'Police wanted Rayney murder deal'

Johnny Montani says police approached him to do a deal over the murder of Corryn Rayney. Picture: Ross Swanborough Source: PerthNow

DETECTIVES offered to slash the jail time of a man accused of murder if he gave evidence that Lloyd Rayney sought his help to kill wife Corryn.

Johnny Montani claims he was offered a deal whereby he'd only serve two years in prison if he pleaded guilty to the murder of former bikie Kevin "Mick" Woodhouse and testify that Mr Rayney had asked for his assistance to "knock-off'" Corryn.

But Mr Montani rejected the deal, maintaining his innocence in the Woodhouse case and insisting his only dealings with Mr Rayney had been when the barrister had represented him in court in 2006, two years earlier.

For the first time, Mr Montani has revealed the sensational details of several approaches made to him by Operation Dargan detectives following Mrs Rayney's death in August 2007.

The approaches were made to Mr Montani when the former nightclub bouncer was awaiting trial for the murder of Mr Woodhouse. In December 2008, a jury unanimously found Mr Montani not guilty.

It was the third time Mr Montani, 47, had been put on trial over the death of his friend, who was gunned down outside Bayswater Waves aquatic centre in May 2004. Mr Montani's first trial in 2006, when Mr Rayney represented him, resulted in a hung jury. The re-trial ended when Supreme Court Justice John McKechnie threw out the case, even before the defence had made a submission. But the then-Director of Public Prosecutions Robert Cock appealed and the Court of Criminal Appeal ordered a third trial.

Mr Montani said that two weeks after Mrs Rayney went missing Operation Dargan detectives raided his home and questioned him about his ties to Mr Rayney. They questioned him again months later when he flew back to WA from Thailand, where he'd been working, to face his third trial.

They had even met him off the plane and whisked him away.

"When I was in the car with them the detectives insinuated that I knew something about Lloyd," Mr Montani said. "Of course, I knew absolutely nothing and I told them so, but they insisted I did."

Later, Mr Montani said he had agreed to meet the detectives at the Court Wine Bar, near their Curtin House headquarters on Beaufort St, to retrieve a laptop computer and other property that police had earlier seized. After offering to buy him a drink and some small talk, the two detectives - Detective Sergeant Mark McKenzie and Detective Senior Constable Carl Casilli - revealed their real purpose, Mr Montani said.

``One of the detectives said he wanted to `put something to me.' I realised it was of a sensitive nature because the cops said they wanted to check that I didn't have any recording devices on me. The three of us went to the toilet at the back of the building where the two cops searched me to make absolutely sure.

"I was not prepared for what they had to say and was shocked at what they were telling me, though I let them finish without saying a word.

"They said: `Our sources tell us that you were approached by Lloyd Rayney to knock-off his wife. Now one of two things happened - you didn't help him or you did. Either way we would like to know what happened and we are prepared to offer you a deal.'

"They said: `We know that you are financially in the toilet and trying to raise money for a third trial. A trial that if you are found guilty, you will be doing at least 20 years hard time in Casuarina.'

"This is where McKenzie pulled out a small notepad. He turned over the first page and it read 20 years.

"He said: `This is what we can do for you Johnny. Give us what we want and this is how it will happen.'

"He turned the page and it read 14 years. He said: `Plead guilty to murder, not wilful murder, and your sentence will automatically be reduced to 14 years.'

"He turned the page and it read seven years. He said: `With special powers from the DPP  and this is coming from high above Johnny  if we have you on board we can have someone here drafting up an official document.'

"He turned the page again and it read two years. He said: `We will guarantee that you won't do more than two years inside and we will even whisk you away somewhere out of sight.

"I said: `Look I have told you on four separate occasions now that the only thing Lloyd and I have ever discussed was proving the fact that I was nowhere near Bayswater aquatic centre on the morning my mate was shot.'

"I gave them my new mobile phone number and said: `when you solve this case you can give me a call to let me know I am in the clear.'

"I parted company with the cops, property in hand, and went straight to my solicitor Paul Meyer's office."

Mr Meyer this week recalled the meeting. ``They put the fear of god into him,'' he said. "My advice to him was to write down as much as he can remember.''

Mr Urquhart also recalled how "extremely anxious'' his client had been.

Mr Montani said he later received phone calls from Det. Sgt McKenzie telling him "the clock was ticking on the deal.''

Mr Montani next saw the detectives when he was in the dock, giving evidence at his trial.

