Early release likely for Denning

Early release likely for Denning

By John Tognolini

SYDNEY — NSW prison authorities are presently considering an appeal for release by Raymond Denning, a former prison activist who turned informer against Tim Anderson in the police attempt to frame Anderson over the 1978 Hilton bombing.

The authorities have gone to great lengths to smooth the way for Denning, Anderson told Green Left Weekly. "First of all, they gave him enormous credit for his story against me, which was all lies — as has now been established." As well, an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) inquiry into prison informers has established that police and other authorities suppressed facts about Denning, including an armed robbery in Queensland.

Denning's appeal has been heard in record time, says Anderson. Former NSW attorney general John Dowd appeared for him, and the judges included one who heard Denning's evidence against Anderson and knew of the Queensland robbery.

The whole process suggests that the authorities are breaking their own rules, says Anderson. Meanwhile, despite the fact that Denning is a proven perjurer, they've gone on using him as a witness against other prisoners, including Russell Cox in Queensland.

What's more, Ron Woodham, a powerful figure in the Corrective Services Department, has appeared as a character witness for Denning, though he later admitted to ICAC that Denning had been involved in a major heroin importing conspiracy — a fact he didn't mention in his reference.

What all this means is that "they'll reward informers regardless of the fact that it taints their evidence and they're dealing with money-grubbers and bounty hunters, people who have lost all their scruples.

"This isn't surprising. The judges have been saying for years that they don't believe in honour amongst thieves. They don't believe in that sort of solidarity. They want to smash that sort of solidarity by giving rewards to informers.

"There's an interesting story of a prison officer from the Special Purposes Prison who went to Channel 9 with a story about the prison and Ray Denning." To the officer's misfortune, the journalist assigned to the story went to Ron Woodham. Channel 9 didn't run the story, and the officer was forced to resign, with a never to be re-employed notation on his file.

From GLW issue 57