Mick Keelty

THE continuing carve-up of Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty has been framed around the events of 2007; or, rather, around one event, the botched handling of the terror investigation into Mohamed Haneef.

It has been used to deride Keelty as incompetent and pig-headed, as a morally questionable plod who cobbled together the flimsiest of cases against a poor subcontinental fellow who was jailed for a fortnight and waited a full year until every charge against him was dropped.

There was another event in 2007 that provides a more telling insight into Keelty’s character. It has enjoyed limited discussion in the days since he announced his resignation, as it undermines the agendas of those who are determined to portray him as set out above. This is because it goes to three things: courage, professionalism and decency.

Continue reading "Departing chief cops more flak than he deserves" »

From: Keelty, Mick
Sent: Wednesday, 6 May 2009 7:00 AM
To: All-AFP-Staff
Subject: Commissioner All Staff Message [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

All Staff,

You will be aware that recently the AFP’s Strategic Leadership Group (SLG) met to put in place a strategy for taking the organisation into the future.  The work that we started at the retreat is being finalised in a facilitated workshop conducted on 4 May 2009.

Continue reading "Punch exclusive: Keelty’s farewell email to his troops" »

BRISBANE: Today’s news that AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty is stepping down in September provides an important opportunity for the Commonwealth Government to correct the accumulated mistakes of the past.

As one of Dr Haneef’s lawyers, my professional focus has been upon his legal rights. The AFP, under Keelty’s leadership, was responsible for many of the mistakes and failures of judgment which so impacted adversely on Dr Haneef and his family.

Dr Haneef was in detention for 25 days before the charge against him was dropped. It took another six months and two court cases to remove the threat to his passport and visa rights. Throughout all of this, the AFP, under Mr Keelty, refused to admit its mistakes and continued to attack Dr Haneef’s reputation. It was not until just before Christmas, last year, with the release of the Clarke Report, that someone in an official position was prepared to say, definitively, that Dr Haneef had done nothing wrong.

The impact of the actions of the AFP on the lives of Dr Haneef and his family has been devastating. However, the Clarke Report reveals even more alarming concerns about the AFP which the government must address. It showed the AFP exhibited severe organisational problems under Mr Keelty.

Continue reading "Keelty’s departure a chance to fix AFP: Haneef lawyer" »

He’s one of our most misunderstood and maligned public figures - and today, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty has confirmed he will be quitting the job on September 2, thirty-five years to the day he joined the force.

Keelty was reviled by the Left for his pursuit of exonerated terror suspect Dr Mohammed Haneef, and vilified by the Right for daring to suggest that the 2005 Madrid bombings were the direct result of the then conservative Spanish Government’s commitment to the war in Iraq.

The Madrid episode was a low point for the Howard Government - and was only defused when John Howard, who’s never been great at saying the s-word, invited Keelty to a secret dinner at Kirribilli House where he apologised to his face.

Continue reading "The day John Howard said sorry to Mick Keelty" »