"While I was testifying McKenzie and Casilli entered the courtroom downstairs and sat in front of me next to the dock. They were eye-balling me. It was an attempt to intimidate me while I was giving evidence for my life.

"When we broke for morning tea I told my lawyers who they were and the usher asked them to leave the courtroom as they had no business being there. They moved up to the public gallery and sat right behind my girlfriend Kristy.''

"When I met Kristy later she seemed a little shaken. She said the detectives had been kicking the back of her chair every time they crossed and uncrossed their legs." Both Mr Meyer and Mr Urquhart recalled Mr Montani complaining to them about it.

Mr Montani has no doubt that he was the unnamed ``suspect'' that Operation Dargan chief Det-Sen. Sgt Carlos Correia referred to in his evidence to the Rayney trial earlier this month. Det-Sen. Sgt Correia revealed police had used surveillance on Mr Rayney during a family trip to Thailand in December 2007 to see if he met an associate there. Mr Montani was in Thailand at the time.

 "At that time we were investigating another suspect who had associations with the accussed and the primary objective was to see if those two persons would meet in Thailand,'' Det-Sen. Sgt Correia told the court. "They did not.''

WA Police declined to confirm or deny Mr Montani's claim that he was offered a deal because it was an ``operational issue.''  "However, it is common practise for police to speak with all identified witnesses and persons of interest associated with any homicide investigation to identify whether they have any relevant and factual information that may assist the investigation process,'' a spokesman said.

The spokesman invited Mr Montani to complain about his chair-kicking allegations "through the appropriate channels''.

Mr Rayney denies killing his wife Corryn. Justice Brian Martin will hand down his verdict on November 1.
 

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Aquitted man alleges police misconduct

Johnny Montani alleges police misconduct. Picture: Ross Swanborough Source: PerthNow

THE brother of Johnny Montani has lodged a complaint with the Corruption and Crime Commission over alleged misconduct by police and prosecutors.

Paul Montani, who established JusticeWA after his brother was found not guilty of murdering former bikie Kevin "Mick" Woodhouse, said he had gone to the CCC over erroneous "glass shard" evidence that was potentially devastating to his brother's defence.

Former security guard Johnny Montani, now 47, was finally acquitted in December 2008. But only after enduring three trials, three years in prison on remand and running up a legal bill of $550,000.

The first trial in 2006 resulted in a hung jury. The re-trial in 2007 ended when Supreme Court Justice John McKechnie threw out the case, even before the defence had made a submission. But the then-Director of Public Prosecutions Robert Cock appealed and the Court of Criminal Appeal ordered a third trial.

Mr Woodhouse was shot four times outside Bayswater Waves aquatic centre on May 12, 2004. There had been earlier attempts on the life of Mr Woodhouse, who had defected from the Club Deroes bikie gang to the Coffin Cheaters in the 1990s, sparking a feud. He later left the Cheaters.

Johnny Montani, who has never been a bikie but had a falling out with his friend prior to the slaying, believes he would have been acquitted at his first trial if it hadn't been for the prosecutor claiming in the closing address that a piece of plastic caught in the cuff of trousers he had discarded was a shard of glass from the aquatic centre's shattered door, putting him at the scene of the crime.

"In my second trial, the prosecution conceded that what they had called a piece of glass had nothing to do with the crime scene, but was a random item - it was actually a piece of plastic - also conceding police had never forensically tested it,'' he said.

"Not only did the police not have that tested, they did not test cartridges I discarded that day, four of which they said were from the fatal shots. They claimed they were, without doing any tests which would have proved they were not.''
Mr Montani's solicitor for his three trials, Paul Meyer, was also scathing about the "glass" evidence.

"In his closing address, the prosecutor claimed that it was a shard of glass from the smashed aquatic centre door,'' Mr Meyer said. "This was damning to Montani as it put him directly at the scene. The defence felt ambushed.''
His barrister Philip Urquhart also questioned why police had not tested or looked at the piece of plastic.

"It was extremely regrettable that the prosecutor was misinformed, presumably by the police, that this piece of plastic was in fact glass,'' Mr Urquhart said.

"As a result, an irrelevant object suddenly (and incorrectly) became a very relevant and significant feature in the prosecution's circumstantial evidence case against Mr Montani. The potential for a miscarriage of justice was therefore very real.''

Paul Montani recently lodged a complaint with the CCC about the "glass shard" evidence.

The accountant, who sold part of his business to help pay for his brother's defence, said: "If I hadn't personally witnessed what was done to Johnny in court I wouldn't have believed it."

