West Midlands Police provided the Committee with an example of assignment history data for an officer who was seconded to Bosnia (with identifying data redacted) alongside Mr Urban’s assignment history data which confirmed that specific reference to service in Bosnia was captured on the assignment history. The comparative assignment histories appear at Appendix Thirteen. West Midlands Police also provided the Committee with the full list of 38 West Midlands Police officers (again with identifying information redacted) who were seconded to Bosnia. The list indicates that West Midlands Police recorded a range of data fields relating to Bosnia service. This list appears at Appendix Fourteen. Given that for a decade specific data was captured and recorded on the assignment histories of the police officers who were deployed to Bosnia, West Midlands Police advised the Committee: … whilst we cannot categorically state that he [Mr Barry Urban] was not deployed from WMP then we can state that we have records of a large enough number of deployments made to suggest that on balance of probability that he wasn’t. Through WA Police, the Committee forwarded the ‘Consent to Disclose Information to a Third Party’ form to the Australian Federal Police and requested they use their contacts to obtain high-level confirmation from the Police Division of the United Nations as to whether Mr Urban had served with the United Nations in the Balkans in 50 Chapter 2 1998. On 15 March 2018 the Australian Federal Police was advised by Mr Benoit Le Chartier, Legal Adviser to the United Nations Police Division, that: Police Division has no record of : Barry URBAN DOB 10/12/1968 In addition to the request for records being mediated via the Australian Federal Police, the Committee itself sought to make direct contact with the United Nations. The Committee received advice to prosecute its request via the Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Accordingly, the Committee wrote to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon Julie Bishop MP, on 15 February 2018, and requested the assistance of the Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nations to request the United Nations to provide the following information: • Mr Urban’s service record in the UN Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina • Start date of service • End date of service • Places and dates of deployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina • Description of duties undertaken in Bosnia and Herzegovina By letter dated 26 February, the Minister advised the Committee: In response to this request, our Australian Mission to the United Nations lodged a formal request with UN Archives for its records related to Mr Urban’s service and stressed the importance of a timely response. Please note, however, that while the UN is unable to give us an exact timeframe for responding to this request, we understand that it could take several months, at the earliest. In addition, the search of UN records may, ultimately prove inconclusive, given the time that has elapsed since 1998 and the gaps in the UN’s pre-electronic filing from that era. We will continue to encourage the UN to provide a response to the request and provide you with further information as soon as possible. The Committee thanked the Minister for her assistance and advised that it would be appreciative of the UN Archive’s response, ‘whenever that may be’. The Committee advises that as at the date of tabling this Report a response had not been received and, taking into account the caveat that any results may be ‘inconclusive’ due to ‘gaps’ in filing, resolved not to delay tabling this Report pending a reply. The Committee intends to advise the House of the advice it receives from the UN Archives. 51 Chapter 2 Given that the 1998 West Midlands Police Career Review was the only evidence Mr Urban could adduce to prove that he served in Bosnia, the Committee made direct contact with the former senior officers from the West Midlands Police who were the assessors on that Review. The Committee first spoke with Mr Mark Sheasby who was the Chief Inspector at Chace Avenue Police Station, Coventry, where the review was undertaken. Mr Sheasby completed Mr Urban’s review on 16 June 1998. When asked whether Mr Urban went to Bosnia in July 1998 Mr Sheasby replied: Not to my knowledge. Barry left the police; I’m not sure where he went. I’ve not known of him going to Bosnia. … I don’t think what he said [going to Bosnia] is true … You couldn’t always trust everything he said. My recollection is that he went missing around the end of his time at West Midlands Police … I was worried about his mental health at the time he left. Mr Sheasby was asked about the other Sergeant who provided an assessment on the review, ‘N Ashton’. Mr Sheasby advised, ‘That is Neil Ashton; I’ll call him and see what he can remember’. Two days later the Committee spoke again to Mr Sheasby. Mr Sheasby advised: I’ve spoken with Neil Ashton and his recollection is a bit hazy, which is a shame as he directly supervised Barry. Neil’s recollection is that Barry was always talking about going to Bosnia. But we don’t know if he did. Our recollection is that he didn’t, but we cannot say that he didn’t go. You should try to talk to Ellie Bird, she was Barry’s Inspector at West Midlands Police. With respect to Mr Urban serving in Bosnia, Mr Sheasby continued: I wouldn’t swear on a Bible that he didn’t go to Bosnia, but I have a feeling it’s all baloney … but it’s not something I could give evidence to support the case he didn’t go. West Midlands Police didn’t manage the deployments. It was managed centrally. There must be a record somewhere. It is nonsense that there was verbal advice of a deployment. There would be formal advice; it would all be recorded. … I’m absolutely convinced he’s lying, but couldn’t swear to it. … He was getting peculiar towards the end of his service. He kicked open my door once and left a boot print on the door. Normally, you would be disciplined for something 52 Chapter 2 like that, but I was worried and made him a cup of coffee and said, ‘What’s going on in your head?’ I was worried about his state of health. This happened just before he left the police … They would not have let him into firearms. My recollection is that there was a period of sickness at the end. The Committee next spoke to Ms Ellie Bird who was Mr Urban’s Inspector at Chace Avenue Police Station and who provided an assessment on the Career Review on 14 June 1998. When asked if Mr Urban went to Bosnia in July 1998 Ms Bird responded: I’m absolutely convinced he never went to Bosnia. … I would have been involved in writing up recommendations [for deployments in Bosnia]. I left Chace Avenue on promotion around 1999. I would have been there if Barry had gone to Bosnia. I thought about it this morning. I can think of significant career moves my officers have made. Only one made an international police role. Not Barry. I would say he didn’t go. I wouldn’t have recommended him. … I’m absolutely convinced, adamant, that he did not go. … The Bosnia applications would have gone through me. They would ask for the last three career reviews. It was a very formal process: application form; attach career reviews; then interviews. … I would have known if he’d been selected. When asked directly, ‘Was he selected?’, Ms Bird replied: My answer is no. I’m still adamant he did not go. No, he didn’t go. Those dates don’t make sense. If he’d been going within two months of the career review, we’d have known at the time of the career review. … No, it doesn’t add up. I would have put in his career review that I wish him all the best. It clearly was an aspiration. … If he was going, there would have been written communication: medical history, uniform, allowances, all of this takes more than a month. He had no CID background, he would not have been investigating war crimes. When asked to comment on Mr Sheasby’s recollection that Mr Urban had gone ‘missing’ towards the end of his time at Midlands Police, Ms Bird advised: 53 Chapter 2 He didn’t go AWOL. He’d just go off. I’m sure he resigned and then went missing. His mother used to ring me. I never met her. She came across as a gentle, genuine lady. He’d obviously talked to her about me. I had a number of conversations with her. She’d share her desperation with me: ‘Barry’s gone off the rails’. … I think that was the reason I had the contact with his mother. He wasn’t reported as a ‘missing person’; this was all around his temperament. Whether he’d got leave booked; extended leave. Even if he had tended his resignation and had outstanding leave. I do remember him being missing, but not ‘a missing person’. All associated with his mental health. He was erratic; you couldn’t reason with him. Analysis of Evidence The first flag to the Committee that the Member did not undertake international police service in the Balkans was the absence of documentary proof for this service— notwithstanding former Inspector Bird and former Chief Inspector Sheasby both advising that there would have been significant documentation involved in such a deployment. The Committee has been able to review the comprehensive array of documents which Mr Urban submitted with his 2001 and 2005 applications to join WA Police. In these applications, Mr Urban attached copies of the following documents: his Army Certificate of Service; three certificates from his time with the 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery; 14 certificates from his Hertfordshire Constabulary and West Midlands Police years; his West Midlands Police warrant card; and a sheaf of more recent training certificates. In short, Mr Urban has clearly made a point of retaining his documents—including those attesting to even modest achievements such as passing a course in 1997 to authorise the of use aerosol incapacitants. By contrast, the sole document the Member could adduce as evidence for service in Bosnia was his 1998 West Midlands Police ‘Career Review’ in which two of the three reviewing officers made mention of Bosnia. The first, Inspector Bird, wrote: ‘I fully support Barry’s application for Bosnia, it is his intention to continue studying whilst there which I commend’. The second, Chief Inspector Sheasby, wrote: ‘he is currently focused on passing his sgts. [sergeants] exam and a posting to Bosnia. I wish him well with both aims’. The Career Review is attached at Appendix Seven. The Committee notes Ms Bird’s observation regarding the reference to Bosnia in Mr Urban’s Career Review: ‘It clearly was an aspiration’ and concurs that the references to service in Bosnia are prospective and confirm nothing but Mr Urban’s desire to go to Bosnia. By analogy, the Career Review does not confirm that Mr Urban achieved his other ‘aim’ of passing his Sergeant’s exam—which he did not pass. 54 Chapter 2 To explain the absence of documentary proof of the Bosnia service, Mr Urban advised the Committee that he was notified verbally by either his Superintendent or Chief Inspector that he had been successful in obtaining a secondment to Bosnia. The Committee is of the view that it is unlikely Mr Urban would have simply been given verbal advice of such a posting, and this point was confirmed by his senior officers at the time. Ms Bird advised: ‘If he was going, there would have been written communication’, and Mr Sheasby advised: ‘It is nonsense that there was verbal advice of a deployment. There would be formal advice; it would all be recorded’. The Committee also considers it implausible that Mr Urban could not recall the name of his commanding officer in Bosnia, nor the name of any of the police officers who worked on his six-person team in Bosnia, nor the team’s interpreter, and that he could not call upon one family member or friend who could vouch for his time in Bosnia because ‘at the time I had fallen out with just about everybody’. The Committee notes that Mr Matt Dixon from WA Labor at his hearing with the Committee on 11 April 2018 likewise found Mr Urban’s responses to questions regarding his service in Bosnia to be: ‘not conclusive: they were elusive; they were evasive’. And while Mr Dixon advised the Committee that following questioning, Mr Urban still insisted that he had served in Bosnia, ‘the time he had spent in Bosnia decreased from 12, to nine, to six months’. Mr Dixon advised that WA Labor also queried Mr Urban’s claims regarding his role in Bosnia. Mr Dixon said that: Mr Urban maintained that he was investigating war crimes in Bosnia. He would go out regularly with members of the British Army and a local interpreter appointed by NATO and assist in investigating war crimes. We pressed him on this a number of times. It was unusual, from our investigations, because Mr Urban was a traffic officer in the British police, so he did not have a specific specialty in investigation and at that time was not authorised to carry a firearm. However, he said he was issued one in Bosnia. That was the role he has said. From our investigations, he did not have any professional investigation skills that would be of benefit. The Committee notes that Mr Urban’s statement to WA Labor that he was issued with a firearm in Bosnia is in direct conflict with the evidence Mr Urban gave to this Committee at his hearing. Perhaps the biggest presence of an absence for the Committee with respect to the claim of service in Bosnia is that Mr Urban did not include mention of this service in his 2001 and 2005 applications to join WA Police, notwithstanding that service in a United Nations international police task force would be a significant and relevant matter to include on such applications. Mr Urban contended during his hearing that his service in Bosnia triggered his PTSD and he did not mention Bosnia on his police applications ‘Because I 55 Chapter 2 wanted to forget about it’. Such a claim, however, does not marry up with Mr Urban stating in his Personal Explanation that ‘in the early 2000s, I ordered a commemorative international police service medal’ and further, at his hearing, that he had worn what he believed to be a ‘British international police overseas medal’ when he was ‘going through the police academy’ in 2005. The Committee observes that omitting mention of service in Bosnia in the police applications would obviate the risk that an interview panel of experienced police officers would be able to challenge fallacious service claims. Further, 2001 and 2005 were only three and seven years respectively after Mr Urban ceased service with West Midlands Police, so his personnel file and other records would still most likely have been extant and readily accessible for reference checking. In summary, having regard to Mr Urban’s inability to adduce documentary proof of service in Bosnia; the advice from the Police Division of the United Nations that it does not hold a record for Mr Urban serving in Bosnia; the absence of Bosnia service on Mr Urban’s West Midlands Police assignment history and the statement from West Midlands Police that ‘on the balance of probability’ Mr Urban did not undertake a Bosnia deployment; the adamant rebuttal of the claims of Bosnia service by Mr Urban’s then Inspector; the conviction that the Bosnia service claim is ‘baloney’ by Mr Urban’s then Chief Inspector; the omission of Bosnia service from Mr Urban’s applications to join WA Police in 2001 and 2005; Mr Urban’s inability to remember any substantiating details from the Bosnia service; and Mr Urban’s inability to proffer a single colleague, friend or family member who could attest to his Bosnia service, leaves the Committee with no doubt that Mr Urban did not investigate atrocities in late 1998 in the Balkans. Findings Finding 7 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range did not serve in the Balkans in late 1998. Finding 8 The Committee is satisfied that: 1. The Member for Darling Range’s statement in his Inaugural Speech that ‘In late 1998, following a period investigating atrocities that humans do to each other in the Balkans’ was misleading. 2. At the time the Member for Darling Range made the statement he knew it was inaccurate. 56 Chapter 2 3. In making the inaccurate statement the Member for Darling Range intended to mislead the House. Accordingly, the Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range has deliberately misled the House and has thereby committed a contempt of Parliament. Replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal Statements made by Mr Urban Mr Urban in his Personal Explanation stated that: I am here today to make a statement regarding allegations that have been made about my past service and education. I have previously acknowledged that I wore a service medal that I was not entitled to wear. I have explained that in the early 2000s, I ordered a commemorative international police service medal from a recognised military supplier in Western Australia. What I received instead was an Australian Police Overseas Service Medal, which I mistakenly believed I was entitled to wear but which I now recognise I was not eligible to wear. When I was first asked about the medal by the media and the Premier, I was under the genuine but mistaken belief that it was the correct medal. Given Mr Urban’s specific reference in this Personal Explanation to his own previous public acknowledgments and explanations regarding the provenance, and his entitlement to wear, the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal, the Committee considers it is appropriate to include these previous statements here. In an article entitled ‘MP’s Fake Medal: “Wrong” police award worn for 17 years’ published in The Weekend West on 18 November 2017, Gary Adshead reported that Mr Urban had made the following claims to him regarding his acquisition of the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal which Mr Urban had been photographed wearing at ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day celebrations: Barry Urban, the member for Darling Range, told The Weekend West this month that his medal was a legitimate international police award for his peacekeeping and war crimes investigations while serving as a British police officer in Bosnia–Herzegovina in the late 1990s. He initially claimed that the Australian and British overseas service medals were ‘exactly the same’ and that he was the victim of a political smear campaign. But after further questioning about his medal, Mr Urban now says he must have been sent the wrong one in the mail by British police about 17 years ago. 57 Chapter 2 He had no idea how British authorities could have given him the Australian Police Overseas Service Medal, which is commonly known as a POSM and is only awarded by the Australian Federal Police through the Prime Minister’s honours directorate. ‘I will be honest with you, the medal I have is totally different to the one I should have,’ he said. ‘This was sent to me in 2000, and I have been wearing it ever since. I have written to the UK police to find out what has gone on.’ He said the medal he should have received is known as the International Police Medal, although The Weekend West discovered that the IPM was just decorative, can be bought online and has never been formally awarded to police officers. … ‘I was a war crimes investigator in Bosnia–Herzegovina in 1997 and 1998,’ Mr Urban said this month. ‘My overseas police medal is from that …’. A statement was posted on Mr Urban’s MP Facebook account later on Saturday 18 November in response to the ‘MP’s Fake Medal’ article in The Weekend West. Statement from Barry Urban MP In 1997 when I was a Police Constable with West Midlands Police Service I applied to the UK Police to serve as part of a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the NATO peacekeeping force. I was deployed during this campaign for approximately nine months. After I returned to the UK following my deployment, I resigned from my commission with the UK Police. The time spent away had taken its toll on me physically and mentally and I felt that it was best that I move on from the UK Police. I was proud of the service I completed at that time. I migrated to Australia in early 1999. In the early 2000s I ordered a Commemorative International Police Service medal from a military store in Western Australia, so I would have a medal to recognise the work I did in international policing. What I received instead was an Australian ‘Overseas Service Medal’. The Commemorative International Police Service Police [sic] medal can be purchased freely and can be worn by anyone who has served in an International Police Force. 