`Special status` led to AFL secret deal

Victoria's police chief has flagged the AFL's "very special" status as he explained
why a controversial deal was struck that gave the league extraordinary powers in
criminal investigations.
Coming under fire as details of the secret police deal were made public by AAP this
week, Police Commissioner Simon Overland said it was a mistake to ever sign the AFL
contract last year and he would never do it again.
But he singled out the AFL's profile as justification for striking the
heavily-criticised memorandum of understanding (MOU), even though no other sporting
code has signed a similar contract.
"Football is part of the fabric of this community," Mr Overland told reporters on
Wednesday.
"(But) there were problems with that MOU, we've discontinued it, we're not going to
re-enter into another MOU, but you have to understand that the AFL does occupy a
very special position in this state."
The secret AFL deal was first revealed by AAP in August with the full contract
released this week upon AAP winning an appeal of a heavily-censored freedom of
information request.
The now-expired contract, signed on August 20, 2009, and covering four months of the
off-season, states that police had to consult the league before commenting on its
own investigations into AFL players, coaches, board members or even staff.
The deal also gave the AFL permission to investigate serious crimes from sexual
assault to drug use and domestic violence.
The police-AFL "relationship" was struck so both could investigate "any criminal
activity that would be prejudicial to the interests of the AFL", the contract says.
Legal experts, civil liberties advocates and the state opposition say they are
appalled by the newly-revealed contract details.
"This is extraordinary behaviour that you would find a police force ... entering
into effectively a pact, an investigatory pact with a private organisation," Greg
Barns, of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, told Fairfax Radio.
Liberty Victoria has said the deal's so-called "gag clause" - under which police
could not comment on AFL investigations without the league's advice "unless it is
reasonable to do so" - is also a concern because it appeared to silence officers
solely to protect corporate interests.
The police union joined in the criticism on Wednesday, saying criminal
investigations need to be undertaken by police "full stop" and not outsourced to
private sporting leagues.
"The day (Victoria Police) has to answer to an employer about allegedly illegal
activities of their employees will be a very sorry day for the community of
Victoria," said Police Association secretary Greg Davies, pointing out that the
force already answers to multiple oversight bodies.
The seven-page deal also included detailed instructions on how the AFL could
securely store and handle police files, but both police and the AFL have said
repeatedly that no information was ever handed over.
Senior police also strenuously deny that the deal ever outsourced investigative
authority or prevented officers from speaking publicly.
Mr Overland explained that the MOU started with honest intentions to clarify how
police would communicate with the league when an AFL identity became part of a
police inquiry, which can draw major media attention.
But as time moved on, Mr Overland said the AFL contract and other MOUs became more
complex, were "not well worded" and eventually missed the point.
"In some ways, they're almost not worth the paper they're written on," he said.
The AFL deal remains under investigation by the federal privacy commissioner.
The officer who signed the deal has since been promoted to the rank of assistant
commissioner.