"It's been a life-changing experience,'' he said. ``What the WA justice system was trying to do was an absolute disgrace. It was unbelievable and when I got to the end of it I had to do something about it so I set up a charity (JusticeWA) to help other people.

Paul Montani organised the world-first international justice conference held in Perth in March. It attracted Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton and Rubin "Hurricane'' Carter among the high-profile speakers.

"The marketing people tell me we're not a sexy charity,' he said. "We're not about animals or orphans".

"One of the major challenges we have is that the general community wants to believe in the ideal that justice systems don't make mistakes, let alone there is misconduct involved. We're not anti-police or anti-anything, we're simply pro-justice."

"If the police and the DPP followed their codes of conduct or charters of service there would never be a miscarriage of justice."

Paul Montani said he would like to see the formation of a criminal cases investigation commission, similar to the UK's Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent public body responsible for investigating suspected miscarriages of criminal justice and referring appropriate cases to the appeal courts.

 ``We have to change what we are doing," Paul Montani said. "The community in WA needs to start asking why has WA been given the nickname of the Wild West."

The Office of the DPP, when contacted last month, did not respond to questions about its use of the "glass" as placing Johnny Montani at the scene of the crime in his first trial.

A WA Police spokesman confirmed this week that detectives were not currently working to resolve the Woodhouse case.

"The Montani acquittal occurred in 2008. The investigation into the murder of Kevin Woodhouse is not currently being investigated by WA Police," a spokesman said.

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Frisbee fever grips Perth

Andrew Jennings shows how it's done. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow

Andrew Jennings shows how it's done. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow

PERTH sporting fanatics are in a spin as Frisbee fever grips the city.

The Australian Mixed-Gender Ultimate Championships kicked off yesterday at UWA Sports Park.

Tournament Director Anna Haynes said Ultimate Frisbee was the world's fastest growing team sport.

``People think it's about throwing a Frisbee at the beach,'' she said.

``First of all, we don't use Frisbees. Those are toys you buy at Kmart.

``It's extremely athletic and the audience can expect some spectacular mid-air grabs. It combines elements of soccer, netball and gridiron.''

Andrew Jennings, who plays for the club Primal and is competing in the championships, said the sport was a great way to socialise.

``Usually we have four guys and three girls on the team,'' he said.

``In fact, there is a long history of relationships sprouting within teams.

``I was introduced to it by my girlfriend who is playing with me in the tournament.''

Ms Haynes said there was increasing interest from schools in the sport, which is safe to play and has low barriers to entry.

``My day job as the association's development officer involves going out and teaching the sport," she said.

"Our bookings to schools have tripled in the last quarter.

"We will have discs on sale at the tournament for $15. We have people of all ages and abilities playing and it's only $4 per game."

THE AMGUC continues today from 9am-5pm.

The final will take place tomorrow at 12.30pm.

Entry is free.

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Tony Greig reveals battle with cancer

Tony Greig and wife Vivian with their children Tom and Beau and Tony's now-adult children Mark Greig and Sam Kennedy at their home in Vaucluse. Picture: Tim Hunter Source: The Daily Telegraph

LEGENDARY cricketing figure Tony Greig has been diagnosed with a form of lung cancer.

He will wait and evaluate a detailed prognosis before deciding on treatment.

"I have had a few scrapes in my life and this is another one," Greig told The Sunday Telegraph from his eastern suburbs home.

"(His wife) Vivian and I are going to put the boxing gloves on and fight this like we've never fought anything before."

Greig will enter hospital this week for surgery to take a sample from his lung, which will allow doctors to properly diagnose the extent of the cancer and chart a course of action.

Greig, 66, first became aware he had a problem during Australia's one-day series against Pakistan in Dubai in August and September, on which he was commentating. Initially diagnosed with bronchitis in May, the condition lingered and, by the time of the ICC World Twenty20 that finished in Sri Lanka earlier this month, Greig had tests that revealed a small lesion at the base of his right lung.

On his return to Australia a fortnight ago, he had "a lot of fluid" removed from the right lung. Testing revealed he had lung cancer.

A former England captain, the South African-born Greig is a household name in Australia after defecting to be one of the spearheads of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket in 1977.

His integral role in the formation of WSC, and his strong friendship with Packer, was showcased in Channel Nine's blockbuster mini-series Howzat.

Greig was bestowed the honour of delivering the prestigious Cowdrey Spirit Of Cricket Lecture at Lords in June this year, receiving rave reviews and proving old wounds between he and the MCC had long healed.

