news, crime

ACT Treasurer Andrew Barr has been ordered to reconsider a plea for an ex-gratia payment to help a boy who suffered lifelong injuries in a vicious dog attack. Jack Hartigan's family have urged Mr Barr to think hard about the decision, saying it could give them closure and help them to move on from the distressing incident. Jack was aged six when he had the skin ripped from his head, his face torn open, teeth knocked out, and an eye damaged during a savage attack by two American Pit Bull Terriers at a Griffith government housing property in 2010. He endured numerous surgical procedures to repair the damage since. As the attack had occurred at a government property, Jack, through his parents, filed civil action against the ACT Government, arguing the ACT Housing Commissioner was liable as the animals had been kept by the resident without permission and been the subject of repeated complaints. However, an ACT Supreme Court judge threw out the Hartigan’s lawsuit. A motion in the ACT Legislative Assembly last year, by Canberra Liberals MLA Steve Doszpot, for the government to make an ex-gratia payment failed. Jack's lawyers, Ken Cush and Associates, then wrote to the ACT Treasurer to request an "act of grace” payment" to help the family cover the cost of the injuries. However, Mr Barr rejected the request after receiving advice, in a ministerial brief, that the "incident had run its course through the courts and it was found the territory has no legal liability". Jack's lawyers launched action in the Supreme Court, arguing the advice had been incorrect and an error of law.Associate Justice McWilliam heard the matter in May and handed down her decision on Friday. Associate Justice Verity McWilliam, in a judgment handed down on Friday, found Mr Barr had been given incorrect legal advice in refusing a payment and misconstrued the power available to him. "The Treasurer's reasoning … displays a consideration no further than confirming that the commissioner had no legal liability," she wrote. "There being no reason other than the lack of legal liability given to the Treasurer, and the Treasurer signing the letter that had been drafted for him accompanying the ministerial brief recommending the decision, there can be no conclusion other than that the Treasurer only took into account that there was no legal liability in relation to the loss to which the act of grace payment sought related, and in doing so misconstrued the nature of the discretion given to him." Associate Justice McWilliam set aside Mr Barr’s refusal and ordered he reconsider the application for the ex-gratia payment "according to law". Associate Justice McWilliam also ordered the government to pay Jack's legal costs for the application. Jack's father, Patrick Hartigan, said the family had been "over the moon" with the Friday's decision, and remained hopeful Mr Barr would acknowledge the hardship they had suffered and help bring closure. Mr Hartigan said the family had struggled to overcome a sense of grievance since the attack, knowing they had no legal recourse despite having done no wrong. "It's not really the money, it's about closure because Jack feels badly done by," Mr Hartigan said. "It may ease his mind because nothing so far has helped. "The only outstanding thing is this, it's not so much the money, but it’s the closure factor. "If [Mr Barr] had just said yes and given something, it may not have tortured us so much, this might be the key to help us move on."

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