Tasmania's police union has labelled as a ``disgrace'' the announcement of a commission of inquiry into the 1991 shooting of Vietnam veteran Joe Gilewicz.
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It is the first public inquiry into the activities of Tasmania Police and has the potential to be expanded to cover other areas of the force.
The inquiry is the modern equivalent of a royal commission with powers exceeding even those of the Supreme Court.
It was recommended by investigator Stephen Estcourt QC, who was appointed to review alleged anomalies associated with the shooting of Mr Gilewicz, 43, by the Special Operations Group after a 14-hour siege at an isolated farmhouse at Pelverata, Kingston, on July 16, 1991.
Justice Minister Peter Patmore said the Government had accepted Mr Estcourt's findings and preliminary commission hearings would begin within a month.
Police Association of Tasmania secretary Mark Kadziolka said the shooting had already been thoroughly investigated.
``The fact of the matter is that it should not go ahead, police involved have been investigated and reviewed for the last nine years _ enough is enough.''
Former police ballistics officer Stan Hanuszewicz, who at the 1992 inquiry alleged that there had been a police conspiracy to fabricate evidence, said he was elated with the announcement.
``I feel like the weight's been taken off my shoulders. I've been confident for quite a while that eventually it would come to this _ the truth always comes out,'' Mr Hanuszewicz said.
The defacto spouse of Mr Gilewicz, Christine Gilewicz, has welcomed the announcement of the inquiry. In a statement yesterday she said the Gilewicz family hoped the inquiry would finally get to the truth of the facts surrounding Mr Gilewicz's death.
Ms Gilewicz said that while the family welcomed the inquiry it opened old wounds.
``We have particular concern for its impact on Joe's mother and his children. For this reason we will not be making any public comment until it is over,'' Ms Gilewicz said.
Denison Greens MHA Peg Putt called for a royal commission in Parliament last year.
``Today the tide has finally turned on the festering Gilewicz issue and we now have the real prospect that the truth will come out on what happened that fateful night.''
Clues back Kibbey: lawyer
By NICK CLARK
Forensic evidence supported the case of a woman accused of murder rather than the Crown's speculation about events, defence lawyer Geoff Stephenson told a Supreme Court jury in his summing up yesterday.
Former intensive care nurse Anne Maree Kibbey, 32, has been accused of stabbing her sister-in- law Penelope Amanda Fluke, 25, to death at her unit in David St, Launceston, at 10.30pm on August 28, 1999.
Miss Kibbey has pleaded not guilty saying that she had no intention of killing Miss Fluke.
Miss Kibbey declined to give evidence yesterday.
The jury is expected to consider its verdict today after Mr Stephenson and Justice Ewan Crawford complete their summings up.
Mr Stephenson said that the case had many of the aspects of a Shakespearean tragedy.
He said the Crown had speculated because it did not want to believe that the stabbing incident occurred at the back door to Miss Kibbey's unit when Miss Fluke had come to pick up pet dogs and belongings on behalf of her brother David Parker.
``The evidence before you is that it did happen at the back door but the Crown has got her chasing Miss Fluke outside or whatever they are trying to infer,'' he said.
``They then speculated about the body in the street with some suggestion that the body was moved with the inference that my client moved her _ that's nonsense.''
He said that forensic pathologist Dr George Kelsall had told why there was little blood at Miss Kibbey's back door.
``That was because with injuries like this the blood goes into the chest cavity,'' Mr Stephenson said.
``The way the Crown has inferred it all happen outside cannot be sustained,'' he said.
In his summing up, Crown Prosecutor Daryl Coates said that Miss Kibbey had inflicted a ``sustained and vicious attack with an intent to inflict serious harm on Miss Fluke''.
``I suggest that this attack, if it was not the intention to kill, there was an intention to cause bodily harm which was likely to cause death,'' he said.
He said that it was a vicious attack for a petty reason _ if she had let Miss Fluke in to her unit nothing would have happened.
He said that Miss Kibbey had a fit of rage when Miss Fluke had come to pick up the dogs and belongings _ rather than her estranged husband, Mr Parker, who she had been expecting.
``I suggest what happened was that Miss Fluke came and Miss Kibbey got in a rage and grabbed the knife and started to attack Miss Fluke,'' he said.
``The accused followed her out and there was an altercation where there was a large pool of blood and then the deceased had gone off for help.
``Then (Miss Kibbey) told a pack of lies to her mother then the police on how, where, and why it happened.''
Mr Coates said that the events belied statements made by Miss Kibbey in police video interviews.
He said she had gone into a frenzy looking for Mr Parker and Miss Fluke that night.
``How likely is it then that when the deceased turned up that (Miss Kibbey) would shut the door and say `no, go away'?,'' he asked.
``Why would Miss Fluke barge her way in, she was just doing the accused a favour.''
He said there was no suggestion that Miss Fluke was intoxicated when she had a blood alcohol reading of 0.581.
Mr Coates said that Miss Kibbey had been angry on the night and had every right to be.
``In her video interview she was asked about her feeling toward Mr Parker. `I just hated him, he's selfish' she had said,'' Mr Coates said.
``If she was not angry with him, why all these phone calls and working herself into a state, he had slept the night before and then not come back for dinner _ she was angry,'' he said.
Mr Coates said she had not told police about a phone message to Mr Parker's message bank at 10.41pm, which said ``don't send your sister around to do your dirty work'' because it was extremely damaging to her.
``She was angry because he had not come back and was still in a rage when she sent the message,'' he said.
Mr Coates said photographs did not back up Miss Kibbey's statements that a struggle occurred at the back door.
``Mats and pot plants had not been disturbed. It must have been the most orderly struggle of all time,'' he said.
``One of the cuts to the Miss Fluke's hand went to the bone. Wouldn't you have expected some blood marks on the door?''
``Const. Parry couldn't find one smudged fingermark on the door.''
Mr Coates said that the fatal blow to the right shoulder could not have happened the way Miss Kibbey described because the door would have got in the way.
He asked the jury to consider the position in which Miss Fluke was found _with her arms and legs straight.
``I suggest that is consistent with Miss Fluke falling over and Miss Kibbey going to see what she has done and rolling her over into the gutter,'' she said.
He said it was strange that Miss Kibbey had not asked how Miss Fluke was when police told her they had found the body.
``If she did not know that Miss Fluke was seriously injured don't you think she might have asked?'' he said.
Earlier in the day, Miss Kibbey had said on a video interview with police that she had not meant to kill Miss Fluke.
Asked by Det- Sgt Ashley Rushton why she had not rung 000 about Miss Fluke, Miss Kibbey said: ``She was fine, I just didn't want her to come back.''
Miss Kibbey denied to police that she disliked the whole of the Fluke family.
However, she talked of her dislike of Miss Fluke.
``I didn't like her, she could be nasty, yukky,'' she said.
Miss Kibbey told police that she could not believe that Mr Parker would have sent Miss Fluke around to pick up the dogs.
``David would never expect them to leave my place, they didn't like new places, and had never been to Miss Fluke's place,'' she said.
Det-Sgt Phil Gregory asked: ``Did it make you angry when Miss Fluke came around?''
``I wasn't angry but when she said she wanted to take them I didn't know if she had spoken to David,'' she said.
Miss Kibbey said she had been shocked and bewildered to see Miss Fluke.