He has lived in Sydney since the late 1970s and has commentated cricket for Nine for 33 years, with the quartet of he, Bill Lawry, Ian Chappell and Richie Benaud becoming the voices of the Australian summer.

He is unsure if he will commentate for Nine during the upcoming summer, which begins with a Test at the Gabba against South Africa on November 9.

"At this stage, the summer is totally up in the air," Greig said. "My priority, 100 per cent, is my family. They will come first."

Greig is expected to take guidance from Nine boss and close friend David Gyngell. He formed a strong bond with Packer and the "first man on Australian television" Bruce Gyngell from the start of World Series Cricket and met their young sons James Packer and David Gyngell, when they were in primary school.

"This is a difficult time for Tony and, knowing him like all the family at Nine knows him, it'll take more than this to stop him," Gyngell said.

"Every fan at the SCG and MCG and cricket stadiums around the world will be rooting for this great man, as are all his Nine colleagues. At a personal level, I've known Tony Greig most of my life . He's a generous, big-hearted, inherently decent bloke. I'm thinking of him and his family."

Greig and his second wife Vivian have two young children - daughter Beau, 12 and son Tom, 10, who is a talented cricketer.

He also has two adult children from a previous marriage - daughter Sam, 39, and son Mark, 37 and is close to his siblings - brother Ian, also a former English Test cricketer who lives in Brisbane, and sisters Sally and Molly. On Saturday night, Greig phoned his 93-year-old mother Joyce in South Africa to inform her.

Greig is the second Nine personality to be diagnosed with cancer in as many weeks after it was revealed Peter Harvey was battling cancer of the pancreas.

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Three trials reveal no smoking-gun evidence

Johnny Montani was accused of murder. Picture: Ross Swanborough Source: PerthNow

WHEN Johnny Montani was acquitted of the 2004 murder of bikie Kevin (Mick) Woodhouse, I was stunned.

It seemed clear cut from what I had read in the media: The victim had named his killer as he lay dying from four bullets fired through his body and police surveillance had spotted Montani taking four matching cartridges and dark clothes to the tip - cartridges they said were those from the four fatal bullets.

To make matters worse, he had at first denied dumping them.

I was aware of Woodhouse's violent history and his defection to the rival club Coffin Cheaters after being ditched by the Club Deroes, only to be later ditched by the Coffin Cheaters.

Woodhouse had already survived an attempted murder by drive-by shooting in Beechboro in 1998, while driving to his gym. In other incidents, Woodhouse's cars had been set alight and his business premises had been destroyed by explosives.

I had believed wrongly that Montani was a bikie.

I was surprised when I received an email from Montani asking me to help him tell the story of "injustice'" he had suffered.

I met him and his younger brother Paul, taking a male friend with me for protection.

Paul produced an extensive list of what had been reported in the media, countered by what he said were the facts.

After meeting Montani's solicitor, Paul Meyer, and others, and referring to the trial transcripts, I am convinced Johnny Montani did not kill Mick Woodhouse, that he was wrongfully charged, the result of a flawed police investigation, and the charge was wrongfully pursued through three trials.

I came to this new conclusion when I learnt these facts:

* Bayswater Aquatic Centre security guard Ian Throp did not ask Woodhouse who shot him, but what his name was. The prosecution ran the case as Woodhouse naming his killer when he said "Johnny Montoyo''.

* There was no eyewitness evidence linking Montani to the crime scene. The aquatic centre manager, who saw the shooter's face, was not able to identify the shooter as Montani, who had been a member at the centre for two years.

* Montani's motorbike and helmet did not match witness descriptions of the shooter fleeing the crime scene. They said the shooter wore an open-faced helmet the two owned by Montani were closed, full faced with visors and the attacker was described as "slim to medium build'' and "average build'' when weightlifter Montani weighed 100-plus kilograms at the time.

* Security video footage enhanced for the first time for the third trial showed the running footsteps of another person at the scene of the shooting, contradicting the prosecution's lone-gunman theory.

* Despite police claims that the four cartridges disposed of by Montani were from the shooting, not one forensic test was performed to prove their allegation. Nor was Montani's jacket forensically tested for gunshot residue. Montani did not dump at the tip specifically the objects stated by the police, but eight bags in a total clean-out of the recreational shooter's house, including an assortment of about 30-40 spent cartridges. But the police claimed no other cartridges were found other than the four.