58 Chapter 2 The Australian Overseas Service Medal is issued to Australian Police Officers who were deployed on a number of campaigns over several decades. I was an officer with the WA Police for seven years and I undertook no international deployments. The purchase of this medal was incorrect and wrong. I apologise to anyone that has been offended by this mistake. I am very embarrassed by this mistake and I fully understand the offence that it causes to current and past police officers and members of the defence force. At no time did I ever intend to mislead anyone on my service. I regret not initially providing the complete background to this mistake. I intend to surrender this medal to the Serpentine–Jarrahdale RSL Club and then apply for the correct medal that recognises my deployment. I deeply regret the embarrassment this has caused my family, my friends and my staff and I apologise profusely for the anxiety they may have experienced because of this. I myself will be seeking help and I would encourage anyone who has been impacted by this to also contact professional counselling for advice. Barry Urban MP Member for Darling Range In his written submission to the Committee regarding his wearing of the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal, Mr Urban instructed his lawyers to advise (para 46): a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. That he immigrated to Australia in the early 2000s. Once in Australia, he wrote to both Hertfordshire Constabulary and West Midlands Police regarding the arrangement for his pensions. During this process, he received a service medal by post. He does not recall whether this was sent from Hertfordshire Constabulary or West Midlands Police. He believed this medal to have been provided to him because of his UK Police service by either Hertfordshire Constabulary or West Midlands Police. He does not remember the title of the medal that he received; however, he recalls that it had navy and white vertical stripes. During the divorce of his previous marriage he lost the medal that he had received. Subsequently, he remarried. His wife, Jennifer, had previously served in the Royal Australia Navy. In around 2004, his wife arranged for her service medals to be mounted by Glendinnings in Rockingham. During this process, Mr Urban discussed the missing medal with a sales representative at Glendinnings. Subsequently, Glendinnings ordered and sold a medal to Mr Urban. 59 Chapter 2 i. j. k. l. By way of background, Glendinnings is a supplier of Australian navy, maritime uniforms and menswear. They also provide medals and ribbons for sale online and instore. He recalls that the medal that he collected from Glendinnings visually appeared to be different to the medal that he had lost. Mr Urban remembers discussing this difference of appearance with a sales representative at Glendinnings. The explanation he recalls that he received was that the medal was the only available, “British International Police Medal”. This is the medal has later been identified as the Australian Police Overseas Service Medal. He has recently been advised that the medal that he is entitled to wear is a Commemorative International British Police Service Medal. This is the medal that was ordered, received and subsequently provided to the Committee. At his hearing with the Committee on 15 January 2018, Mr Urban made the following statements regarding the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal: The SPEAKER: … Mr Urban, do you recall posting a statement onto a Facebook profile of yours on Saturday, 18 November last year, which was the same day that The West Australian newspaper first published an article regarding an allegation you had worn a fake medal? Mr B. URBAN: No, I did not post this on my Facebook page. The party posted this on my Facebook page. The SPEAKER: So you did not prepare that statement? Mr B. URBAN: The statement was prepared by the party. The SPEAKER: Where did they get … the information from for that statement? Mr B. URBAN: It was—part of it was taken from at my home address, and this was not the statement which I made at the time. This has been changed, and it was done by the party. The SPEAKER: So did you provide any information for that statement, Mr Urban? Mr B. URBAN: Sorry? The SPEAKER: Did you prepare any of the statement or was that all done by somebody else? Mr B. URBAN: It was done by somebody else; it was done by party office. [Conferring with counsel.] The SPEAKER: Who in the party office prepared this for you? … Mr B. URBAN: Matt Dixon. The SPEAKER: Okay, he is the — Mr B. URBAN: He is the acting—is he still acting state secretary? The SPEAKER: Yes. Did you provide him with any information in your capacity as the Member for Darling Range? Mr B. URBAN: I gave him some information, yes. 60 Chapter 2 The SPEAKER: Did he give you a draft report before this was posted? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: He just did it without your consent? Mr B. URBAN: He put this — [Conferring with counsel.] He took a statement from me and Matt Dixon posted this on my Facebook page and I think this was released to the media as well as a media statement. I did not have a copy of it. I do not have a copy of it. This is the first time I have actually seen it from when he was there at my house on that Friday evening, if I remember correctly, but I was in a state at the time. The SPEAKER: When you read it now, is there anything in there that you feel you would not have put in there? Mr B. URBAN: I would not have put that paragraph in there [paragraph 5 of the Facebook Statement]... … Mr B. URBAN: That [paragraph 5 of the Facebook Statement] is incorrect; that is totally incorrect. The submission which we have made to you is the correct statement where I got the medal. My ex-wife, who now lives in Melbourne, she could not find it when we separated and then in whatever year it was—it is in my submission—my current wife, we were just living together at the time, when she got her Navy medals mounted she said it would be a good idea to get mine done … The SPEAKER: The next one [paragraph 6 in the Facebook Statement]? Mr B. URBAN: … we got the initial medal from Glendinnings. I said it did not look right and Glendinnings said, “Well, that’s what’s in the book”, and I just took it for granted that that was in the book—the correct medal—so we paid Glendinnings and it has been mounted with my Cyprus medal since. I wore it going through the police academy, funnily enough, and I wore it—I wear it Anzac Day and Remembrance Day, so it only gets brought out twice a year. And then the first time it was mentioned to me was by Gary Adshead and I said, “What are you talking about?” And then he went away to China following the Premier and then he came back and said this is not going away ... … The SPEAKER: All right. The next paragraph [paragraph 6 in the Facebook Statement]: commemorative international police service? Mr B. URBAN: Well, it actually should be the commemorative British international police service medal can be purchased freely. There are 147 medal companies in the UK. I have done that research since this I have done this, and you can buy them. And I think my wife for some stupid reason went and bought one and—after all this, after I told her not to—I handed that to yourselves, to Sergeant-at-Arms, so you have that. I have got no intention ever to wear it, so anyway. … Mr B. URBAN: The statement [paragraph 6 in the Facebook Statement] is correct: it should have the British commemorative international police service police medal. It did not make any sense anyway. But it can be worn freely by anyone who has served. 61 Chapter 2 It is incorrect because it has not got the right titles in it. It should have British and British … … The SPEAKER: We are now going to ask you some questions regarding your possession of what has been identified as an Australian Police Overseas Service Medal. I give you a copy of your lawyers’ written submissions filed on your behalf, dated 11 January 2018. … The SPEAKER: Please go to page 12 of these submissions, in particular paragraph 46. Mr Urban, do you say this version is the same as the one you gave to the house in your personal explanation on 30 November 2017? Mr B. URBAN: No. … Mr B. URBAN: The statement which I make in this submission is more in-depth than the one which I made in the house. I can only put that down to the state of mind in which I was at the time. But the statement which I made in the submission is much more in-depth and it explains it better than what it did in the house. At no time was I meant to—did I have any intention to mislead the house. It was just, I was not—at the time I was not in any frame of mind and the statement was put together and it was read out. The statement in the submission is much more in-depth and is accurate. The SPEAKER: So to recap, you say you received a service medal in the mail from either the Hertfordshire Constabulary or the West Midlands Police after you settled in Australia. Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: You did not request the service medal, it was just sent to you? Mr B. URBAN: Yes, that is correct. The SPEAKER: Do you believe this medal was provided to you because of your UK police service? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Was it provided to you because of your police service while you were in the UK or because of your service in Bosnia–Herzegovina? Mr B. URBAN: It did not have any—it was not a Bosnia–Herzegovina medal. So I can only assume that it was for my service in the UK because the Bosnia–Herzegovina medal is totally different and I have never applied for it because I have never wanted it. The SPEAKER: Okay. Is it your recollection, Mr Urban, that the ribbon of this medal had navy and white vertical stripes? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Although you do not remember the title of the medal, are you able to say that it was not the same as the other medal that you have supplied to the committee which is inscribed with “International Police Medal”? 62 Chapter 2 Mr B. URBAN: It was slightly different, yes. The SPEAKER: Given that you arrived in Australia in June 1999 Mr Urban, can you estimate when it was that you received this service medal from the UK police service? Mr B. URBAN: It would have been—I contacted them once. I would not have a clue. I was in Benton Way in Safety Bay with my ex-wife and we separated in 2003, so it would have been between ’99 and 2003. That is as good as I can offer you. I can remember writing letters to Hertfordshire police and the West Mid police in, I cannot even recollect which year, to say I had settled and for my police pension stuff. It was a number of months after that that it turned up. … Mr B. URBAN: The only medal I have ever worn since 2003, or whenever it was, is these two [replica POSM and UN Cyprus Medal]. These are the ones I have always worn. I have not worn any others. These are the only two I have worn. In my belief, up until November this year, this medal here with the chequered ribbon [replica POSM], in my belief, up until November was the British international police medal, and that is incorrect. I have provided you with the UN medal. I have provided you with this chequered one, which is cut in half because I used a Stanley knife to cut it. The SPEAKER: We are talking about — Mr B. URBAN: The third medal that is there—the blue one; my wife has bought that since. The SPEAKER: We understand that. Mr B. URBAN: I never ever wore three medals. These are the only two medals— ones that got mounted by Glendinnings. These two here, apart from the sprig of rosemary, the poppy and all the rest of the stuff which I wear on my lapel, these are the only two medals that I wore in the belief that it was the ones which I was allowed to wear. In November this year, I did some research on it obviously because of Gary Adshead, and I found that it was the incorrect medal. I have never said that I wore three of them. I have never ever said that. The SPEAKER: No worries. Getting back to the UK police service medal, where did you keep that medal, Mr Urban? Mr B. URBAN: I kept these two medals — The SPEAKER: No, the one that has gone missing. Mr B. URBAN: It would have been in a drawer in my home in Benton Way in Safety Bay because that is where I was living at the time. The SPEAKER: Approximately, what year did you lose this medal, Mr Urban? Mr B. URBAN: Louise and I separated in early 2003, so 2003. The SPEAKER: It just got lost once you split up? Mr B. URBAN: Yes; split up. I cannot remember. I think it was all on the doorstep when I got home. I have moved on from there but the Cypriot one was there. The other one was not. There is lots of other stuff which I did not get back. It got taken on the chin, just like I take this on the chin. 63 Chapter 2 The SPEAKER: Why did you not make some inquiries, Mr Urban, to the UK police service about getting a replacement? Mr B. URBAN: We have medal places here and my wife thought she was doing the right thing. I would never have worn it. My wife was the one who was trying to do the right thing by me—my current wife. I would never have worn it. It took me years to physically wear them and I will never wear them again. It has left a big bad taste. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, what medal did you say you wore at the police academy? Which ones are you referring to? Mr B. URBAN: These two [UN Cyprus Medal; replica POSM]. Both of them. There are photographs of me at the police academy and on the direct entry course with those two medals—these two. … The SPEAKER: Do you agree that the only reason why you ordered a medal from the Glendinnings store in Rockingham was to replace a medal you had lost that had been given to you by the UK police? Mr B. URBAN: That is correct. The SPEAKER: Otherwise, there would be no point ordering another medal. Mr B. URBAN: Quite honestly, when you look back on it, I was not that interested at the time. It was literally my current wife who was trying to do the right thing. The rest is history. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, you losing the first medal is an integral part of your account of how you came to possess an Australian Police Overseas Service Medal. Do you agree? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Were you expecting to get through your order at Glendinnings an identical medal that you had previously received in the post from the UK police? Mr B. URBAN: Yes, and at the time I think I have written in here that I actually questioned the ribbon itself because it did not look like the one which had gone missing. I done that in the submission. Glendinnings said, “No, that’s the only one on record for the British police international service medal.” So I went, “Yeah, whatever.” That is exactly how it was. The SPEAKER: But what you got, Mr Urban, from the UK police was not a commemorative international police service medal that can be purchased freely and worn by anyone who has served in the international police force? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: As the committee understands your account, it was a medal that can only be given by the UK police service to its officers who have performed duties outside of the UK. Mr B. URBAN: I do not know. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, why did you not refer to the medal you received in the post from the UK police service in your personal explanation to the house on 30 November 2017? 64 Chapter 2 Mr B. URBAN: Because I was not in the state of mind, to be quite honest. The statement was written by myself and a few other people; the party as well. At that time I was just not in the frame of mind. That is why, when we did the submissions, we wanted to make it more comprehensive in the submissions, which is what we have done. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, do you recall Mr Gary Adshead, the journalist from The West Australian, questioning you about the Australian Police Overseas Service Medal that you had been photographed wearing last year? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: What did you tell him regarding how you acquired that medal? Mr B. URBAN: I would not have a clue. The SPEAKER: We have got a copy of two pages of the newspaper article. I take you, Mr Urban, to the second column of the first page of that story. Mr Adshead reports that you—this is four lines from the bottom of that column—initially claimed that the Australian British overseas medals were exactly the same. Did you say that to Mr Adshead? Mr B. URBAN: I would not have a clue. There are things in here which I did say to him which he has not written. The SPEAKER: According to your account provided by your lawyers to the committee, the medal you obtained from Glendinnings visually appeared to be different from the medal you had lost. If that is an accurate statement, according to what Mr Adshead said you told him about the two medals being exactly the same cannot be right. Mr B. URBAN: Let me add on to this. This is not quite right. This here, that first paragraph and then the next line was three days apart. They were not in the same further questioning. The first one was — He initially claimed that the Australian and British overseas service medals were “exactly the same”. I am not going to say that I said they were exactly the same but I would have said in that conversation that the medals I got were what I was issued and they were correct. But after further questioning, he has forgotten to admit, three days later after I researched it, I actually phoned him and said, “By the way, Gary, you’re right; the medal which I am wearing is not the right one” and then explained it to him. That is not written in here either. You cannot get in the way of a good story but the truth needs to be said. Yes, the first one is when he first made the contact prior to him going off with the Premier over to China and I said, “What you are talking about is a load of rubbish. They are the medals which I have always had. I have had them for years. I have been wearing them for 14 or 15 years”, or whatever it was, I said to him. After further questioning, he did not actually further question me. I actually phoned him up and said, “Gary, you are correct. The medal is not the medal I should be wearing and I am in the process of rectifying that.” That is the truth of this. In fact, it was not even three days apart; I think it was even further than three days apart because he went to China with the Premier, so he was there for a week or 10 days. That first one was before he went. First of all, he phoned me up threatening me, saying, “This is not going to go away. You’re just —”, or whatever. I said, “Look, let me look into this.” Then I phoned him back and told him that after my wife and I 65 Chapter 2 had done some research and said, “You’re quite right. The medal I have been wearing for X amount of years is incorrect.” The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, I asked you in the question, “So that is an accurate statement according to what Mr Adshead said you told him about the two medals being exactly the same cannot be right, can it?” What you told him originally? Mr B. URBAN: In my belief at that time, I thought they were exactly right at that time. The SPEAKER: Thank you. Mr Urban, I want to take you to the third column of the first page of a newspaper article from 18 November 2017 which Mr Adshead said from the second line — But after further questioning about his medal, — Mr B. URBAN: Which one is this? “But after further questioning”? The SPEAKER: Yes. It continues — Mr Urban now says he must have been sent the wrong one in the mail by British police about 17 years ago. Mr B. URBAN: That is incorrect. When he phoned me, I told him the truth. That there is incorrect. The SPEAKER: He continued — He had no idea how British authorities could have given the Australian Police Overseas Service Medal … Did you say those things to Mr Adshead? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, if you go over to the first column, Mr Adshead directly quotes you as saying — “I will be honest with you, the medal I have is totally different to the one I should have, … “This was sent to me in 2000, and I have been wearing it ever since. I have written to the UK police to find out what has gone on.” Did you say that to Mr Adshead? Mr B. URBAN: No. I said—I did not put a year in, if I remember correctly, but I could have said a year. And I did not say anything because I did not even explain to him about it being lost. If he asked me, then I probably would have said it. I think I said to him I had been wearing it for the last 14, 15 years because that is how long I have been wearing it. So I cannot remember saying that to him. The SPEAKER: Okay. Your version to Mr Adshead, Mr Urban, according to him back in November last year is different to the one you are giving now. You are saying to Mr Adshead that the Australian Police Overseas Service Medal was sent to you by the UK police service. That was the version you gave to Mr Adshead, was it not? Mr B. URBAN: Can you — The SPEAKER: Say it again? Mr B. URBAN: Yes, please. 66 Chapter 2 The SPEAKER: I get carried away. Mr B. URBAN: Yes, I know; I am sort of trying to concentrate hard. The SPEAKER: According to Mr Adshead back in November last year—the version, sorry, you gave to Mr Adshead, according to him back in November last year, is different to the one you are giving now. You were saying to Mr Adshead that the Australian Police Overseas Service Medal was sent to you by the UK police service. That was the version you gave to Mr Adshead, was it not? Mr B. URBAN: No. I cannot remember. All I can remember at that time was I was embarrassed by it and everything else but I cannot remember saying that. I am not going to say I did not say it but I cannot remember if I did say that to him. I have never—I did not say that in Parliament either. The SPEAKER: Did you ever mention to Mr Adshead that you had lost a medal? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: Why not? Mr B. URBAN: Because I was embarrassed. I was embarrassed by the full situation of having, first of all, the wrong medal and then going through the police academy and everything else. It was just embarrassing on my behalf. The SPEAKER: So you are saying that Mr Adshead got it completely wrong? Mr B. URBAN: He has not got the account of which I gave him. The SPEAKER: As at November 2017 — Mr B. URBAN: Sorry, Mr Speaker. [Conferring with counsel.] The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, as at November 2017 had you written to the UK police to find out what had gone on? Mr B. URBAN: I think I just made inquiries, yes. The SPEAKER: Did you tell Mr Adshead that the medal you should have received in the UK police was the International Police Medal? Mr B. URBAN: I cannot remember. I think I would have said it was the British international. I would have put “British” there. I would not have just said “international” because that is the International Police Medal, not the British international police medal. The SPEAKER: Is that the medal with the words “International Police Medal” that you have provided to the committee? Mr B. URBAN: This one—the blue and white one? That is the one that my wife bought. Which one? The chequered one or the — The SPEAKER: The medal that your wife gave you is the one that you should have received—this one? Mr B. URBAN: I would not have a clue. I would not have a clue because I think that was designed in 2009, but I would not have a clue. I would not have thought so. The SPEAKER: But that is a commemorative medal, is it — Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: — which is not issued by the UK police? 67 Chapter 2 Mr B. URBAN: That is right. The SPEAKER: I am now going to show you an article from The West Australian of Tuesday, 21 November 2017 titled “Fake medal row pins McGowan” at page 47. Mr B. URBAN: [Conferring with counsel.] The SPEAKER: There is one paragraph there — Mr B. URBAN: No, no. I have only got half way through the second paragraph. I was just saying out loud that I never actually said something to him. The SPEAKER: It is mainly a paragraph on the first page. Mr Urban, I want to take you to a passage in that article, the second column, about two-thirds down, starting with the words “Last Thursday”. It would have been 16 November 2017. Mr Adshead reported in this article that — Last Thursday, he — That is you, Mr Urban — sent a text saying he had emailed police authorities in Britain to clarify once and for all which medal had been “issued” to him. “As soon as I receive a reply I will discuss,” … Did you say that to Mr Adshead? Mr B. URBAN: Yes. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, did you email police authorities in Britain regarding the medal on or prior to Thursday, 16 November last year? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: Why did you tell Mr Adshead that you had? Mr B. URBAN: Because I did not. The SPEAKER: Why did you tell Mr Adshead that you had? Mr B. URBAN: Because—I do not know. I was just sick of him phoning me and harassing me. The SPEAKER: Would you be able to check your emails? Mr B. URBAN: There is no point checking emails, I did not send it. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, around 2004 when you discussed your missing medal with the sales representative from Glendinnings, what exactly did you ask for? Mr B. URBAN: I did not ask for anything; my wife did. She asked for the British international police overseas medal, which they said that they could get. The SPEAKER: What date was that? Mr B. URBAN: I would not have a clue. The SPEAKER: In around 2004? Mr B. URBAN: Sorry; I would not have a clue what you asked for, but that is what she told me. The SPEAKER: Did you receive that medal? Mr B. URBAN: She got me that medal, yes, and there was a miniature with it as well. 68 Chapter 2 The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, how many medals has your wife purchased for you? Mr B. URBAN: We sorted the first one out; the chequered one, in whatever year it was—2003, 2004, somewhere around there—and I have been wearing that one since. When this all came out, Jen was trying to do the right thing by ordering the correct commemorative medal, which is the other one, which is there, the blue and white one. She ordered that in November because she was trying to cheer me up. She was trying to make sure that I had the right medal and I told her not to bother because I would never wear it. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, you described a medal which you ordered in your personal explanation to the house. Mr B. URBAN: I had not finished my answer. The SPEAKER: Sorry, Mr Urban. Mr B. URBAN: … My wife bought me—has bought two. We bought the chequered one, which was with the Cypriot medal, which I have worn since whatever—2003, 2004 onwards—to the police academy and then she bought me the blue and white one, which is a commemorative medal. … Mr B. URBAN: I cannot remember which year it was—2003, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8—when that was bought. Jen and I got together 2003, so it was after that. I had it before the police academy, which was 2005, so I cannot put a date on when it was. However, in November this year when all this came out, the blue and white striped one, which you have there, Jen bought off the internet from the UK with the intention of making everything right. Well, my belief is I will never wear it anywhere, whether it is right or wrong or indifferent. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, you described the medal that was ordered, in your personal explanation to the house on 30 November 2017, as a commemorative international police service medal. Is that what was asked for? Mr B. URBAN: The British commemorative police — [Conferring with counsel.] That is what I said in the house but it should have been the British commemorative international police medal. It should have “British” there because I am not eligible to wear the International Police Medal because I have never served overseas with the Australian police. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, what do you consider to be the wording for “commemorative”? What is your understanding of the word “commemorative”? Mr B. URBAN: Decorative. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, did the UK police give you a decorative medal? Mr B. URBAN: I was sent one. That there, which you have there, was bought, but I was sent a medal in the early years I was here in Australia. The SPEAKER: Could you give us a description of that medal? Mr B. URBAN: It was similar to the blue and white one, but it was a darker navy and I think it had another white stripe in it. [Conferring with counsel.] Not the chequered one, the blue one that you have there, I think that there were two thin white stripes either side and there was a thicker white stripe through the middle, and not that one there. 69 Chapter 2 The SPEAKER: Can you remember what was on the back of the medal, Mr Urban? Mr B. URBAN: I cannot. The SPEAKER: Is there anything on the actual medal that stood out to you? Mr B. URBAN: What—the original? The SPEAKER: Yes. Mr B. URBAN: I would not have a clue. I would not even have a clue what is on the Cypriot one, which I have had since then. I know the chequered one has not got “Australia” written on it either. I could see where I got that mistake wrong, because it has not got “Australia” written on it. If you actually look at the chequered one, there is nothing on there to represent Australia or to say “Australia”. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban, we will now show you the Australian Police Overseas Service Medal that was in your possession. Mr Urban, did you not think when you got that medal that it only concerned Australian police officers who had served overseas? Mr B. URBAN: No. The SPEAKER: You did not recognise what was a wattle branch on one side of that medal? Mr B. URBAN: Is that a wattle branch? I still do not know that now, so no. I think the British one has the crown on it as well, does it not—the Queen’s crown? Summary of Evidence On 22 December 2017, at the Committee’s request, Mr Urban delivered to the Committee the three service medals in his possession: 1. The first is the genuine United Nations Medal which Mr Urban was awarded for his service in the British Army as part of the United Nations peace keeping mission in Cyprus. 2. The second medal is the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal purchased at Glendinnings in Rockingham. 3. The third medal is the decorative or commemorative International Police Medal which Mrs Jennifer Urban purchased online in November 2017. Photographs of the medals appear at Appendix Fifteen. The Committee has spoken to the proprietor of Glendinnings at Rockingham, Mr Dennis Stokes, who advised that Glendinnings has no records from the early 2000s and that no staff have any recollection of selling a medal to Mr or Mrs Urban. At the commencement of the Inquiry the Committee requested WA Police to arrange for their British counterparts to contact Hertfordshire Constabulary and West Midlands Police and inquire if there was any record of Mr Urban having been awarded a medal for 70 Chapter 2 his service as a UK police officer. The advice from Detective Sergeant David Ireland, PSD Anti-Corruption Unit, Hertfordshire Constabulary, on 16 January 2018, was as follows: There is no record of any overseas deployments by Barry URBAN whilst a serving Officer in Herts [Hertfordshire Constabulary] or West Midlands Police, or indeed any records of medals presented to him by either Force. Any medals he may claim to have do not come from Hertfordshire or West Midlands within the available legacy records. The Committee also consulted with Mr Urban’s then senior officers at both Hertfordshire Constabulary and West Midlands Police regarding Mr Urban’s claim in his written submission to that Committee that circa 1999 he was posted a service medal from either Hertfordshire Constabulary or West Midlands Police and that ‘he recalls that it had navy and white vertical stripes’. Mr Richard Harbon, Mr Urban’s then supervising Sergeant at Hertfordshire Constabulary, advised the Committee that: The blue and white striped medal ribbon is for the Police Long Service medal. It was called the Police long service and good conduct medal but they dropped the good conduct, I can't think why. … The medal was awarded for 22 years’ service in the Police Service of England and Wales. Not just one Force. That was dropped to 20 years some years ago as the pension issues kicked in. … Dependant on when Barry joined would depend if he was eligible for this. It would have been presented by his last force in the UK, West Midlands. … To my knowledge virtually every Copper knows this, the medal is a bench mark in your career and the medal ribbon colour is well known. Barry should have known the medal and the ribbon colour and also the difference between this and others. Also, the Police Federation in each Force recognises this milestone with another gift. I received a tie pin with mine. I have no doubt that West Mids [West Midlands Police] would do something similar. This also would highlight the event. Mr Harbon further advised that serving police officers in England were awarded medals for the ‘key birthdays’ of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, viz, the Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012: To be eligible for either, you had to be a serving Officer on Ascension Day, 6th February and to have had a minimum of 5 years’ service. If you had left, resigned or retired, then you were no longer eligible. In Barry's case he would have had sufficient years to be eligible. However, if he had resigned or retired before the Ascension date he wouldn't have got the medal. 71 Chapter 2 I don't know when he left West Mids. If that was before 6th Feb 2002 he wouldn't be eligible for either. Mr Mark Sheasby, Mr Urban’s then Chief Inspector at West Midlands Police, when asked about the possibility of West Midlands Police issuing Mr Urban a medal circa 1999—in particular, the possibility of a medal being issued for international policing in Bosnia— advised: It wouldn’t be issued by the police. It sounds bizarre to me. I have no knowledge of this medal. I’ve not heard of it. In the Force, the only medal would be the longservice medal. … There is a blue and white striped medal for long service and good conduct. It is for about 20 or 25 years’ service. Ms Ellie Bird, Mr Urban’s then Inspector when he was at West Midlands Police, advised: Barry didn’t have enough service. They wouldn’t have issued him with a medal. And they wouldn’t stick something in the post. There is a long-service medal for 25 years police service only. Absolutely no way he’d have that. Given that during his hearing Mr Urban adverted to his phone calls and text message exchanges with Mr Adshead about the provenance of the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal, and that he contested aspects of Mr Adshead’s reporting of these communications, the Committee requested Mr Adshead to appear at a closed hearing on 21 March 2018. During his hearing, Mr Adshead advised the following: The SPEAKER: Can you confirm that you had a telephone conversation with Mr Urban on Wednesday, 8 November 2017 in which in the first few minutes he did nothing but abuse the people he thought were questioning his credentials? Mr ADSHEAD: Yes; I can confirm all of that. The SPEAKER: He insisted over and over that he was awarded the POSM for what he did in the late 1990s in the Balkans, when on secondment from his job as a British police officer? Mr ADSHEAD: Yes; I can confirm that. The SPEAKER: He claimed that British and Australian medals for police who served overseas were exactly the same in appearance, which would justify him wearing the POSM? Mr ADSHEAD: Yes; I confirm that. The SPEAKER: He said to you, “I was a war crimes investigator in Bosnia– Herzegovina in 1997 to 1998. My overseas medal is from that.” 72 Chapter 2 Mr ADSHEAD: That is correct; that is what he said. The SPEAKER: You asked him whether his medal came with a certificate to prove its validity and he replied, “Yeah, yeah, it’s on my service record.” Mr ADSHEAD: That is correct; that is what he said. The SPEAKER: He said to you, “Do you think with my record I would sit there wearing stuff like that? Really? I just wouldn’t do it. It’s quite insulting. That’s what annoys me about being a politician. If they can’t play the game they play the man. They’re trying to make a story that’s not really a story.” Mr ADSHEAD: That is exactly what he said, yes. The SPEAKER: Can you confirm that on Thursday, 16 November 2017, Mr Urban sent a text message to you in which he said he had emailed police authorities in Britain to clarify once and for all which medal had been issued to him and he wrote, “As soon as I receive a reply I will discuss”? Mr ADSHEAD: Yes; that is right. … The SPEAKER: Can you confirm you had a telephone conversation with Mr Urban on Friday morning, 17 November 2017, in which Mr Urban said to you, “I will be honest with you, the medal I have is totally different to the one I should have.”? Mr ADSHEAD: Yes. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban said to you, “This was sent to me in 2000, and I have been wearing it ever since. I have written to the UK police to find out what has gone on.” Mr ADSHEAD: Yes, that is right. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban said to you the medal he should have received is known as the International Police Medal and Mr Urban said to you he had no idea how British authorities could have given him the Australian Police Overseas Service Medal? Mr ADSHEAD: That is right. Mr Adshead provided the Committee with the file notes he took of both telephone conversations with Mr Urban. The file notes corroborate the statements which Mr Adshead has attributed to Mr Urban—i.e. that his medal was a legitimate international police medal for his peacekeeping and war crimes investigations in Bosnia– Herzegovina and that he had been posted the wrong medal by British police about 17 years ago. Likewise, the file notes corroborate the sequence in which Mr Adshead claimed the statements had been made to him by Mr Urban. Mr Adshead also permitted the Committee to view on his phone the text messages which had been exchanged between him and Mr Urban and he provided a printed screenshot capture of the text messages for the Committee to retain. Again, the text messages on the phone and printout corroborate the statements which Mr Adshead attributed to Mr Urban and the sequence in which Mr Adshead claimed they had been made by Mr Urban. The Facebook Statement issued under Mr Urban’s name on 18 November 2017 which contained the admission that he had ordered the service medal himself in approximately 73 Chapter 2 2000 so he would have a medal to recognise the work he did in international policing contradicted the claims attributed to Mr Urban in the Adshead article that appeared on the front page of The Weekend West earlier on the same day. Mr Urban when questioned about this discrepancy at his hearing, contended that the statement posted on his Facebook account on 18 November 2017 did not contain an accurate account of the provenance of the medal and that the statement was an amended version of information he had given to Matt Dixon from WA Labor earlier that day, and that he had not seen a final draft of the Statement. The Committee requested Mr Dixon to appear at a closed hearing on 11 April 2018. During his hearing Mr Dixon advised the following: The SPEAKER: With the medal, did Mr Urban ever say to you that he was awarded a police medal? Mr DIXON: Yes, he did. The SPEAKER: When and where did he say that? Mr DIXON: We questioned Mr Urban. Originally there was a question with Guy Houston, Mark Reed and myself when the allegations were first aired. After a very short meeting, we left that and I attended Barry’s house later that day and had a subsequent longer conversation with him. [This was on Friday 17 November.] He maintained at that time that he was sent a medal by British police to his previous address for his service in Bosnia. Subsequent investigations found that to be untrue. We found out through conversations with his partner, Jennifer Urban, that the medal was purchased from a military shop. That allegation that he was sent the medal was found to be untrue and that was admitted by Mr Urban. The SPEAKER: Did he ever to say to you he was not awarded a police medal? Mr DIXON: Yes, after subsequent inquiries, he was forced to. After we had pressed him and pressed his partner as well, his wife admitted to us that the medal was purchased and not sent to him. … The SPEAKER: Thank you. My next set of questions refer to the public statement issued under Mr Urban’s name immediately after publication of Mr Adshead’s article on 17 November 2017. We are showing you a copy of the document. [Witness reads document.] The SPEAKER: Mr Dixon, can you explain what the document is? Mr DIXON: The document is a statement I took from Mr Urban, or helped Mr Urban take, which was meant to, I guess, clarify his position on several matters and set the public record straight from allegations that were made. That is the content and purpose of this document. The SPEAKER: Can you please advise how and when this statement was published? Mr DIXON: Yes. Friday, 17 November, I think was the date. About 5.30 or 6.00 pm in the evening, I attended Mr Urban’s house in Jarrahdale, after he had had a meeting with the Premier’s chief of staff, to ask about the allegations. We then 74 Chapter 2 advised Mr Urban that he had been, what we believed, caught in a lie or he had made a misrepresentation and we advised that he needed to deliver a statement to the public to clarify his position. I then sat with Mr Urban and his wife to try and clarify some parts of his story or personal CV with the view of putting a statement out publicly on his Facebook page. I drafted the statement and I subsequently also uploaded this to his Facebook page. As the acting state secretary to the party, it was my role to give Barry political advice. That political advice was to be honest and tell the truth. I said, “You have got one option to tell the truth and that is now.” I was very firm in that we needed to put this on the public record and clarify any lies, mistruths or misgivings he had made. That was the purpose of me attending Mr Urban’s house. I left with the impression that I had clarified and got the truth from Mr Urban in relation to these matters. The SPEAKER: What was Mr Urban’s state of mind when you took the statement? Mr DIXON: Mr Urban was agitated and very distressed. In my previous dealings with Barry during his campaign, I know he does not take stressful moments well. He cannot think calmly or rationally. However, that was why I thought that instead of questioning him in a formal setting such as up at Parliament or Dumas House, that it was better to question him and talk to him in his home where he felt comfortable. That was why I made a conscious decision to obtain the statement not in our headquarters but in his home, where he would be more comfortable and may be able to freely give a better statement. Mr Urban was quite stressed about the whole thing. He was, I guess, shutting down a bit communication-wise. However, when we got there, we able to ascertain a lot of information and facts that went into crafting this statement. The SPEAKER: How confident are you that what appeared in the statement was approved by Mr Urban? Mr DIXON: One hundred per cent confident. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban has said to us that he did not prepare the statement; it was prepared by the Labor Party. What do you say to that? Mr DIXON: That is incorrect. I dictated Mr Urban’s statement from Mr Urban in his home on my laptop. I had it approved by him and his wife. I then returned to Perth that evening and then uploaded that statement mid-morning on Saturday, 18 November. The SPEAKER: So did Mr Urban see a copy of his statement before it was published on Facebook? Mr DIXON: Yes, he would have seen a copy of the statement on my laptop and we would have read the statement out line for line before we had published it and produced it. It is a statement from a member. We do not make up statements for members. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban said, with respect to the statement, he had provided some information to you at his home address but it was changed by the Labor Party. What do you say to that? Mr DIXON: That is incorrect. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban said that paragraph 5 of the statement is incorrect. I will read paragraph 5 — 75 Chapter 2 In the early 2000s I ordered a Commemorative International Police Service medal from a military store in Western Australia, so I would have a medal to recognise the work I did in international policing. What I received instead was an Australian ‘Overseas Service Medal.’ Mr Urban is now saying to us that his wife ordered the medal. He is also now saying that the medal was not for international policing. What do you say to that? Mr DIXON: Our questions to Mr Urban about why he was wearing the medal and why he had ordered the particular medal was to recognise service that he had done in Bosnia. There is a commemorative medal that is available for purchase. That was what he attempted to do, but at that time, or before this statement [prepared on 17 November], he was still saying that the medal was sent to him to his home by UK police. When we pressed him and his wife about that medal, he said that he or his wife had ordered the medal, I believe on Mr Urban’s request. He could not give a specific date or year that that occurred. That is why we said early 2000s, because the date was unconfirmed—was it 1999 or was it 2001? That was why we crafted it as “early 2000s”. I believe that the military store was in Rockingham, from memory. This is what we asked Mr Urban—why he obtained this medal. The medal that he was wearing is a legitimate medal presented to Australian police officers who served overseas. There is entitlement for people to have that. Mr Urban did not have that entitlement. He, or Jennifer Urban, had ordered the wrong medal. That was what we put in the statement that was done with Mr Urban’s approval and with his partner’s approval as well. The SPEAKER: So is paragraph 5 an accurate account of what Mr Urban said to you at the time? Mr DIXON: Yes, it is. The SPEAKER: Thank you. Is the entire statement an accurate account of what Mr Urban said to you at the time? Mr DIXON: Yes, it is. Analysis of Evidence Mr Urban has proffered different versions to the House and to the Committee as to how he acquired the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal. The first version, in his Personal Explanation, is that he ordered a ‘commemorative international police service medal’ in the early 2000s and was supplied with a replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal which he ‘mistakenly believed I was entitled to wear’, and that he was ‘under the genuine but mistaken belief that it was the correct medal’. The second version, in his written submission to the Committee, is that circa 1999 he had been mailed a medal with navy and white vertical stripes from one of the United Kingdom Police Forces with whom he had served. Mr Urban, according to the submission, lost this medal in 2003 and he ordered a replacement ‘British International Police Medal’ in 2004. 76 Chapter 2 During his hearing, Mr Urban claimed of the medal he received in the post from the UK: ‘… I can only assume that it was for my service in the UK because the Bosnia–Herzegovina medal is totally different and I have never applied for it because I have never wanted it’. However, as his hearing progressed, Mr Urban referred to the replacement medal which he ordered in 2004 as the ‘British police international service medal’, the ‘British international police overseas medal’, and the ‘British international police medal’—ie, he acknowledged that the replacement medal was to commemorate British ‘international’, as opposed to British national police service. In addition to these conflicting versions of the provenance of the medal, there are the two versions that Mr Urban made to Mr Adshead, and which are corroborated by file notes and still extant text messages. First, that the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal and the British International Police Medal were ‘exactly [the] same medal’ and that Mr Urban was entitled to wear the latter because of his police service in Bosnia. And, second, that the British Police had posted Mr Urban a replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal circa 1999 and that Mr Urban had emailed British Police to ‘establish what medal was issued to me’. There is also the version of the medal’s provenance which Mr Urban provided to Mr Matt Dixon following robust questioning and exhortations that he must tell the truth—viz, that Mr Urban had not been sent a medal by British police, and that Mr Urban and/or his wife had purchased the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal. This version of the medal story was published in Mr Urban’s Facebook Statement: In the early 2000s I ordered a Commemorative International Police Service medal from a military store in Western Australia, so I would have a medal to recognise the work I did in international policing. What I received instead was an Australian ‘Overseas Service Medal’. The Committee has established that neither Hertfordshire Constabulary nor West Midlands Police has a record of Mr Urban being awarded any medals by their Forces. In addition, former Chief Inspectors from both Hertfordshire Constabulary and West Midlands Police have confirmed that Mr Urban does not have an entitlement to any police medals for his British police service. Accordingly, the Committee finds that Mr Urban did not receive a police service medal from the British police circa 1999 and, hence, Mr Urban’s story that he was endeavouring to replace a lost service medal is, necessarily, a fabrication. The Committee notes that Mr Dixon during his hearing advised that Mr Urban admitted to him that he did not receive a British police service medal in the post. The Committee has also established that Mr Urban did not serve in an international policing role in the Balkans, so it follows that Mr Urban’s claim in his Personal Explanation that he believed he was ‘entitled to wear’ a ‘commemorative international police service 77 Chapter 2 medal’ cannot be true, irrespective of whether the commemorative medal was Australian, British or any other nation’s medal. And if Mr Urban did not have an entitlement to an overseas policing medal then, as a corollary, he could never have been under a ‘genuine but mistaken belief’ that any overseas policing medal could be a ‘correct’ medal for him to wear. The Committee further notes that even if Mr Urban had undertaken international policing service in the Balkans he could not have had a ‘genuine’ belief that the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal was a ‘correct’ medal for him to wear. Mr Urban has already admitted that the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal, which has a chequered ribbon, looked completely dissimilar to the supposed British International Police Medal with navy and white vertical stripes he claimed to have received in 1999. The Member’s statements within and outside the House regarding his wearing of the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal constitute a convoluted series of prevarications and implausible falsehoods—perhaps the most implausible being that the British Police had sent a former British police officer a replica of a medal which can only be issued by the Australian Governor-General, on the recommendation of the Australian Federal Police Commissioner, to officers of Australian Police Forces who have served with international peace-keeping organisations. 27 Notwithstanding the implausibility of his various statements, the only statement which Mr Urban has admitted to being a lie, is his claim to Mr Adshead that he emailed British Police regarding the supposed posted medal. Given that any competent journalist would not delete an incriminating text message that had featured in a front-page news story, it can be assumed that Mr Urban knew that this lie would be rapidly exposed if not admitted. The Committee further advises, after examining Mr Adshead’s file note of the conversation on 8 November 2017, that Mr Urban had also informed Mr Adshead that the replica Australian Police Overseas Medal had ‘PC 3612 B Urban around it’. The Committee has the replica Australian Police Overseas Medal in its possession and can confirm that the only writing on the medal is ‘POLICE OVERSEAS SERVICE MEDAL’ and ‘CARY CORP REPLICA’. Findings Finding 9 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range did not serve in an international capacity while serving with West Midlands Police and, hence, was not entitled to wear any form of ‘commemorative international police service medal’. 27 Australian Government, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Police Overseas Service Medal, https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/its-honour/police-overseas-medal 78 Chapter 2 Accordingly, the Member for Darling Range could not have ‘mistakenly believed’ he was ‘entitled to wear’ any form of international police service medal and, as a corollary, could also not have been under a ‘genuine but mistaken belief’ that the replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal he had been wearing was a ‘correct’ medal for him to wear. Finding 10 The Committee is satisfied that: 1. The Member for Darling Range’s statements in his Personal Explanation that ‘in the early 2000s, I ordered a commemorative international police service medal from a recognised military supplier in Western Australia. What I received instead was an Australian Police Overseas Service Medal, which I mistakenly believed I was entitled to wear but which I now recognise I was not eligible to wear. When I was first asked about the medal by the media and the Premier, I was under the genuine but mistaken belief that it was the correct medal’ are misleading. 2. At the time the Member for Darling Range made the statements he knew they were inaccurate. 3. In making the inaccurate statements the Member for Darling Range intended to mislead the House. Accordingly, the Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range deliberately misled the House and has thereby committed a contempt of Parliament. Cumulative Weight of Evidence Regarding the Statements in Contention The Committee’s approach to this Inquiry was, in practical terms, to investigate each of the five defined statements of contention as a separate self-contained matter. The Committee’s conclusions regarding the evidence gathered for each matter have been discussed above. In summary, the Committee concludes that in all five matters there was overwhelming and compelling evidence to refute the Member’s statements, and conversely there was no evidence positively supporting the Member’s statements. The best case that could be prosecuted by Mr Urban was that perhaps his records had slipped through cracks in archival records. However, while it may possible, although unlikely, that a reputable institution could misplace your records, it is fanciful to propose that the University of York St John, the University of Leeds, the University of Portsmouth, the United Nations Police Division, Hertfordshire Constabulary, West Midlands Police and WALGA all did so. 79 Chapter 2 Mr Urban’s evidence to the Committee was characterised by the absence of original documents; by his inability to secure verified replacement documents from the issuing institutions; by his total inability to furnish even the most basic corroborating detail; by the absence of friends or colleagues who could confirm events—or the contention that Mr Urban had ‘fallen out’ with said friends or colleagues at the relevant time; by Mr Urban materially changing his accounts under questioning; and by the sheer implausibility of so many of Mr Urban’s claims. When the Committee surveys all five statements of contention as a totality, and the mass of evidence which refutes these statements, it is satisfied to the highest level that there has been a pattern of unremitting deception and obfuscation on Mr Urban’s part regarding his statements; that Mr Urban has deliberately misled the House and the Committee; and that the Member has, therefore, committed a sustained and gross contempt of Parliament. Finding Finding 11 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range has deliberately misled the House with respect to all five statements in contention and has thereby committed a sustained and gross contempt of Parliament. 80 Chapter 3 Aggravated Contempt Members must apply high standards of behaviour … Rule 12 (b) Code of Conduct for Members of the Legislative Assembly Misleading the House’s Referred Inquiry The Committee has found that the Member for Darling Range deliberately misled the Legislative Assembly with respect to each of the contested statements he made to the House up to and including 30 November 2017—the date of the House’s referral to this Committee—and that he has thereby committed a sustained and gross contempt of Parliament. The Committee is aware of the seriousness of such a finding. The Committee is also aware that in each case the Member made the misleading statements not in impromptu interjections in the heat of debate but in highly crafted prepared statements. The Member’s misleading statements appeared in his hand-written entries on his official Biographical Information form, in his Inaugural Speech following election, and in a Personal Explanation specifically made to refute allegations of untruthfulness. The Committee further finds that the Member formally endorsed—and indeed enlarged upon—each of the statements in contention in the written submissions and oral testimony he provided to a parliamentary inquiry which had been established with one purpose: to establish the veracity or otherwise of his original statements. Mr Urban was left in no doubt as to the gravity of the Committee’s proceedings and the unequivocal and absolute requirement that he speak the truth. Mr Urban was granted one month’s postponement to prepare for his hearing and he engaged a Queen’s Counsel and a solicitor to advise and assist him. The topics of Mr Urban’s examination were made known to him and his legal counsel well in advance of his appearance. The Member’s contributions to his hearing were prefaced by a statement by the Speaker, and Chair to the Committee, which cautioned that ‘any deliberate misleading of this Committee may be regarded as a contempt of Parliament’. The Chair inquired of the Member’s written submission to the Committee: ‘Are these submissions true and correct to the best of your knowledge and belief?’, to which the Member replied, ‘Yes’. The introductory questions to the Member sought, and received, his acknowledgement that he understood the need for a member’s statements to the House to be accurate and not embellished or misleading. However, at his hearing, in addition to reiterating and expanding upon each of his original deliberately misleading statements, the Member 81 Chapter 3 submitted a supporting document which, given the Committee has established beyond reasonable doubt that the Member has not been awarded a BA (Hons) degree, can only, and must necessarily, be described as a forgery. In the context of lying to a parliamentary committee, the Committee brings to the House’s attention section 57 of the Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 (WA): 57. False evidence before Parliament Any person who in the course of an examination before either House of Parliament, or before a committee of either House, or before a joint committee of both Houses, knowingly gives a false answer to any lawful and relevant question put to him in the course of the examination, is guilty of a crime, and is liable to imprisonment for 7 years. It should be further noted that under section 32 of the Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899 (WA) if a member of Parliament is convicted of a crime that carries with it a maximum sentence of more than five years, that member is automatically disqualified from Parliament, and that under section 38 of the same Act, the disqualified member’s seat becomes vacant. As the maximum sentence for giving false evidence before Parliament is seven years, if Mr Urban were to be convicted of this offence, he would be automatically disqualified from Parliament. With respect to the forged degree tendered by Mr Urban as evidence prior to and during his hearing, the Committee similarly draws to the House’s attention section 473 of the Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 (WA): 473. Forgery and uttering (1) Any person who with intent to defraud — (a) forges a record; or (b) utters a forged record, 
 is guilty of a crime and is liable to imprisonment for 7 years. The Committee underlines that for centuries parliamentary committees have performed an indispensable role eliciting information on behalf of parliaments to enable parliaments to carry out their vital constitutional roles. The importance of the role is acknowledged in the centuries-old epithets for parliamentary committees: ‘grand inquest of the nation’ 28 and ‘general inquisitors of the realm’. 29 When witnesses lie to and mislead parliamentary committees and submit forged documents to them they 28 Patteson J from Stockdale v Hansard (1839) 9 AD & E1 at 193.
 29 Coleridge J from Howard v Gossett (1845) 10 QB 359 at 379.
 82 Chapter 3 attack the institution of the Parliament itself and undermine one of its most ‘potent investigative tools’ in furthering the public interest. 30 Findings Finding 12 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range, in both his written submissions to the Committee and in his testimony before the Committee, deliberately sought to mislead the Committee by asserting: 1. He had a degree from the University of Leeds. 2. He had a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth. 3. He had completed nine out of the 10 modules of a Diploma of Local Government. 4. He was, in the second half of 1998, seconded from West Midlands Police and served with the United Nations mission in Bosnia, where he provided security for a team investigating war crimes. 5. He was posted a service medal by UK authorities. 6. He subsequently lost such a medal. 7. He was entitled to wear such a medal. 8. He was under a genuine but mistaken belief that he was entitled to wear a replica police overseas service medal. Finding 13 The Committee further finds that the Member for Darling Range deliberately sought to deceive the Committee by providing to it a forgery of a degree from the University of Leeds. Finding 14 Accordingly, the Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range in providing deliberately misleading testimony and submissions, including the provision of a forged document, to an Inquiry specifically constituted to establish the veracity or otherwise of his statements, has committed a gross and aggravated contempt of Parliament. 30 Gerard Carney, ‘The Power of Privilege’, About the House, June 2004, p. 29. 83 Chapter 3 Long-standing Pattern of Deceptive Behaviour The Committee considers that it has a duty to advise the House that in the course of its Inquiry it established that Mr Urban, over an extended period, has made untruthful representations regarding his educational qualifications and work history, and has provided a forged academic qualification, to other organisations. The Western Australian Commissioner of Police submitted Mr Urban’s ‘Application for Employment as a Police Officer’ files from his unsuccessful 2001 application and his successful 2005 application. Both applications for employment included ‘certified’ photocopies of the BA (Hons) degree from the University of Leeds and the Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth, notwithstanding the front page of the application form containing the following advice in block capitals: THE POLICE ACT 1892 AND THE CRIMINAL CODE PROVIDE FOR A PENALTY TO BE IMPOSED UPON ANY PERSON WHO OBTAINS ENTRY INTO THE POLICE SERVICE THROUGH FALSE REPRESENTATION. In addition, Mr Urban signed the following ‘Declaration of Statement to the WA Police Service’ at the end of the successful 2005 application form: I declare that the statements I have made and the information I have given are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. I have not withheld any relevant information required by this application, or made any false or misleading representation. I acknowledge that and if I have knowingly or wilfully given false or misleading information or have withheld any information, it could result in 1) rejection of my application; 2) legal proceedings against me; and 3) dismissal after appointment. The Committee likewise received a copy of the ‘Resume’ Mr Urban submitted to WA Labor on 30 March 2016 at the time of candidacy for the 2017 State General Election. On this resume, Mr Urban listed the following information under ‘Education’: 1991–1994 Leeds University Bachelor of Arts honors degree in Physical Education and Applied Social Science 1994–1995 University of Portsmouth Post Graduate degree in Policing 2012 Diploma in Local Government The Committee notes that the date ranges provided on the resume differ from those provided on the Parliament’s Biographical Information form on which Mr Urban advised that he attended the University of Leeds from 1990–93 and the University of Portsmouth from 1993–94. The Committee further notes that the Certificate of Higher Education in Policing is now described as a ‘Post Graduate degree’. 