* Witnesses did not mention the killer wearing gloves or having a sports bag, yet much was made of Montani taking such items to the tip among items ``that implicated him in this shooting''.

* No gunshot residue found on any of Montani's items was linked to the bullets that killed Woodhouse. Testing of the items he dumped came up with nothing linking them to Woodhouse's murder.

* A piece of "glass'' that fell out of his discarded trousers was claimed by the prosecution in the first trial to be from the aquatic centre's shattered glass door. But not one forensic test was performed on this "glass''. In the second trial, it was admitted by the prosecution the piece of "glass'' had "no link whatsoever to the crime scene'' and at the third trial, that "it did not come from shattered glass''. It was, in fact, a random piece of plastic.

* Police did not question anyone from the two bikie clubs that had cast out Woodhouse, despite Club Deroes member Andrew Edhouse previously being charged with shooting Woodhouse (and acquitted).

Justice John McKechnie made WA legal history when he threw the case out of court with no case to answer at Montani's second trial by doing so without a defence submission.

The former Director of Public Prosecutions, said: "There is not a skerrick of physical evidence that directly links the accused with the crime.''

When a third trial was in the offing, Montani's barrister Philip Urquhart wrote to then Director of Public Prosecutions Robert Cock pointing out deficiencies in the prosecution case and stating his opinion that there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction.

``The DPP disagreed with me and a six-week trial went ahead which had the outcome I had predicted in my letter, but with all the attendant financial costs to the client and to the community,'' Mr Urquart said.

* Estelle Blackburn is a member of JusticeWA. She spent six years researching and writing Broken Lives, which exposed two major WA miscarriages of justice and prompted two long-standing murder convictions to be overturned.

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Teenage driver jailed for woman's death

A TEENAGER who had been on a three-day drug binge has been sentenced to six years and nine months in jail after causing a crash that killed a mother of three.

Zachary Dexter Travis Smith, 18, in July pleaded guilty to charges including dangerous driving causing death and stealing a motor vehicle.

On June 15 he was driving a stolen Defence Force car that hit a cement truck, which hit another car, killing Abigail Kennedy, 46.

The sentence in Perth's District Court on Friday was backdated to June 16.

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Kevin the man as UN praise flows

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has thanked Kevin Rudd for his role in Australia's successful bid for a seat on the UN Security Council.

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has thanked Kevin Rudd for his central role in securing a seat on the UN Security Council. Mr Rudd, by proxy, has thanked everybody else.

The Prime Minister, speaking at a gathering of department staff and officials of foreign missions in Canberra, has ranked her predecessor Kevin Rudd first among all those deserving thanks in what she called a long and difficult process to win the seat.

"I'd like to thank in order, firstly, Kevin Rudd for having the foresight as prime minister to put our name forward and to commence the bid process, and then to pursue it so energetically as Minister for Foreign Affairs," Ms Gillard said.

Earlier, Mr Rudd congratulated everyone involved via a statement released through a spokesman.

Mr Rudd said the victory was a credit to Australia and the professionalism of the diplomatic service.

"Mr Rudd also congratulates the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs for their strong and successful advocacy for Australia," the spokesman said.

The former prime minister and foreign minister kicked off Australia's bid for a non-permanent council seat in 2008, before being replaced by Julia Gillard as prime minister and Labor leader two years later.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr added to the praise of Mr Rudd's vision.

"I want to note the vindication of Kevin Rudd to enter this ballot at this time," he said. "It was much criticised but his judgment has been vindicated."

But the Opposition has sought to dampen the mood of back-slapping among the government and diplomatic officers - highlighting concerns about the cost of the exercise.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard addressing DFAT staff at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade building in Canberra this morning. Picture: Smith Kym

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott welcomed what he called an "expensive" victory.

Prior to the vote, Mr Abbott had warned that a failure to secure a seat would be viewed as an embarrassing defeat for the government.

"I welcome the win. It was an expensive win and I think it probably owes as much to Kevin Rudd as to (Prime Minister) Julia Gillard, but nevertheless a win's a win," he told the Nine Network this morning.

"Let's hope we put the next two years on the security council to good use."

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop echoed her leader's line, saying while the win was welcome, the Labor government had failed to articulate what it hoped to achieve.

"There is a limit to what can be achieved as a temporary member on the United Nations Security Council," she told ABC TV this morning.

"Of course, the ultimate test will be in terms of success, what we have achieved for the benefit of the Australian people after two years on the Security Council as a temporary member."

But an ecstatic Foreign Minister Bob Carr dismissed criticism of the campaign's $24 million cost.

"This was a big, juicy, decisive win. And it's very, very sweet...

Bob Carr has said the opposition should embrace Australia's win of a seat on the UN Security Council.

"It's the world saying 'we see Australia as a good country, a fine global citizen'."

He said the right to sit in the UN executive would not mean extra expense.

"If Tony Abbott says that spending money to promote this country ... is a waste of money, then I'm afraid he hasn't got the breadth of vision to be prime minister of Australia," Mr Carr told ABC TV this morning.

"His notions of retreating to the Anglosphere ... is I think a pretty diminished vision for someone who would want to be prime minister of this serious, global citizen."

"It was a modest amount to pay for us to get the endorsement of 140 countries out of 193," Senator Carr told the Seven Network earlier.

Ms Gillard said she was disappointed by the Opposition's reaction to the seat victory.

"I think it is disappointing that the Opposition today hasn't had the generosity of spirit to say this is a great day for Australia. It is," she said.

"Being on the Security Council is not a piece on the economic table ... it doesn't play that role...

"To hold Australia's reputation up high, and to have us on a body of such importance to the world, I consider that money well spent,'' she said.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr smiles broadly after the announcement that Australia had won a place on the United Nations Security Council.

"As a proud Australian, I think people do want to see Australia having its own voice, an Australian voice, in the main decision-making bodies of the world.

"That's what we've secured."

The Prime Minister emphasised the leadership role Australia would now play in world affairs.

"It's been 27 years since we served on the Security Council. We are a nation that is a substantial contributor to the UN, and so it was more than time for us to return to the Security Council and to play a role over the next two years in shaping events that are truly important to our nation," she told the DFAT gathering in Canberra.

''We will be dealing with issues of importance to our nation including the UN engagement with the mission in Afghanistan and the future of that mission beyond 2014,'' Ms Gillard told reporters in Canberra today.

''And it is the Security Council which will have to continue to wrestle with the violence in Syria and the way in which that violence can be brought to an end.''

She nominated UN engagement in East Timor, sanctions to deal with nuclear arms proliferation and the continued fight against global terror as issues Australia would help deal with over the next two years.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young welcomed the news and hoped it would encourage the government to stick by the refugee obligations to which it's a signatory.

"The world will now be watching, and Australia does have obligations to various UN conventions," Senator Hanson-Young told reporters in Canberra on Friday.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr casts his vote for Australia's winning bid for a seat at the UN Security Council at UN headquarters in New York. "This was a big, juicy, decisive win", Senator Carr said.

"It's very important that we uphold those obligations and we promote the very essence of working together as a global community.

The vote means Australia will serve for two years as one of 10 non-permanent of the Security Council, joining the five permanent member nations in influencing crucial decisions about military interventions across the world.

For historical reasons, Australia was grouped in the Western Europe & Others category, and was pitted against Luxembourg and Finland in a secret ballot for two seats of the five available seats.

Insiders had expected Finland, which began its campaign for a seat in 2001, would win easily, especially as Australia only joined the bid in 2008, when Kevin Rudd was still prime minister.

After five years and $24 million, Foreign Minister Bob Carr went into the Great Hall just before 10am (1am AEDT) saying he was "nervous" about Australia's chances.

Just after midday (3am AEDT), the vote came in.

The announcement that Australia had come in first must have shocked Finland, whose leaders had seemed certain they would get one of the two seats.

Instead, Luxembourg got 128 votes and Finland 108. The two nations then went to a runoff vote, Luxembourg winning with 131 votes to Finland's 60.

Other countries which won seats on the day were Rwanda, Argentina and South Korea.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully congratulated Australia, along with Luxembourg, South Korea, Argentina and Rwanda.

''I have congratulated Foreign Minister Carr on a well-fought campaign, which Australia thoroughly deserved to win,'' Mr McCully said today.

''New Zealand looks forward to working closely with Australia during its two-year tenure on the Security Council."

New Zealand is bidding for a seat on the council in the 2015-16 term.

Australia's UN representative Gary Quinlan is expected to spearhead the country's role on the body, attending as an observer from November.

It is understood DFAT has made a submission to Treasury seeking a significant boost to resources in New York.

Australia will begin attending security council meetings from November to observe proceedings, before commencing its active role on January 1.