84 Chapter 3 Under ‘Employment History’ on his resume to the ALP, Mr Urban states that he was a ‘Police Sergeant’ while at West Midlands Police. This is false. Mr Urban failed his Sergeant’s exam twice while at Hertfordshire Constabulary. Mr Urban’s assignment history, provided by West Midlands Police, certifies his ‘Job Title’ as ‘Constable’, which was also the rank Mr Urban listed on his 2001 and 2005 applications to join WA Police. Mr Urban does not list a deployment to Bosnia while with West Midlands Police on this resume. In addition, the Committee has in its possession a copy of a screen shot capture from Mr Urban’s ‘Barry Urban MLA’ Facebook account as at November 2017, in which Mr Urban’s ‘Biography’ includes the following information: His childhood was like that of most children from the area: hard and eventful. After leaving school at the age of 16, Barry joined the British Army. He has obtained a number of qualifications, and spent a large portion of his career on exercises and military operations in Northern Ireland, Cyprus and Namibia, attaining military medals and a citation. In late 1989 Barry joined the UK police in Hertfordshire after a brief tour in the Ascension Islands. Throughout his police career he spent a number of years on front line duties, Police Tactical firearms and finally as a detective on the Regional Crime Squad. During his career in the police force Barry obtained a Bachelor Degree and a Post Graduate Degree in police studies. After returning from duties in Bosnia carrying out war crime investigations, he retired from the UK Police Force and was awarded a police medal and another citation. The screen shot page appears at Appendix Sixteen. Following Mr Adshead’s story on 18 November 2017 regarding the fake medals, Mr Urban’s MLA Facebook Biography was amended and all references to his service in Bosnia and tertiary academic qualifications were deleted. Mr Urban’s revised MLA Facebook Biography appears at Appendix Sixteen. The Committee questioned Mr Matt Dixon as to the representations that Mr Urban had made to WA Labor when seeking pre-selection and also queried who made the changes to Mr Urban’s MLA Facebook account following Mr Adshead’s disclosures on 18 November 2017. At his hearing with the Committee on 11 April 2018, Mr Dixon provided answers to these questions: Mr DIXON: … The committee has asked me to produce a number of documents similar to this [screen captures of Mr Urban’s November 2017 MLA Facebook Biography and his February 2018 MLA Facebook Biography], which contain Mr Urban’s status or personal story—that is what we would call it—before the airing 85 Chapter 3 of the allegations and after. We do not have copies of these documents. We would have had to have screen-captured them at the point in time. The party does not hold that document, but I can say that this [the screen capture of the November 2017 MLA Facebook Biography] is a true and accurate reflection. We do not have those documents; the party does not hold those documents at all. There were also some questions that the committee has in relation to the party’s role in administering this page. What I have is a copy of those who were administrators of the page at the time the incident occurred. You can see that I am an editor of the page. You can also see that Hunter Eva and Simone [Rich] are both admins of the page; they are employed by the Member for Darling Range. You will see that the Member for Darling Range is also an editor of the page. These are the people who are authorised to make additions and deletions. If you would like a copy for the committee. I can elaborate in relation to our role in administering that page. In relation to his personal biography before the allegations were aired by The West Australian, the Labor Party sets up all the Facebook pages for our members and candidates. We edit and we moderate those pages. I will go through our social media policy and how we moderate comments. After the allegations were aired by The West Australian, noone inside the Labor Party, no-one that I employed or directed, edited the personal biography of Mr Urban. Mr I.C. BLAYNEY: Was this when he was a member? Mr DIXON: There was a change to his personal story shortly after the allegations were aired. One of the questions was, I guess, maybe asking the party’s role or my role personally in that. I can confirm to the committee that no-one employed by WA Labor or no-one under my instruction edited that page. Subsequently, I have also discussed that with the staff who also have access to that page. Neither of those individuals edited the page. In full disclosure to the committee, the things we did remove from the page at the time were photos of Mr Urban wearing the POSA [POSM] medal in question. The reason we took that decision was because at that time that was causing great anger and distress to the policing and veterans communities, so we thought it appropriate that any photos of Barry wearing that medal were removed from his Facebook page until the allegations could be substantiated. That is the only thing we removed or edited from his page. We undertook no other editing or censoring of his page. … The SPEAKER: My next set of questions will deal with Mr Urban’s Facebook account. I now ask that you be handed a document that contains a comparison between the November 2017 and February 2018 versions of Mr Urban’s biography as they appeared on Facebook. This document appeared on a website, Frontline Blue. He had been provided a copy of this document prior to his hearing. Please read the biography under the heading “November 2017”. [Witness reads document.] Mr DIXON: Why has the coloured part been highlighted? The SPEAKER: When you look at the November and the February ones, that is the part that has been redacted. Mr DIXON: Right. The SPEAKER: Are you happy with that? 86 Chapter 3 Mr DIXON: Yes, I am happy with that. I cannot ascertain, though, that this is the bio that we had uploaded at that time. I do not have a document to say that at that time, this was the statement. 31 The SPEAKER: This [November 2017] version contains reference to Mr Urban’s bachelor’s degree, postgraduate degree, Mr Urban investigating war crimes in Bosnia and to Mr Urban being awarded a police medal. Is this the version that was on Mr Urban’s Facebook page immediately prior to the publication of Mr Gary Adshead’s article in Saturday’s Weekend West on 17 November 2017? Mr DIXON: Because the party rescinded any operational control of the page after Mr Urban left our party, I do not have a copy of this. I do not have a draft copy. I do not have a screenshot of that, so I have nothing to verify it against. However, for further discussion, it looks quite similar. We would have advertised Mr Urban’s qualifications as he had told us in his bio. The SPEAKER: Okay. In relation to the state general election date of 11 March 2017, did this version appear before or after? Mr DIXON: Did the 2017 version appear before the state election? Yes. The SPEAKER: Okay. Can you explain your role and the role of Mr Urban in the drafting of this version of Mr Urban’s biography? Mr DIXON: At this time I had no role in drafting it—I was not an officer of the party. However, generally speaking, an employee of the party, a staff member, would have sat with Mr Urban. That person would have confirmed what we call a personal story or story of self. I guess it is a sales pitch of a prospective member of Parliament. That personal story of self would have been the governing document we would have used in political publications for Mr Urban, both in print and online. I guess the document you are seeing here is what the Labor Party would have done for in excess of 70, 80 candidates. It is a standard process we run with everyone. We go through their CVs; we go through their biographies. We have it vetted or confirmed by a campaign team. Once it is agreed by the party office and the campaign team, we then confirm it as Mr Urban’s personal story and then we use it through social media material, DLs, direct mails, unaddressed mails. The SPEAKER: Thank you. How confident are you that what appeared in this version of Mr Urban’s biography was approved by Mr Urban? Mr DIXON: I 100 per cent confirm; it was standard operating procedure for the party. The SPEAKER: Mr Urban has said to us that he was not responsible for the content of his Facebook page and that this was administered by WA Labor. What do you have to say to that? Mr DIXON: Mr Urban is correct in saying that. During the time of the campaigns and even now, WA Labor has editing privileges for all members of Parliament’s Facebook pages. That allows us to monitor, amend, assist with uploading graphics, DLs or 31 In a subsequent clarification to this aspect of his testimony, Mr Dixon advised the Committee, ‘As I do not have primary source documents controlled by WA Labor I cannot 100% guarantee that the contents of the original post were created by WA Labor. Also, the changed or revised version I can confirm that we did not edit or change this biography at any time through this process. However, for the benefit of the Committee that document provided looks very similar or may in fact be the biography that WA Labor created for the Member for Darling Range’. 87 Chapter 3 statements, and also to monitor trolling and inappropriate comments. During Mr Urban’s campaign, a campaign team would have monitored and assisted with the publication of documents. As you can see, the document I provided also contains the staff members who also had access to his page. I can confirm that Mr Urban had access to his page during the campaign. He would have been able to upload, remove or edit documents if he so chose. 32 The SPEAKER: Okay. In this version of Mr Urban’s biography, it is stated that during his career in the police force, Barry obtained a bachelor’s degree and postgraduate degree in police studies. How did these words end up appearing in his biography? Mr DIXON: These are the details provided by Mr Urban in his CV. When we are telling a story of self or talking about their personal story if they have obtained academic qualifications. It gives the electorate a better understanding of who the prospective member is. This is what would have been included for Mr Urban, but also for any WA Labor candidate running in the 2017 election, or the 2013 election for that matter. The SPEAKER: So these words came from Mr Urban? Mr DIXON: Yes, and in documents that Mr Urban provided to the party. … The SPEAKER: In this version of Mr Urban’s biography it states — After returning from duties in Bosnia carrying out war crime investigations, he retired from the UK Police Force and was awarded a police medal and another citation. How did these words end up appearing in his biography? Mr DIXON: These words would have appeared in his biography through conversations the party had with Mr Urban and Mr Urban has provided information we have included in his biography—his story of self. The SPEAKER: So did these words come from Mr Urban? Mr DIXON: Yes. The SPEAKER: I will now ask you to please read the biography under the heading “February 2018”. [Witness reads document.] The SPEAKER: This version no longer contains reference to Mr Urban’s bachelor’s degree or his postgraduate degree or investigating war crimes in Bosnia or Mr Urban being awarded a police medal. Were changes made to the biography immediately following the publication of Mr Gary Adshead’s article in Saturday’s Weekend West on 17 November 2017? 32 In a subsequent clarification to this aspect of his testimony, Mr Dixon advised the Committee, ‘The factual accuracy of a candidate’s or member’s personal story or biography is his or her obligation to ensure that it is factually correct. The responsibility on candidates or members cannot be shifted to a political party branch or unit. This is in the same way that a member cannot shift responsibility onto staff for keeping their Declaration of Interests up to date and current’. 88 Chapter 3 Mr DIXON: WA Labor was aware that Mr Urban’s Facebook page was edited. 33 It was not done by myself or an employee of WA Labor. We did question Mr Urban’s staff about the editing of his page, because obviously that would become a story in itself. They confirmed to us that they did not do it. We then deducted from that that Mr Urban or his wife Jennifer Urban must have edited his Facebook biography. There was also editing or shutting down of a LinkedIn page as well around the time. The party had no access to that and was not monitoring it, but we noticed that that page removed itself or was edited around the same time. The SPEAKER: So you had no role in making these changes? Mr DIXON: No, we had no role in making those changes. … The SPEAKER: To the best of your knowledge, does the biography appearing under the heading “February 2018” accurately reflect what the biography was changed to immediately after publication of Mr Adshead’s article on 17 November 2017? Mr DIXON: Yes, it would appear that way, but I cannot confirm that because I do not have a copy and I have not verified this biography with what his current page is now. The SPEAKER: Okay. How confident are you that the changes to the biography were approved by Mr Urban? Mr DIXON: Beyond reasonable doubt, I am confident that Mr Urban approved those changes. Given that the Committee has established that Mr Urban did not serve in Bosnia, does not hold any university qualifications, and did not achieve the rank of Sergeant, it necessarily follows that Mr Urban has committed resume fraud with respect to his representations to WA Labor preceding the 2017 State General Election. The Committee further notes that while Mr Dixon has advised that he was unable to locate Mr Urban’s resume for candidate pre-selection preceding the 2013 State General Election, election analysts Antony Green and William Bowe in their commentary and blogs during the 2013 State General Election campaign refer to Mr Urban, the ALP candidate for Darling Range, as a former ‘war crimes investigator in Bosnia’, 34 and, further, that a 2012 article in the Armadale Examiner refers to candidate Barry Urban holding a ‘policing degree and honours in physical education and applied science from Leeds University’. 35 In a subsequent clarification to this aspect of his testimony, Mr Dixon advised the Committee, ‘As I and WA Labor were Administrators and Editors of the page we received a notification that the page was “edited” or altered. I do not recall the date in which this was done but by memory it was between 18 and 22 of November 2017’. 34 The Poll Bludger, ‘Electorate: Darling Range’ https://www.pollbludger.net/wa2013-darlingrange/ Antony Green, ‘WA Votes: Darling Range’ http://www.abc.net.au/elections/wa/2013/guide/darl.htm 35 Robyn Molloy, ‘Urban quits policing to take on Simpson’, Armadale Examiner, 23 August 2012, p. 6. 33 89 Chapter 3 Fabricating international police service and wearing a service medal to which one is not entitled is deeply offensive and distressing to members and veterans of the international peacekeeping and law enforcement community and their families. Fabricating educational qualifications is deeply offensive to those members of the public who accumulate debt to fund their studies and who forgo personal and family time to attend courses and complete assignments. The Committee observes that resume fraud is not only dishonest and dishonourable conduct, it is in many cases illegal. The Committee has already referred above to the two statutes that Mr Urban could have contravened in his WA Police applications. Relevantly, the Committee notes the recent landmark case of the Australian Tax Office (ATO) dismissing an employee who lied about holding tertiary qualifications and further notes that the terminated employee was convicted and fined after the ATO forwarded a brief of evidence to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. 36 Finding Finding 15 The Committee finds that the Member for Darling Range has deliberately misrepresented his educational qualifications and work history over an extended period. 36 Australian Payroll Association, ‘Public Servant Convicted of Fraud for Lying on CV’ https://www.austpayroll.com.au/announcements/public-servant-convicted-of-fraud-for-lying-on-cv 90 Chapter 4 Protecting the House The electorate is the final arbiter of the conduct of members of the Legislative Assembly … Preamble to the Code of Conduct for Members of the Legislative Assembly A Collective Decision In reporting to the House, the Committee has decided to provide, for the House’s guidance, its considered views regarding the range of responses available to the Legislative Assembly to deal with the Member for Darling Range’s contempt, as well as the response the Committee considers to be the most appropriate. The Committee respectfully observes that the determination of any response is the responsibility of the House in its corporate capacity and that the Committee’s findings and recommendations do not bind the House in any respect. Adverse Consequences of the Member’s Contempt The Committee is aware that the Member for Darling Range has experienced significant punishment for his conduct. To be censured and derided as a liar on front-page articles, editorials and cartoons in the media and on social media would have been humiliating and distressing in the extreme for the Member and his family. The Member’s reputation is tarnished and this will have deleterious consequences for him now and in the future. The Member has relinquished his positions serving on Legislative Assembly committees, which is equivalent to a direct, substantial financial penalty. In addition, the finding of sustained, gross and aggravated contempt by this Committee constitutes a public admonition. The Committee, however, is also mindful that the contempts the Member has committed have resulted in significant and continuing adverse consequences for his constituents and for this House. In making false representations in his candidate’s ‘personal story or story of self’ 37 during the election campaign preceding the March 2017 State General Election, Mr Urban violated his compact with those electors of Darling Range who voted for him on the basis of his service in Bosnia and his possession of tertiary educational qualifications. 37 The term used by Mr Dixon in his testimony to describe candidates’ personal information used by the WA Labor Party to advertise candidates to their electors during the election campaign. 91 Chapter 4 The Member’s false representations to the electors of Darling Range—and his unwavering refusal to acknowledge and apologise for these misrepresentations— undermine the trust that electors should be able to have in their representative. Further, the Member’s now compromised reputation for truthfulness and integrity will indubitably undermine his capacity to represent his constituents’ interests in the Parliament and prosecute their interests in the wider community. Simply put, who will feel confident that they can trust and rely upon anything the Member says? The Committee is also of the view that Mr Urban’s deliberate misrepresentations constitute an attack on this House by undermining the trust and mutual respect that members should be able to have in one another. In this context, the Committee notes the case of Armstrong v Budd which dealt with the expulsion from the Legislative Council of the New South Wales Parliament in 1969 of a member ‘adjudged guilty of conduct unworthy of a Member of the Legislative Council’. 38 The NSW Supreme Court in Equity endorsed the notion that: The proceedings of a House of Parliament must be more than merely orderly … They require, as do the proceedings of a court of law, the existence of a mutual trust and confidence between those who are concerned therein which cannot exist if there is amongst the members one whose conduct has demonstrated that he is unworthy of such trust and confidence. 39 The Committee is also of the view that Mr Urban’s deliberately misleading statements undermine the legitimacy of the most important parliamentary privilege—freedom of speech. The privilege of freedom of speech confers immunity against civil suits and criminal prosecution for anything a member of Parliament may say during proceedings in Parliament. The immunity is absolute and protects a member’s speech ‘however offensive it may be to the feelings, or injurious to the character, of individuals’ 40 and, relevantly in the context of this Inquiry, it ‘protects the member who knows what he is saying is untrue as much as the member who acts honestly and responsibly’. 41 In practical terms, as has been stated in a Canadian parliamentary practice volume: ‘There would be no freedom of speech if everything had to be proven true before it were uttered’. 42 Herron CJ quoting from the Legislative Council resolution of expulsion in Armstrong v Budd (1969) 71 SR (NSW) 386 at 389. 39 Sugerman JA in Armstrong v Budd (1969) 71 SR (NSW) 386 at 408. 40 Erskine May, 24th edn, p. 222. 41 United Kingdom, House of Lords and House of Commons, Joint Committee on Parliamentary Privilege, Report, Volume 1—Report and Proceedings of the Committee, Stationery Office, London, 1999, p. 17. 42 Audrey O’Brien and Marc Bosc eds, House of Commons Procedure and Practice, 2nd edn, Thomson Reuters, Ottawa, p. 93. 38 92 Chapter 4 In the leading nineteenth-century case on parliamentary privilege, Stockdale v Hansard, Justice Patteson answered his own rhetorical question: ‘Where then is the necessity for this power?’: Privilege, that is, immunities and safeguards, are necessary for the protection of the House of Commons, in the exercise of its high functions. All the subjects of this realm have derived, are deriving, and I trust and believe will continue to derive, the greatest benefits from the exercise of those functions. 