- with AAP

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Rayney verdict due November 1

NOT LIKELY: Defence lawyer David Edwardson says the prosecution has not come "within cooee'' of proving Lloyd Rayney guilty of murdering his estranged wife Corryn. Source: PerthNow

CLOSING ADDRESS: Prosecutor John Agius, SC, said it was irrational to believe anyone other than Lloyd Rayney killed his estranged wife Corryn. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow

VICTIM: Supreme Court registrar Corryn Rayney, whose body was found in a bush grave in Kings Park in August 2007.  Source: PerthNow

THE judge at barrister Lloyd Rayney's wilful murder trial has retired to consider his verdict.

Justice Brian Martin, who has heard the evidence without a jury, said he would hand down his decision on November 1.

He will also release written reasons for his decision the same day.

Mr Rayney's bail was extended pending the decision.

It follows a day of summing up by defence lawyers in which they told the court that Mr Rayney was an innocent man who should be acquitted.

Mr Rayney, a former State prosecutor, has been on trial in the Supreme Court in Perth since July 16 charged with wilfully murdering his estranged wife Corryn Rayney on or about August 7, 2007. He also faces an alternative charge of manslaughter.

The charges carry respective jail terms of life imprisonment and 20 years jail.

Mr Rayney has pleaded not guilty to both.

In his summing up today, Mr Rayney's lawyer David Edwardson said it defied belief that Mr Rayney would have "executed" Mrs Rayney, a Supreme Court registrar, at the family home while their youngest daughter was in the house.

He also claimed elements of the prosecution case against Mr Rayney were pure "fantasy" and took aim at police who had investigated the case alleging it could be concluded that seed pods in Mrs Rayney's hair may have been planted.

"If this was to be the perfect murder it beggars belief that he (Mr Rayney) would consider murdering his wife in the house he shared with his two children," Mr Edwardson said.

Mr Edwardson also questioned how Mr Rayney, who weighed 67kgs at the time, would have overpowered his bigger wife, who weighed 78kgs.

"She was a physically larger person," he said. "You might ask yourself - how was he going to kill her?"

Mr Edwardson said the evidence showed Mr Rayney was a "placid man" who was "not prone to violent or extravagant responses."

He said if there was a confrontation between the two, Mr Rayney "would have come off worse".

In other submissions to the court, he:

- Claimed the State hadn't "come within cooee" of proving its case against Mr Rayney beyond a reasonable doubt.

- Said the State had presented the court with theories, but there was no direct evidence, or even proper circumstantial evidence, to support its major assertions.

- Questioned the integrity of key police evidence, including two seed pods from Mrs Rayney's hair and a third from her body bag which the State alleges link her body back to the family home in Como.

- Said a dinner place card found near Mrs Rayney's grave bearing Mr Rayney's name was a "red herring" and that a handkerchief found in the grave below Mrs Rayney's head took the case nowhere.

Mr Edwardson said the State had failed to prove that Mrs Rayney had returned home after a boot scooting class on the night of August 7, 2007.

"Unless that's proved beyond a reasonable doubt, it's all over," he said.

His argument received a boost when the trial judge Justice Brian Martin told the court that he was "far from satisfied" that Mrs Rayney had been wearing a coat when she went to boot scooting that night.

(The State has claimed that Mrs Rayney had been wearing a black coat - the same one that Mr Rayney's lawyers tendered to the court during the course of the trial -- and that it was part of the evidence which showed she had returned home).

"The evidence is incapable of proving she was wearing a jacket that night," Justice Martin said.

Mr Edwardson was critical of the police investigation into Mrs Rayney's death.

He said comments made by one officer on August 16, 2007 that police knew Mr Rayney had killed his wife and may have been helped by a male lover were "outrageous".

When Mr Rayney was identified as the prime and only suspect in his wife's death at a police press conference on September 20, 2007, he became a "condemned man", he said.

"From everybody's perspective in this State he was a condemned man…, " Mr Edwardson said. "The public are all then on notice about the State's potential case."

Mr Edwardson said despite all the publicity the case still lacked critical evidence such as DNA, fingerprints, sightings or even physical evidence.

He said saliva detected on Mrs Rayney's neck and genitals indicated that Mrs Rayney could have been the victim of a sexual attack.

Justice Martin pointed out that experts had indicated the saliva could have come from Mrs Rayney and that no male DNA was present.

On the final day, Justice Martin also gave an insight into how he viewed some of the evidence he had heard.

He said he found it difficult to accept that Mr Rayney had not known that a phone tap placed on the telephone at the family home was illegal.