43 In 1987 the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons affirmed the continuing importance of freedom of speech: There are only two kinds of institutions in this land to which this awesome and farreaching privilege extends—Parliament and the legislatures on the one hand and the courts on the other. These institutions enjoy the protection of absolute privilege because of the overriding need to ensure that the truth can be told, that any questions can be asked, and that debate can be free and uninhibited. Absolute privilege ensures that those performing their legitimate functions in these vital institutions of Government shall not be exposed to the possibility of legal action. This is necessary in the national interest and has been considered necessary under our democratic system for hundreds of years. It allows our judicial system and our parliamentary system to operate free of any hindrance. 44 In short, because the requirement for members of Parliament to speak freely, frankly and fearlessly is integral to a strong democracy, the immunity must be absolute. Although the privilege is absolute, parliaments are cognisant that freedom of speech is guaranteed for a noble purpose and that it must be exercised responsibly and in the public interest. As the quotation immediately above makes clear, freedom of speech is predicated on the notion ‘of the overriding need to ensure that the truth can be told’. Parliaments are equally cognisant that the abuse of the privilege by members can bring the institution of Parliament into disrepute, diminish public confidence in its processes, undermine its authority, impugn the integrity of all members, and prompt the ‘questioning of the legitimacy and continuing relevance of parliamentary privilege’. 45 As is the case with other parliaments in the Westminster system, the Legislative Assembly exhorts members to exercise the privilege of freedom of speech responsibly and with integrity. Most notably, in 2003 the Assembly adopted a Code of Conduct for Members of the Legislative Assembly which contains Rule 9 enjoining members to ‘consciously avoid causing undeserved harm to any individual’ in the exercise of the privilege and Rule 10 which directs that ‘Members must not knowingly mislead the Parliament or the public in statements they make and are obliged to correct the Patteson J, Stockdale v Hansard, (1839)9 AD & E1 at 214. House of Commons Procedure and Practice, pp. 97–98. 45 Western Australia, Commission on Government, Report One, Perth, 1995, p. 356. 43 44 93 Chapter 4 Parliamentary record as soon as possible when incorrect statements are made unintentionally’. While Article 9 immunises members against any legal action for their parliamentary speech, it does not preclude a House itself from investigating and disciplining abuses of the privilege of free speech. Penalties for Contempt Most parliaments in the Westminster system can exercise penal powers to sanction contempt. A few parliamentary jurisdictions, such as New South Wales, due to the constitutional terms of their settlement, do not hold punitive powers, but under the common law doctrine of necessity, hold ‘protective or self-defensive power’ by which they can enforce their authority to ensure their continued existence as a corporate entity and to enable the ‘due and orderly exercise of its functions’. 46 The privileges, immunities and powers of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council of the Parliament of Western Australia are defined in the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891 (WA), which was enacted pursuant to section 36 of the Constitution Act 1889 (WA). Section 36 provides: 36. Privileges of both Houses It shall be lawful for the Legislature of the Colony, by any Act to define the privileges, immunities, and powers to be held, enjoyed, and exercised by the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, and by the members thereof respectively. Section 1 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891 (WA) provides: 1. Privileges, immunities and powers of Council and Assembly The Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, and their members and committees, have and may exercise — (a) the privileges, immunities and powers set out in this Act; and (b) to the extent that they are not inconsistent with this Act, the privileges, immunities and powers by custom, statute or otherwise of the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom and its members and committees as at 1 January 1989. 46 Herron CJ, Armstrong v Budd (1969) 71 SR (NSW) 386 at 393, 391. 94 Chapter 4 Section 8 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891 (WA) enumerates a list of contempts for which the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council can punish summarily—and impose an uncapped fine. 8. Houses empowered to punish summarily for certain contempts Each House of the said Parliament is hereby empowered to punish in a summary manner as for contempt by fine according to the Standing Orders of either House, and in the event of such fine not being immediately paid, by imprisonment in the custody of its own officer in such place within the Colony as the House may direct until such fine shall have been paid, or until the end of the then existing session or any portion thereof, any of the offences hereinafter enumerated whether committed by a member of the House or by any other person — (a) disobedience to any order of either House or of any Committee duly authorised in that behalf to attend or to produce papers, books, records, or other documents, before the House or such Committee, unless excused by the House in manner aforesaid; (b) refusing to be examined before, or to answer any lawful and relevant question put by the House or any such Committee, unless excused by the House in manner aforesaid; (c) assaulting, obstructing, or insulting any member in his coming to or going from the House, or on account of his behaviour in Parliament or endeavouring to compel any member by force, insult, or menace to declare himself in favour of or against any proposition or matter depending or expected to be brought before either House; (d) sending to a member any threatening letter on account of his behaviour in Parliament; (e) sending a challenge to fight a member; (f) offering a bribe to, or attempting to bribe a member; (g) creating or joining in any disturbance in the House, or in the vicinity of the House while the same is sitting, whereby the proceedings of such House may be interrupted. In addition to these enumerated contempts, the Legislative Assembly’s and Legislative Council’s overarching power to punish contempts derives from linkage, through section 1 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891 (WA), to the ‘powers’ of the British House of Commons as at 1 January 1989. Consulting the 21st edition of Erskine May, which was published in 1989, it can be ascertained that in 1989 the House of Commons could draw upon the following penalties 95 Chapter 4 to sanction a member who had committed contempt: reprimand or admonition, suspension from the House, expulsion from the House and committal to Her Majesty’s prisons. 47 Erskine May is somewhat reticent, however, about the capacity of the Commons to fine for contempt given that the last time the Commons did so was in 1666. 48 More recently, the 2013 UK Joint Committee on Parliamentary Privilege has controverted the proposition that the Common’s ability to fine had ever ‘lapsed’: 49 ‘Desuetude is not a legal doctrine in England and Wales, and there is no need for statute to confirm what already exists’. 50 The Legislative Assembly is empowered to impose a fine to any amount for the contempts catalogued in section 8 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1891 (WA). For contempts not covered by section 8—which includes a member deliberately misleading the House and/or one of its Committees—Standing Order 56 directs that the House can impose a ‘penalty not exceeding one hundred dollars’, although, somewhat anomalously, the same Standing Order provides that the House can imprison contemnors who do not immediately pay this token fine. The Committee has considered the range of penalties available to the House and is of the view that the Member’s sustained, gross and aggravated contempt is too egregious for a reprimand, admonition or a fine ‘not exceeding one hundred dollars’. Given that the Member’s conduct would be grounds for termination in other workplaces—and potentially lead to criminal prosecution—the Committee considers that such minor sanctions would look like a slap on the wrist for one of our own and would not align with community expectations. The Parliament of Western Australia passes legislation and establishes agencies to ensure probity, integrity and accountability in this State. In the Committee’s view, Parliament should model, and not be exempt from, such probity, integrity and accountability in its own governance and processes. Suspension from the service of the House is one of the more serious penalties available to sanction a member, and in 2007 the House voted to suspend the Member for Murchison-Eyre for seven sitting weeks for his contempt of disclosing a confidential draft Committee report to an interested party. Suspension is a highly problematic sanction, however. During debate in the House to suspend the Member for Murchison-Eyre, the 47 C.J. Boulton (ed), Erskine May’s Treatise on The Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament, 21st edn, Butterworths, London, 1989, pp. 103–114. Erskine May, 21st edn, p. 110. 49 United Kingdom, House of Lords and House of Commons, Joint Committee on Parliamentary Privilege, Report, Volume 1—Report and Proceedings of the Committee, Stationery Office, London, 1999, p. 73. 50 United Kingdom, House of Lords and House of Commons, Joint Committee on Parliamentary Privilege, Parliamentary Privilege, Stationery Office, London, 2013, p. 23. 48 96 Chapter 4 then Leader of the Opposition observed that for many members of the public, suspension ‘would basically constitute paid long service leave ... It is a paid holiday …’. 51 It has also frequently been argued that a suspension of a member from the House essentially punishes—or disenfranchises—the contemnor’s electors as they do not have a member in the legislature to present petitions and grievances on their behalf or to prosecute their interests on Bills and motions. Again, this point was made forcefully during the debate on the suspension of the Member for Murchison-Eyre: I have trouble with this house suspending the Member for Murchison-Eyre for three months. Members should understand what that means. It does not affect that Member in the pocket. It means that the people in the electorate of Murchison-Eyre will not have a representative in this Parliament for three months … It is not the community’s fault that a member transgressed. A community is being punished because it will not have a voice in this Parliament. 52 The Committee is of the view that the only appropriate recommendations it can make are that the House should formally record its censure of the sustained, gross and aggravated contempt committed by the Member and then vote to order the expulsion of the Member from the Legislative Assembly. The Committee does not make these recommendations lightly, aware that if the House supports these recommendations, it would be the first time that a member has been expelled from the Parliament of Western Australia. The expulsion of a member is a serious action and one that must never be taken without the strongest justification. The Committee considers there is such justification in this case. The Committee is of the view that the Member for Darling Range has demonstrated a pattern of serial dishonesty and deception for at least two decades and a steadfast refusal to acknowledge or express contrition for this deception. Indeed, when first challenged about his deception, in November last year, the Member attempted to deflect blame and he has continued to avoid responsibility for his actions. This is not a case of a single error of judgment or a single lapse of rectitude, which a member has subsequently acknowledged and attempted to expiate. Expulsion Expulsion of the Member for Darling Range may appear to be an additional punishment imposed on someone who has already been subject to severe punishment. Expulsion, however, has been aptly described in Erskine May as less of a punitive measure and more of ‘an example of the House’s power to regulate its own constitution’. 53 Indeed, the Committee notes that the last member to be expelled from an Australian legislature Hon Paul Omodei MLA, Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 21 June 2007, p. 3521. Mr John D’Orazio MLA, Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 21 June 2007, p. 3563. 53 Erskine May, 24th edn, p. 198. 51 52 97 Chapter 4 came from the only Australian Parliament, New South Wales, which does not hold penal power. When moving the motion to expel Mr Armstrong from the NSW Legislative Council, the Leader of the Government in the House affirmed: In our democracy, in the parliamentary institution in the free world, it is essential that the standing of Members of Parliament in the eyes of the community should be maintained at a high level. It is necessary to maintain certain standards for the very preservation of the institution of Parliament itself … We are members of a sovereign law-making body and for this reason the House itself is given a measure of responsibility in the control of the behaviour of its members. 54 In the resultant court case, Armstrong v Budd, in which the Supreme Court justices unanimously upheld the right of the Legislative Council to order the expulsion of Mr Armstrong, Chief Justice Herron observed: Such an order is entirely protective and notwithstanding that its exercise may involve great deprivation to the person disciplined, there is no element of punishment. 55 The Committee concurs that expulsion is a protective measure for a legislature. In the context of such a discussion, the Committee refers the House to one of the more recent expulsion cases from the House of Commons. In 1947 the Member for Gravesend, Mr Garry Allighan, was found to be in gross contempt of the House for writing untruthful and scurrilous articles about members—a contempt which he ‘aggravated’ 56 by subjecting the Committee of Privileges investigating him to ‘a sustained barrage of prevarication and perjury’. 57 Mr Allighan was also found to have corruptly accepted payment for disclosing ‘information about matters to be proceeded with in Parliament obtained from other Members under the obligation of secrecy’ and the House determined that his ‘dishonourable conduct’ was such as to tend ‘to destroy mutual confidence among Members and to lower this House in the estimation of the people’. 58 The House resolved, ‘That Mr Allighan, for his gross contempts of the House and for his misconduct, be expelled from this House’. 59 In the debate on the expulsion motion, the members’ focus was, as Mr Frederick Skinnard, Member for Harrow East, observed, not on ‘punishing or not punishing’, but The Leader of the House quoted by Herron CJ in Armstrong v Budd (1969) 71 SR (NSW) 386 at 395. Herron CJ, Armstrong v Budd (1969) 71 SR (NSW) 386 at 396. 56 United Kingdom, House of Commons, Report from the Committee of Privileges: Together with the Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence and Appendices, His Majesty’s Stationery Office, London, 1947, p. xi. 57 Mr Wilson Harris, Member for Cambridge, Hansard Official Report, 30 October 1947, Vol. 443, cc. 1094–228. 58 Hansard Official Report, 30 October 1947, Vol. 443, cc. 1111 59 Hansard Official Report, 30 October 1947, Vol. 443, cc. 1197. 54 55 98 Chapter 4 on protecting the House of Commons. 60 Mr Quentin Hogg, the Member for Oxford, put the case very cogently: I want to avoid, perhaps because I am the third lawyer to speak, making any legalistic approach to this question because I must say, although I am intensely proud of my profession of the law, that this does not strike me primarily as a legal issue. It strikes me primarily as a simple issue of common sense and a direct issue of professional morals. … All professions—the law, accountancy, medicine, dentistry and all others—have to maintain a standard of ethical conduct among their members, and all of them maintain—privilege or whatever they call it—inherently and of necessity the right to deal in a disciplinary fashion with those members of the profession who, for whatever reason, disregard the ethical rules of conduct without which the profession cannot be carried on. It is impossible in advance to prescribe for any profession or to ask any profession to prescribe for itself, a comprehensive definition of what amounts to unprofessional conduct requiring disciplinary sanction. In each case the common sense and judgment of the profession whether as a whole or acting through its disciplinary committee has to be brought to bear on the particular circumstances of that case, and they have to say, looking upon it in that way as judges of fact and as experienced members of that profession, whether conduct of a particular sort is tolerable in a member of that profession. Solicitors are struck off the roll and doctors are deprived of their right to practise, sometimes because they commit criminal offences against the law—forging a cheque, stealing money and the like—or sometimes because they do something which so upsets the prestige and position of that profession in the world, or so alters the degree of confidence which must be expected between its members for the proper conduct of their work, that if it were permitted to take place without punishment the profession could no longer exist as an honourable body. … Our profession is, although we are deeply divided on many matters, an honourable one. We are professional politicians. We are Members of this House of Commons and we owe it to this House and to the world that we insist upon disciplinary action and a standard of conduct which will enable us to hold up our heads as such and carry on our business in the proper manner. If we do not do that, be sure of this, no profession in the world can maintain its prestige or position unless in the last resort it is prepared to impose sanctions on its members … That leads me to the question of precedent. Make no mistake about it, we are, in a sense, creating a precedent this afternoon. That precedent is created not by the exact terms of the Motion, not by its possible implications if some tortuous meaning is given to it, but by the nature of our decision on this particular case. I am profoundly of the opinion that if we were to refuse to pass this Motion, we should not merely be failing our duty, but we should be creating the most dangerous precedent in the world which would let into the conduct of Members of this House 60 Hansard Official Report, 30 October 1947, Vol. 443, cc. 1094–228. 99 Chapter 4 of Commons types of behaviour which would render it impossible to carry on our business here. 61 Mr Thomas Braddock, the Member for Mitcham, extended this caution: … if we are going to countenance an offence of this sort, which we have condemned to the uttermost degree … we shall be encouraging all sorts of difficulties, all sorts of wrong action, in local government and other types of organisation in this country. 62 Mr Charles Gibson, the Member for Kennington likewise supported expulsion on the grounds of needing to ‘defend the whole conception of democratic procedure, honesty and straightforwardness in public life’. 63 Concluding Observations The Committee does not consider that the Member for Darling Range is the person he represented himself to be to the electors of Darling Range and has thereby breached the trust of his constituents. The Committee does not consider the Member is the person he has represented himself to be to the Legislative Assembly and that he has thereby breached the trust of his parliamentary colleagues. The Committee deprecates the Member’s conduct in deliberately misleading the House and its Committee, and deprecates the fact that this deception has been part of a longstanding pattern of behaviour. The Committee considers that the Member through his actions has struck at the privileges which for centuries have enabled parliaments to fulfil their duties in the public interest. The Committee considers that the Member’s discreditable and dishonourable behaviour risks bringing the Legislative Assembly into disrepute and, as a corollary, undermine its ability to discharge its important roles. The Committee does not believe that the continuing presence of this Member in the Parliament is either appropriate or tenable, but recognises that the electorate is always the final arbiter of a member’s fitness to serve. The expulsion of a member from the Legislative Assembly does not preclude the expelled member from recontesting his or her former seat at the resultant by-election. The Committee recommends that the House gives the electors of Darling Range the opportunity to settle the matter. Hansard Official Report, 30 October 1947, Vol. 443, cc. 1094–228. Hansard Official Report, 30 October 1947, Vol. 443, cc. 1094–228. 63 Hansard Official Report, 30 October 1947, Vol. 443, cc. 1094–228. 61 62 100 Chapter 4 Recommendations The Committee recommends: Recommendation 1 The Legislative Assembly finds the Member for Darling Range guilty of the following contempts of the Legislative Assembly – (a) he deliberately misled the House when he represented on his Biographical Information that: (i) he had attended ‘Leeds University 1990–93’ and had achieved a ‘BA (Hons) Physical Education & Applied Social Science’; (ii) he had attended ‘Portsmouth University 1993–94’ and had achieved a ‘Post Grad – Police Studies’; and (iii) he had achieved a ‘Diploma Local Government’; (b) he deliberately misled the House in his Inaugural Speech when he said: (i) ‘The police force supported me twice through university’; and (ii) ‘In late 1998, following a period investigating atrocities that humans do to each other in the Balkans’; and (c) he deliberately misled the House in his Personal Explanation when he said: (i) ‘in the early 2000s, I ordered a commemorative international police service medal from a recognised military supplier in Western Australia. What I received instead was an Australian Police Overseas Service Medal, which I mistakenly believed I was entitled to wear but which I now recognise I was not eligible to wear. When I was first asked about the medal by the media and the Premier, I was under the genuine but mistaken belief that it was the correct medal’; and (ii) ‘I completed nine out of the 10 modules’. Recommendation 2 The Legislative Assembly finds that the Member for Darling Range, in committing the contempts above, has committed a sustained and gross contempt of Parliament, and has abused the privilege of freedom of speech. 101 Chapter 4 Recommendation 3 The Legislative Assembly finds the Member for Darling Range, in both his written submissions to the Procedure and Privileges Committee and in his testimony before the Committee, deliberately sought to mislead the Committee by asserting that: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) he had a degree from the University of Leeds; he had a Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth; he had completed nine out of the 10 modules of a Diploma of Local Government; he was, in the second half of 1998, seconded from West Midlands Police and served with the United Nations mission in Bosnia, where he provided security for a team investigating war crimes; he was posted a medal from UK authorities; he subsequently lost such a medal; he was entitled to wear such a medal; and he was under a genuine but mistaken belief that he was entitled to wear a replica police overseas service medal. Recommendation 4 The Legislative Assembly finds the Member for Darling Range deliberately sought to deceive the Committee by providing to it a forgery of a degree from the University of Leeds. Recommendation 5 The Legislative Assembly finds that the Member for Darling Range, in providing deliberately misleading testimony and submissions, including the provision of a forged document, to an Inquiry specifically constituted to establish the veracity or otherwise of his statements, has committed a gross and aggravated contempt of Parliament, and has abused the privilege of freedom of speech. Recommendation 6 The Legislative Assembly finds that the Member for Darling Range has deliberately misrepresented his educational qualifications and work history over an extended period. 102 Chapter 4 Recommendation 7 The Legislative Assembly expels the Member for Darling Range as a member of the Legislative Assembly, and declares the seat of Darling Range vacant by reason of such expulsion. Recommendation 8 The Legislative Assembly resolves to revoke any and all privileges the Member for Darling Range would otherwise have as a former member of the Parliament. Hon Peter Watson MLA Chair 103 Appendix One Inquiry’s Terms of Reference To consider and report back to the House by a date to be determined by the Committee itself whether there have been any breaches of privilege in relation to any statements made to the House by the Member for Darling Range. 105 Appendix Two Committee’s Functions and Powers Legislative Assembly Standing Order 284 provides the following functions, powers and terms of reference to the Procedure and Privileges Committee – Procedure and Privileges Committee 284. (1) A Procedure and Privileges Committee will be appointed at the beginning of each Parliament to — (a) examine and report on the procedures of the Assembly; and (b) examine and report on issues of privilege; and (c) wherever necessary, confer with a similar committee of the Council. (2) Membership of the committee will consist of the Speaker and four other members as the Assembly appoints. (3) Standing Order 278 will apply except that where possible any report of the committee will be presented by the Deputy Speaker. (4) When consideration of a report from the committee is set down as an order of the day it will be considered using the consideration in detail procedure. 107 Appendix Three Statement Appearing on Mr Urban?s MLA Facebook Page 18 November 2017 A Government for You. In Palm W. magnum. Barry Urban for Dating 5-1 Chonlcl661?? Nam-?sid- 11.1.: 4.. 7" .- 109 Appendix Four Mr Urban?s Personal Explanation 30 November 2017 MEMBER FOR DARLING RANGE Service Medals and Quali?cations 7 Personal Explanation MR B. URBAN (Darling Range) [9.01 am]: I rise under standing order 148 to make a personal explanation. I am here today to make a statement regarding allegations that have been made about my past service and education. I have previously acknowledged thatI wore a service medal that I was not entitled to wear. I have explained that in the early 20005, Iordered a commemorative international police service medal from arecognised military supplier in Western Australia. What I received instead was an Australian Police Overseas Service Medal, which I mistakenly believedI was entitled to wear but which I now recognise I was not eligible to wear. WhenI was first asked about the medal by the media and the Premier, I was under the genuine but mistaken belief that it was the correct medal. I am embarrassed by my error and for the hurt I may have caused by my actions. At no time did I intend to cause an offence or distress to any past or present member of the Australian police service who has served abroad in peacekeeping and law enforcement roles. In regard to my service in the British Army, I served from 1985 to 1989. I served with the 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery and was deployed to Cyprus as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping force stationed there in 1988 to 1989. As is common in the armed services, I spent time in a number of different locations. I am proud of my service with the British Army and particularly my deployment in Cyprus, and I wear my UN service medal with pride. In regard to my service in the British police force, Iserved with the Hertfordshire Constabulary and the West Midlands Police over a period from 1989 to 1998. Iam proud of my record as apolice officer in the United Kingdom. In regard to my service with the Western Australian police service, I served from 2005 to 2012. Iam also proud of my service as aWestern Australian police officer. In relation to other allegations about my service history, I am currently seeking further information from the relevant authorities to substantiate that service history. Further, in relation to the allegations made against me regarding my tertiary qualifications, I am also seeking information to substantiate those qualifications. I also today acknowledge thatI claimed to complete a Diploma of Local Government. I completed nine out of the 10 modules, and the final module was not assessed; it was not completed. I have amended my resume to reflect this and I request that any records be corrected. I will now take time to reflect on my actions and will continue to seek professional treatment and counselling. As a consequence of my service with the UK and WA police, I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Like many service personnel, Ihave seen and experienced things that are very hard to fathom. While I am largely able to manage my PT SD at most times, in times of high stress my PTSD can make it hard for me to function. PTSD is a devastating and insidious disease and I am doing my best to cope in these difficult circumstances. I encourage anyone who has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder to seek advice and support from a doctor or professional counselling service. I would like to take this opportunity to advise the Parliament that Ihave resigned as a member of the Public Accounts Committee and the Joint Standing Committee on Audit, effective from this sitting date. Ihave already resigned from the WA Labor Party. Finally, I apologise unreservedly to this Parliament. I apologise to the Premier and thank him for his understanding. I apologise to my colleagues and thank them for their continued messages of support for me and my family. I would like to thank the constituents of Darling Range for their continued messages of support and visits to my home. I ask that my family?s privacy be respected during this period. As members can imagine, this has been a traumatic period for my wife and my children. I love them dearly and I thank them for their constant love and support for me during this time. Thank you. 111 Appendix Five Extract from Biographical Information Biographical information (5) Names (and dates) of schools attended: HIGH 3:;ch WISE 533? eeps uNNeaer ?33 iciqg,qq. (6) Details of any tertiary degrees/diplomas/trade certificates etc achieved and name of relevant institution: As acme. BA- (uoN?s) gbumTioN 5i APPLAGO SOOLPL. SCAQNCE POST 17ch 5) LO CAL cavegum 113 Appendix Six Mr Urban?s Inaugural Speech 17 May 2017 MR URBAN (Darling Range) [1.11 pm]: I thank Madam Acting Speaker (Ms S.E. Winton) for the opportunity to address members of the Legislative Assembly on my first occasion rising in this great chamber as the member for Darling Range. Iwish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we are meeting on, the Whadjuk people from the Noongar nation. I wish to pay my respect to their elders, past, present and future. It is a great privilege and honour to have been elected by the people of Darling Range and I will do my best to represent their interests here in Parliament. I wish to pay tribute to the Darling Range campaign team. Those people include my campaign directors, Matt Keogh, the federal member for Burt, and Dr Tony Buti, the member for Armadale', my campaign manager, Callan Tree', my field organiser, Harrisan Burrows; and my special helpers from the east, Ethan Stein, John McManus and Lucy Collier. With the assistance of many local volunteers from our community, and rank and file members from the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, the Maritime Union of Australia, the Australian Manufacturing Workers? Union, the Australian Services Union, the Electrical Trades Union, the Transport Workers? Union, the Australian Workers? Union, and United Voice, we engaged in an energetic and professional campaign, talking to thousands of Darling Range residents. We listened to their concerns and aspirations. I come to this place motivated and committed to address my community?s concerns and seeking to realise its aspirations. I was fortunate to receive outstanding assistance and support from many of my parliamentary colleagues, including the Premier, who, as the Leader of the Labor Party, visited Darling Range many times before and during the election campaign. Like me, the Premier is committed to improving the lives of my constituents and the lives of all Western Australians. I must make special mention of Matthew Swinbourn, a newly elected upper house member for East Metropolitan Region. Without doubt, he was a confidante and a great boost to my personal morale on days when it was tough. He was with me every single step of the way during the campaign. I thank you, Matt, and I very much look forward to working with you as we seek to improve the lives of people in my electorate. I am truly grateful for the friendship and supportI have had along the way from Phil Eva, who is not here today, Dave Elliott, Mark Keeler, Wayne Eadon, Ron Mellowship, Yazi, of course, John Kirkpatrick and Chelle Rich. You were there when I needed you the most. The community of Darling Range, like the rest of the state, have given the McGowan Labor government a clear mandate to stop the privatisation of Western Power. On this front, our campaign on this issue was well supported by Wayne Wood and his Australian Services Union team, and Les McLaughlan and his Electrical Trades Union team. Thank you for such a great campaign and for your strong personal support. My brother John was not able to be here today as he lives in the UK. My brother amazes me in so many ways. I am going to cry now, so just accept it! We were in the best regiment and battery together, which I will go into later. We grew up with love, hatred, hard times and good times, and we have remained best friends. We are so close to each other, and even though distance separates us we keep in regular contact through Skype, along with my niece Larissa and her son Ryan. My brother works long hours in the south east of England as an installations manager for a central heating company. When he has downtime, he spends lots of time raising money for the British cancer foundation. He has emerged as one of the major events organisers for fun runs, Relay for Life and Tough Mudder events. He has been known to wear pink with pride. He wears tutus quite regularly and attacks competitors with water pistols. All this he does to raise awareness for one of the biggest causes of death in our communities. The big has taken many of our friends and family members far too early. Our great friend Doug Fagg, only in his mid-40$, is fighting this illness. Every day I think of him, Donna and the family, and he will always be in my prayers. 115 Appendix Six This next bit is going to be hard. Finally, thank you to my family, Rosemary or ?Ye Olde Bat", Lachlan, Nathan, Jack, our adopted daughter Tanya and all my family members in the UK, Australia and Canada. Some are watching this on the internel. I am supposed to be rough and tough, aren't Right! Thank you to my wife, Jen, who has supported me through all my craziness over the years. We do all the mad things together. We ride motorbikes and put on wetsuits to dive in the most amazing locations in Australia and around the world. We both love travelling and meeting people from different customs and cultures. 1 cannot understand why she refuses to join me parachuting or BASE-jumping! She just will not do it. She has supported me through my time as a councillor at the Shire of Serpentine?Jarrahdale and has single-handedly kept our family together. 1 can never thank her enough. Today is a day I will never forget. I have just crossed over into my eighteenth year of living in Australia. It has been an eventful journey. Let me go back a little over 48 years. [was born in a coalmining village called Ashington in Northumberland. My father was a coalminer and my mother was an auxiliary nurse in a local mental hospital. My brother and [had a raised and varied upbringing. Like many other families, we were not well?off. My parents saved all year to take us on a holiday and often took out personal loans to pay for our trips. Our upbringing was like most kids in the north east of England, it was a mixture of mischief and adventure. My love for judo and rugby started in Ashington, where lrepresented the local area in both sports. lam forever grateful to people like Ronnie ?Chuckic? Morris and Davy Garrett?may he rest in peace?who introduced discipline and compassion to many kids who entered the dojo. Liven if we were not in a ?nancial position to pay the fees, we were always welcome and made to feel welcome. When 1 was a kid, north east communities centred on the local coalmines. Kids left school to work down the pit in many varied roles. This started to change in the IQSDs under the Thatcher government. The Tories attacked the heart of the union and the working class and the communities. Workers" rights, workers" conditions and wages were all under attack, even though productivity was at its highest. This was a direct assault on my community. The 1984 miners? strike consolidated our community behind the National Union of Mineworkers. Throughout the year-long strike, my family saw others struggle financially, and my family endured that too. Houses were being repossessed and families were falling apart. The Thatcher government broke the once-proud mining communities of the north east of England. Some of them have never recovered. l"amilies were torn apart as men stepped over the picket lines against the will of their brothers and sisters to save their families from further humiliation. Some men killed themselves, as they thought life would be better for their families if they were not there. Others ended up with criminal records, as they were committing offences in order to put food on the table for their families. My family survived on food parcels from strangers and handouts from friends and family. The strike concluded in early 1985 with promises of better working conditions, better workers? rights and fairer wages. 'l'hese promises were broken by the Thatcher government and pits were closed at alarming rates. in 1936 the last mine in my area was closed and the community as I knew it no longer exists. Where 1 come from, there were not a lot ofopportunities available. With the closure of the mines, it was pretty much the dole or commencing a career in petty crime, with some ending up being placed at Her Majesty's pleasure at Durham or Acklington prisons, although there was another option?the military. My brother joined the Arm in 1933 while 1 was still in high school. 1 had a great time at Hirst High School. I was an average student, gaining average quali?cations. We were not supposed to amount to much. However, we were fortimate to have some great teachers, and three in particular encouraged us to break the mould and achieve the best we could. Brian l-lannaford, Sheila Harrison and Mills became mentors for so many kids and made a real difference in my life. At school 1 forged friendships that have stood the test of time: Don and Doug Kindley; and. of course, my second parents, not. and lies; Steve Pin; and Kevin llorwood. Our friendship has been over 40 years long. On 17 June 1985, Ileft school and 10 days later Iwas on the train to the Junior Leaders Regiment Royal Artillery. Later Ibecame a member of the 3"d Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, the mighty (Sidi Reregh) Battery. This is where llean'ied the true meaning of mateship. We worked hard and played even harder. We backed each other and we supported each other through many situations. My regimental colleagues remain loyal friends to this day and lremain loyal to them: Rob ?Jock" L?Jonoghue, Sheds, Jimmy Hilton, 'faffLaff, Scouse Burton, and, of course, my brother, John, and many, many more. lapologise for not naming you, but will probably need an extension sometime anyway. 1 stand in this chamber proudly wearing my regimental tie in respect to you all. Thank you to Jerry Herbert, RITA (thd), and Alec ?Jock? Tlownie for your wisdom and advice. In 1989 my police life commenced, again with a huge sense of pride. I spent time with the Ilertfordshire Constabulary, West Midlands Police and Westem Australia Police, almost 24 years in total. In the police force Imet some the most important mentors in my life such as Thomas Kennedy?PC GOT?and his wife, Anne, Ian Langdon, Ian Herbert and Mick McCarthy who, it later transpired, came to 1N eslem Australia Pol ice and now we cannot get rid of the big Irishman. The police force supported me twice through university, for which 1 will be eternally grateful. I have stated to my police and lawyer mates in the United Kingdom that will somehow introduce the words ?penguin? and ?iceberg" into my speech sol will see whatl can do. 116 Appendix Six ln late 1993, following a period investigating atrocities that humans do to each other in the Balkans, left the British police to get a clear understanding of my personal journey. My life and outlook on life changed. 1 travelled the world and caught up with a long-term friend in Roekingham, Willy Buglass, who is also known as Boogie. He has supported me through so much and have achieved so much in life with his support and that of his wife, Lesley, including their introduction to my beautiful wife. 11 is with re?ection and a sense of balance that 1 see the suffering people endure on a daily basis. 1 have spent much of my adult life defending and ?ghting for people who cannot ?ght for themselves. As a police of?cer 1 have defended and supported victims of crime, victims of assaults and victims of domestic?related incidents and their families. 1 will continue to defend vulnerable people in our comm unity. Police officers face many issues on a daily basis. We expect a lot from them. We expect our men and women in blue to run towards danger when everyone else runs away. They see more tragedy, loss and life?changing moments than the average person in our community. It should be a no?brainer that we look after our police of?cers and their mental wellbeing, and that we support them ?nancially if they can no longer work due to a injury. The health and wellbeing of our police officers should he an absolute priority. Although there are no official statistics, we know that in the past three years three Western Australian police officers have tragically taken their life. Three is simply too many. One is too many. Sadly, it was in February this year that a senior constable took her life leaving behind ayoung son. Police of?cers on the frontlinc still say there is a lack of accountability for the unsupportive and often dismissive attitude of the agency following trauma?related incidents and work?acquired medical imues, particularly those of a nature. They agree that the approach to mental health training and awareness is ad hoe and that a pervasive police culture sees illnesses and injuries, particularly those of nature, as a weakness. This combined with aperceived lack of support from management or the hierarchy exacerbates the propensity for officers to suffer in silence. Our police officers should feel valued and supported for the work that they do in our community and not like a burden on our community. [Member?s time extended] Mr B. URBAN: Police officers should not be medically retired through the saute process as officers who have been accused of misconduct or corruption. The Priestern Australian Labor gove mment has committed to change the medical retirement process to ensure that of?cers can leave WA Police with dignity and respect. The WA Police Union has campaigned for a workers? compensation?style scheme for medically retired officers and the WA Labor government has undertaken to sit down and talk with key stakeholders about providing financial compensation for officers who gave their all to support our community. Policing is a difficult and dangerous job. A career?ending illness or injury can occur anywhere and at any time, even when they are not on duty. Police of?cers are the only workers who are agents of the lCrown. As such, police of?cers are never off duty, due to their oath of office and common law responsibility to uphold the law. If police officers are injured but still able to work, the current system is very good. However, if an officer is deemed medically unfit, it can leave them and their family destitute. lt not only affects the officer, but also has a profound impact on their immediate family. This can mean many things: losing the family home, bankruptcy, a breakdown of family relationships, loss of self-worth, depression or worse. A scheme to rectify this is a priority for this government and I want to help right the wrongs to keep medically retired officers off the scrap heap and give them the respect that they deserve. ?Crab man? Ryan Marron, have your back. For the past three years Ihave worked in the area of youth justice in the south west metro area under the management of lClaire Heffernan, Lie-arrme Rayner and Stephannie McPherson. Youth justice officers across the state have the enormous responsibility of trying to assist young offenders by helping them integrate into the community and hopefully break the cycle of reoffending. lam not forgetting you Renee, so do not stress. Looking at the issues youth in the Peel region face on a daily basis there are five recurring them es: trouble within family, friends who are engaged in criminal behaviour, disengagement from school, disconnection from the comm unity, and personal issues including drug and alcohol use, cognitive disorders and mental health issues. Methamphetamine and alpha-PVP?a drug known as the zombie drug?are the worst drugs to hit our communities. These drugs are being used by children as young as 11 years old on a daily basis. These drugs are destroying families in many ways. Offences committed by these offenders are not just stealing or damage related but also assaults and domestic violence. Many young people are exposed to drug and alcohol use in the home and they feel encouraged to use drugs themselves. A lack of money and the absence of basic needs such as food, clothing and housing are commonly identified as reasons for young people getting into trouble. Many young people described stealing as a means of getting money for things that they need. Many not-tbr-pro?t agencies are working with young people in the Peel region?Peel Youth Services, the Peel Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, the Peel Youth Medical Service, Shelter WA, 1"airbridge Village, the Palmerston Association and SMYL Community Services, to name but a few. These agencies work tirelessly to support those in our community who need support. As a government we must do better in supporting government agencies and not?for?profit organisations towards achieving betIcr outcomes for 117 Appendix Six those youth who are at risk. Whilst amember of this chamber Iwill be advocating for this section of our community that needs a voice here. I want to acknowledge the 24 000 Western Australians living with epilepsy and the challenges that they face every day. Epilepsy is the most common brain disorder in the world and yet sufferers often feel vulnerable, frustrated and isolated. They can face many limits to their independence, restricted opportunities, discrimination, stigmatism and impacts on their health and wellbeing. Epilepsy WA continues to provide them with support to achieve a better outcome and a better quality of life and to raise community awareness about this condition. I am sure members agree that people with epilepsy deserve consideration by us, both the government and the community, to be given a fair go and to feel well supported. The electorate of Darling Range is a special place. The community pulls together in so many ways, whether it is the heritage society in both Iarrahdale and Pickering Brook, the many community groups or the wonderful bush volunteer fire services. Our community is strong and committed to the hills and foothills. As people are aware, my wife and I, and our eldest son, Lachlan, are active members of the Iarrahdale brigade. Like all brigades in this state we are indebted to many people in our community who volunteer in whatever capacity they can. WA Labor has made a number of key commitments: the extension of the train line from Armadale to Byford, the transfer of land to the Serpentine?Jarrahdale shire for the regional sports facility in Whitby and the many grant allocations to numerous community groups. Iwill work hard to ensure that my community benefits from future infrastructure projects and job opportunities. Finally, as members can see, there are many things in my life that I cherish. It is true that, like the member for Armadale, my family are Dockers supporters. Western Force is my rugby team, alongside Newcastle Falcons, and I am an avid Newcastle United Football Club supporter. At the end of the 2015716 season Newcastle were relegated from the Premier League to the Champions League. This season they stood proud behind their manager, Rafa Benitez, and thousands of fanatical Geordies to win the Champions League ahead of Brighton on the final day. Next season the ?Toon Army? will represent the north east of England in football?s top division as both Sunderland and IVIiddlesbrough have been relegated. With my electorate officers I look forward to kicking some strategic goals for the people of Darling Range. I will do my best to ensure that the people of Darling Range?my constituents, my community?are strongly represented in this place. I am committed to doing this. This is why I stood as a Labor candidate for Darling Range in 2013 and again in 2017. Iwas unsuccessful in 2013 and I note the contribution made by the former member for Darling Range, Tony Simpson. Fortunately, 2017 was my day and here I am, the proud local member for Darling Range in the Legislative Assembly?with a Geordie accent. Iwill work so hard not to disappoint my electorate and to improve the quality of life for our community. Thank you. [Applause . 118 Appendix Seven West Midlands Police Career Review 1998 WP 732 [Amended 11.91) West Midlands Police CAREER REVEEW Name 1353/33 . diff/9M Rank .1636. Wage/ii. {0.3.21Q?i90. Age .. Division . . . WE . ?95? Post/Station Date Joined Service Q9212 Date Promoted Review Date .h7yir'. 9e? . . Present Position 557:??Time in Position 1. W05 A PERFORMANCE REVIEW NO. CATEGORIES Reviewer: 131 A53 2nd ASS COMMENTS 2nd ASSESSOR 1 Professional Knowledge 2. .2, 2 Written Expression 1, 3) Ah 3 Oral Expression i 2 4 Practical Ability 1 i 5 initiative i I i I 6 Appearance and Bearing 1 2_ A -- 7 7 Relationship with Colleagues 7_ .2 3 Quality of Public Contact 7, a, ?1 9 Strength of Character 1] A 10 Problem Solving {l 11 Organisation of Work 1 1 1 "l2 Leadership Potential 7/ 2. - SUPERVISORY RANKS 13 Acceptance of Responsibilities 14 Organising Ability 15 Effectiveness in Control 16 Assessment of People a 1st ASSESSORS COMMENTS detailing and weaknesses: n' 0v? k/ {/1593 Lem! ?anker ?veil/k M/Me?iify r? be ?ai?m 7L0. One/emf.) (Cu Zip?? LL V?w?n? 7?4 (4.2%an AM 6.. {Mn/d. wile/L Lea WW yam @0594;er ewe/4?. We Jo AW Mime-La! 1?in fob/5? Vt V43 I CWZBEM, H4, .5 Beam/Qt Signature lAssesyr) mow/7w? mi 2? ire/WM- Rank No. raise?xi?. Men?ref. . . .. i} ?cm/6w; C-L W?f $373-? Date l' 3 07% 42(0va OF TRAINING EEDS Signature (Revieweel 1. NM {denkf'ae? . Rank Sr No. . . . .3551} Date Wile"?! 119 Appendix Seven 2nd Assessons COMMENTS (Counsellor) Where grades of 4 or 5 are awarded in Section by 2nd Assessor, Part (Personal Improvement Plan) must be completed and implemented (this does NOT include grades of M5 at item 12}. If Part l' bl . *Syr?qup??p?g3rgair baf?iQE 061:? (65(301?166 OHiCef car/1d @Co on 56de Owner. rule @11qu lame law/1 to be c9 were di?tdmu?t?d rt: YO ?ns-U: Ol?l 0517'? ?i pbl??e??aio?ml cmeuemm. (Chm is) he) remade-?m @Lued ?memo? the: team wt was {l It Udell? ?k-Lf?iw his (?le?eepd?e bummer {@cem owlrsuenCee We V3 we sweet letter @up ft for ?E?Ji?Lid, it {20) met mum [CirOi/l r0 covet met? attacked/:3 emere UJVUCCVI Gan/imam: an; PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN {if appropriate} Critical Task Number (1 16} Problem outlined and discussed in specifics Performance Objective Set and time scale (maximum 3 month] for re?assessment Lie-assessment date Methods outlined to reach objective Control and Follow up Signature (Reviewee) . Signature {Assessor} Rank&No. Date Date 120 Appendix Seven 2nd COMMENTS (Counseiior) on Personai improvement Plan after agreed re-assessment period F: OVERALL im rovement Meets Exceeds ASSESSMENT GRADE Unacceptable iieeded Performance Performance Outstanding completed by Standards Standards 2nd Assessor 5 4 3 (2 1 Potential for next rank, within ra (Grades 1 7) Comments: QUE) Signature (Assessor) . . . Rank No. A. . . CRLH JOB APTITUDES 1 2 Date ?Lid-36:. g. fez? COMMENTS PARTICULAR SKILLS JOB PREFERENCES 1. Signature (Reviewee) 2. Date - SUB- DiViSiomAL COMMENTS 94 Urban User diam Q??rwmomv??w ?d?w (ML glad?? My; car/sec? 20/ Mifm?m( 311% b?d?fwm 4/61 ARE THE NEEDS APPROPRIATE 1 2. mag Comments: Signature (Assessor) . Rank N0. Cris. . . . . Date 121 Appendix Eight Degree from the University of Leeds The University of Leeds DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS at the College of Ripon and York St John It is hereby certi?ed that Barry Urban was admitted to the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours, Ciass II Division I in Physical Education Applied Social Sciences in Juiy 1994 RLLIISIRAR fi?m\ Au? Winn?, - )2 va?toml? 123 Appendix Eight ?10 ?1053.le mlul. 1'8. A'm?r? hm; noqi? 'Io agaiio') gm mm baitilwu {riumi 2i .0 nsde \an8 zit/Ctr) ?V'Jluxfaufl'lu 9-4133!) 311': bullimbn am.- 1 (miai-JKI II aani') Ii!? :2 Hi inanimjriq av?maiaa Ini'm'r'! b?jilriru?. I (mi, mi 124 Appendix Nine Hertfordshire Constabulary Staff Appraisal 1992 vr-an? STAFF APPRAISAL 3 . E. R1. F. :11? Unites t"1 mam?: ED Ems 4f irs-fe-w Finalising Of?cer . . m?h I mamm THE ERAQES TO BE 13. {3 P55 x. U?l 125 Appendix Nine ASSESSMENT OF mam: a (rm-muss ?an TC- 071:}, is; be- 7 omni?ted In leapec Consiables. to for all other Jam-:3. Please 'iioi: ?Lha phrase. which in you-7 considered EL Idgemen?g magi accurateiy I'efiac'is i273 Officer?s eh?iil'zyn a performar-CS. If you have had no oppor?unity toassessa anydimension. pieaseindicaie by writing NO. Jpportunity Iv} i?ne box. ADDITECSNAL 3E5 I483 UDED ROVEDED if? --E E. CH HEEBEMG. we alt-Hit; to analyse a prot-Je; and L. 0773 isle iv ma 72:55 Sound decisions 3an prop-L sale. emeiy sound, patcsepiive an sir i: Wei! consir? I Dccasicnaii}! sire-?e. or hesitant i3 :Rareiy mi": ic- ?Each reasonet 77? Professional Knowledqe 126 Appendix Nine (?Lanny (Ti 59. The to deal competan?y w?h a? in pres Comments (where app?cable) Abili'iv equai i0 chatlenge [3 We? able to relata theory in praciice \1 Sound and reliable Occasiona??y impracticai 1: I t) 121etic wiih We facility far c-meistan' {where 1:3 1 i E: Requires cecasfonan an adequate Requires transient mo?vation Ligameiatmaig The h: remain calm and even tempared the T2141. of difficuities. Ccmments (wh: ?0 re applicabfe} Ceim and a ran mmpez'ed f: I I Ora-h?mreswfm 1 E. [1wary am delivery sanTrewr-az ?mute-a beg communicamg Li 127 Appendix Nine "?3.11 Written Exbreasian hea 'biinyio sired: ve work of 5: b1 gh standaId. Comments {where appiicabib} moi-3.01116 Ci??iiy?ii? ieE-neas. Ail-1583's 311180th 5 arm . 5 ns- idsrcue and firm as re: 3.1L: red Ir; I invariaUy ciI if and fair :1 "Hymnal 11- he sbs'asne Can be iniolei?ani? and inconsiderate {3 11} mcz?w The capacity Han]. er rItErpIiz-?e an ncii' esour cs??ness 1 gppiicablei ?31:11 {Irspiam 11-13 Maui adnce or T112611: -. .1: .5- nr?? .-.- 17:0,; 11.1: :16: Mama: EDI-C: O: - - 11w; 2.21;: 192.13 w: 01.1121: :imc 101.5 1.1 m} 11,- 1- ib aces?pt 1: 128 Appendix Nine The extem ?to which the service can consisientiy rehr upon ?is sgpportl {Tam merits {where appiicabiei Reiiabie at ala? times If I, . . . a invariably gives euppon Li - ?7 . ru-?HiS m: Giana-J 4 L_l Unreliabii? LJ 515W 31? Reisie The seam rig of mutua! mesmerice Comm-ems {where Ai??tays we?! ac?gp?ied LE . . "rag" Usually well Lu Sm?raewi'iei reserved bu? gamma-j SJ Fa, Eiv ac {sepia Li 129 Appendix Nine . .u nr-uunvw ?Jl I (vi?ll {dale} and i have hes-r ghien tins epocl?uniiy vj?scu. p- Fl hi II) :13 130 Appendix Ten Certificate of Higher Education in Policing from the University of Portsmouth l\i\'ERSl BARRY URBAN hm 1mm awarded the CERTIFICATE OF HIGHER EDUCATION having itdlowcd an approved programme in May i995 I Rx-zv-Im 131 >353? rynu/ 14/?an all 1 ?rth n. (1:me pug/Of?) rd 1.4m? . R. mlwn? 00921:. vb .{Iv .FCTH?h/ur?m Appendix Eleven WALGA Academic Transcript TRANSCRIPT OF ACADEMIC RECORD Training Organisation: Westem Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) Student Name: Cr Barry Urban Student Number: 264656 Organisation: Shire of Serpentine Jan'ahdale SHORT COURSE PARTICIPATION RECORD magnesium Location Manage Recovery Activities for Local West Perth Government Profeseionally Speaking West Perth Financial Reports 8: Budgets West Perth Strategic Planning West Perth 'Manage Con?ict West Perth 3 Performance Appraisals West Perth Conduct of an Elected Member West Perth Councillor Roles Responsibilities West Perth Policy Development West Perth Change Management West Perth Sustainable Asset Management West Perth Land Use Planning West Perth QUALIFICATIONSISTATEMENTS 0F ATTAINMENT AWARDED Quali?cation 0 l'ii ll Eerie 52066 Diploma of Local Government (Elected Member) ?niLQf gemaeteocy Bede Undertake councillor roles and responsibilities I LGAGENESOZA Provide leadership within the council and community Develop and implement strategic plans BSBGOV403A Analyse ?nancial reports and budgets LGACOM6023 Coordinate and facilitate a change process LGADMIN527A Manage policy development DLGLUP501A Contribute to land use planning DLGSAM501 A 1 Manage assets sustainably Manage people perfon'nanoe Manage conflict END OF TRANSCRIPT Competencies Legend Competent WV Withdrawn formally (after some participation} my Never started - no participation NoSt Not yet started ?1 Discontinued - no formal withdrawal (after some participation) 133 ?tatus Did Not Attend Attended Amended A?ended Amended Amended Amended Adended Ahended Auended Attended Attended Status Cancelled W-FP W-FP were W-FP W-FP W-FP Dam 16 December 2013 24 September 2012 24 April 2012 23 April 2012 23 March 2012 22 March 2012 9 March 2012 8 March 2012 24 February 2012 23 February 2012 30 November 2011 29 November 2011 .1 522" iO?fEf) Farrow 12/11/2013 12l11/2013 12/112013 131112013 121102013 12i11/20?l3 121102013 121102013 12/11/2013 12/110013 Appendix Eleven NC NAS RPL-G RPL-NG CT RCC-G ROG-HG CJOB Not competent Non-assessable enrolment withdrawn or not satisfactorily completed Non-assessable enrolment - satisfactorily compieted Participating but studies not ?nished (with evidence) Participatinigl but studies not?nished evidence) Status granted by RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) not granted Credit Transfer granted Recognition of Current Competencies (RCC) granted Recognition of Current Competencies (RCC) not granted Prowsionally competent off the job (apprentices only) 134 135 WMP Statt Date 04?Dec?89 Ex~Emplovec Assignment Start Date 14-Dec?93 Bl?Oct-Q? 01-Apr-33? 30-Sep-96 Oct-Dau-SQ 3612 Assugnment L-nd Date 31?Dec?98 13?Dec?93 30-50139? 31?Mar?51? Baily Job Title Constable Constable Constable M2 UCLJ 12 OCU ME DELI M2 See Previous Postings {Spatial Info] Duty Actual Termmation Date Sector 13-906-98 Sector Unit 59.:th West Midlands Police Assignment History Appendix Twelve 137 - i "fl' Hui?Mmi??nmmindm mm sum-I HM uninhamlnw T'i?l Earrf Urban 1mm: 1mm: warm mum 12mm 0929-106 Cnndahln Con?nble (aninhlk? Conmll Brit-phyl- Hm Malina-m2." Emanmm?? ?ll-Ina: TM- Flildel-I run-mu D?Fl?'ir?? WIN war-name 1?'li?l? mm: intimr 06'191?35 Eu Uni-"It Milli-HO [Illihill DEED-UT El?n-05 usual-OE ?rm-K15 MW 0112?}! 0951-?! 1mm ?lms mvumqllor nwuljgalnr [Mn-11901:" um?wr {annals 0mm: Con?ihll Dialed?: (Unstable 0M9 can?ahlal Oak-clue Canalihle DMD Cnndahll Dekdm: Kalli-Ill! Drums cannula Damn cannahl: Cnnuahln COM-halt DHr?wr Lani-ill- CBIISIMII Pusan-l WP Sun 1mm! {amiable tnn'iahll- Corl?ihll Pct-Mud Cons?labll 1mm CUn?-Iblc Cannabis Curl?ibl: Conunhlo Eo??ahll Con?ublc Con?ubl: conmblu Can-?ahll Curls'lnbk anionic- consume cunnabl: Candabll Cami- Lnn?ahll- LIJJDEIT M3 CCU M2 CriU ME Mi OCU 5n: Frau-urn Pinning:- l'E-puial Hui CID lulu CID Div DnDELI LI 0W DELI cum MW Div ?32 Oil! Sue Pnalmg: I'LpuiJl HM Inn-l 0n: Duly 13'13'99- 1313'!!- 1215193 Sonar SIL'inr Eider Anni null} 03'3?? 0331.1? mun 0331.111 DIG-11H 03131111 0331!? 01'3?? ?l?ll? mm: 03?3?? 01'3?? Miner 1? Halal mmigaiion learn Simon and Wind?Cnmr- Pm WI (rim: Inn-I Fro-m learn FPO (Full! Part: crirrn' LMI Farr! Crirm uni form: Crime UM Fro-Am Llnil MINING I?L'lhf mime Ham ?lrinr Outside Pane ED ?rmly-?lm! ?inablriM-dnnF?iuh?l?m. Mill-I- annihil?pomliun 0-:ng .ulw may TlIlFmt.bm1Mdl?.MMn hmeI: West Midlands Police Comparative Assignment Histories Appendix Thirteen 139 Full ist of of?cers seconded to Bosnia (hose writte? i1 were retrieved from oreviods oosti?gs} Personal RankIGradlAssignment Start DateAssignment End Date Attachment Detail Constable 4-Oct-99 5-Nov-00 BOSNIA Constable 14-Dec-03 2dan-05 Overseas - Bosnia Sergeant 14-Apr-03 18-Feb-06 Bosnia-ext to 31 Dec 05 approved by DW Constable 19-Apr-01 12-Apr-02 BOSNIA IPTF Constable 18-Apr-02 Nun-03 OVERSEAS - BOSNIA Constable 5-Oct-00 4-Nov-01 IPTF BOSNIA Constable T-Apr-99 16-May-00 IPTF BOSNIA Inspector 2T-Mar-98 5-Apr-99 Bosnia - International Police Task Force Constable 5-Oct-00 4-Nov-01 IPTF BOSNIA Constable 1-Oct-98 30dan-00 Bosnia - International Task Force Constable 5-Oct-00 4-Nov-01 IPTF BOSNIA Constable 2T-Mar-98 9-May-99 Bosnia - International Police Task Force Constable 20dan-03 18dan-04 Overseas - Bosnia Constable 15dan-08 Bosnia-ext appr by 31 Dec 05 Constable 4-Oct-99 4-Nov-00 BOSNIA Constable 5-Oct-00 4-Nov-01 IPTF BOSNIA Sergeant 2?-Jan-03 18-Apr-05 Overseas - Bosnia Constable 18-Apr-02 Nun-03 OVERSEAS - BOSNIA Constable 19-Apr-01 23dun-02 BOSNIA IPTF Constable 18-Apr-02 Nun-03 OVERSEAS - BOSNIA Constable 28-Nov-04 30-Apr-08 Bosnia-extended to 30 April 2006 Constable 3-Oct-9T 25-Oct-98 BOSNIA - International Police Task Force Sergeant 14-Dec-03 3dan-05 Overseas - Bosnia Sergeant 18-Apr-02 Nun-03 OVERSEAS - BOSNIA Constable 3-Oct-97Ir 25-Oct-98 Bosnia Constable 5-Oct-00 4-Nov-01 IPTF BOSNIA Superintendent 10-Dec-94 5-Feb-95 16-Aug-95 Superintendent 10-Jun-95 10-Dec-95 Inspector 10-Jun-95 25-Aug-95 Inspector 10-Jun-95 Constable 26-Mar-95 Sergeant 26-Mar-95 Sergeant 10-Dec-94 Inspector 10-Dec-94 Inspector 10-Dec-94 10-Jun-95 Sergeant Sergeant 10-Dec-94 2-Jul-95 Assignment Length {Days} Duty 398 385 1039 358 409 395 405 3T4 395 488 395 408 383 951 39? 395 812 409 430 409 518 38? 388 409 387Ir 395 113 192 183 204 Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Other Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Outside Force Other Outside Force Outside Force Group Name .Overseas Bosnia?ext to 31 Dec 05 approved by DW.Estainshed FfT.Substantive ATTACHEDBOSNIA .OVERSEAS .Bosnia International ROI 9 Task ForceEstabI' .Bosnia International Task .Bosnia International ROI 9 Task ForceEstabI' .Overseas Bosnia?ext appr by 31 Dec 05_Established FfT.Substantive .Overseas .OVERSEAS ATTACHEDBOSNIA .OVERSEAS Bosnia?extended to 30 April 2006_Established__ .FiT.Substantive .BOSNIA International Police Task .Overseas .OVERSEAS Seconded To Bosnia Seconded To Bosnia Seconded To Bosnia Seconded To Bosnia Seconded To Bosnia Seconded To Bosnia Seconded To Bosnia Seconded To Bosnia Seconded To Bosnia Seconded To WEU Bosnia Seconded To Bosnia Seconded To Bosnia LPUIDEPT Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Associations Previous Postings (WMP) Previous Postings (WMP) Previous Postings (WMP) Previous Postings (WMP) Previous Postings (WMP) Previous Postings (WMP) Previous Postings (WMP) Previous Postings (WMP) Previous Postings (WMP) Previous Postings (WMP) Previous Postings (WMP) Previous Postings (WMP) List of West Midlands Police Officers Seconded to osnia Appendix Fourteen Appendix Fifteen Photographs of Medals Provided to the Committee by Mr Urban UN Medal for Mr Urban’s army service with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus Front Back 141 Appendix Fifteen Replica Australian Police Overseas Service Medal Front Back 142 Appendix Fifteen International Police Medal Front millim- lill - I. '1 46.4.1) -: . ??hml?y??ldit/l/ 143 Appendix Sixteen Comparison of Mr Urban’s MLA Facebook Page Biography November 2017 and February 2018 Source: frontlineblue.com 145