He said the electronics expert Tim Pearson, who told the court he installed the phone tap for Mr Rayney, had been one of the "vaguest witnesses I've ever heard", but Mr Pearson "fell over himself" to agree with defence lawyers when he was cross examined.

The judge heard from more than 100 witnesses, received statements from more than 200 more and received more than 700 exhibits during evidence at the trial, which ran for over three months.

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Crown: 'Rayney murdered to stay in control'

CLOSING ADDRESS: Prosecutor John Agius, SC, says it is irrational to believe anyone other than Lloyd Rayney killed his estranged wife Corryn. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow

ON TRIAL: Barrister Lloyd Rayney arrives at court with youngest daughter Sarah. Picture: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

VICTIM: Supreme Court registrar Corryn Rayney, whose body was found in a bush grave in Kings Park in August 2007.  Source: PerthNow

FORMER State prosecutor Lloyd Rayney was a calculating killer who murdered his wife because she was a threat.

That was the picture painted of the former second-in-charge of the WA Director of Public Prosecutions office by prosecutor John Agius, QC, who today delivered his closing address at Mr Rayney's wilful murder trail in the Supreme Court in Perth.

In his summing up, Mr Agius said it "beggared belief" that anyone other than Mr Rayney could have killed Corryn Rayney at the family home on the night of August 7, 2007.

He also rebutted suggestions that police had been out to get Mr Rayney from the start of their investigation or that they had planted evidence.

"This is a man who operates in a very considered and careful way," Mr Agius said. "Who plans things, who is not emotional, is not given to outbursts of temper, who is always in control of his emotions.

"One of the reasons he committed the murder was because he wanted to stay in control."

Mr Agius said Mr Rayney would have seen his estranged wife, who was demanding he disclose his finances to her as they headed towards divorce, as an "impediment to his life" and his practise as a barrister.

He said the assault on Mrs Rayney gave her no opportunity to fight back and was intended to not just wound, but kill.

"The position he was in before the assault, in our case, is that he felt under threat, that he wanted to take control of the circumstances, he didn't want the situation to continue, he wanted to bring it to an end," Mr Agius said.

Mr Rayney, 50, is on trial charged with wilfully murdering Mrs Rayney on or about the night of August 7, 2007. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

He also faces an alternative charge of manslaughter, which carries a penalty of 20 years jail.

He has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Mr Agius told the court that the evidence showed Mrs Rayney had arrived home from her boot scooting class on the night of August 7, 2007, a night when she was to meet with Mr Rayney, who was to provide her with his financial records. 

He said that evidence included the particles of soil and other material found on her body, clothing and in seedpods found in her hair.

He said there was also evidence that Mrs Rayney had worn a black coat to the boot scooting class -- a coat which had been identified as one tendered to the court by Mr Rayney's lawyers during the trial.

On top of that, Mr Agius said Mrs Rayney's purse was in her car when it was found parked in Kershaw Street in Subiaco on August 15, 2007, and there had been evidence that she never took it to boot scooting with her.

"These two items of evidence are significant because the only explanation for them is that the deceased came home after boot scooting," he said.

Mr Agius said it was the State's case that Mr Rayney had planted the purse in his wife's car as part of his "subterfuge" to support a suggestion that she had come home but gone out again.

"It is our case that once it is accepted the deceased returned home after boot scooting, all the evidence indicates the person who killed her was the accused," he said.

Mr Agius said a dinner place card bearing Mr Rayney's name which was found close to where Mrs Rayney was buried in a clandestine grave in Kings Park, along with a handkerchief which was found in the grave and the way in which Mrs Rayney was buried - upside down in the foetal position - were also among other pieces of evidence which pointed to Mr Rayney as the killer.

He said after killing his wife, Mr Rayney told lies to cover his tracks.

Mr Agius said it was irrational to think someone else had planned to kill Mrs Rayney, a Supreme Court registrar, and had been lying in wait for her at the family home.

He said the lack of defensive wounds on Mrs Rayney's body indicted either she knew her attacker or was taken by surprise.

LLOYD RAYNEY 'TOOK A CALCULATED RISK'

Mr Agius said fate intervened twice after Mr Rayney had buried his wife at Kings Park.

He said the first time was when Mr Rayney drove his wife's car over a bollard at Kings Park as he was leaving the grave site and left an oil trail for police to follow.

The second time was when he dropped a dinner place card near the grave site. It was found four days after Mrs Rayney disappeared and four days before her car and body were discovered.

Mr Agius said the lengths to which Mr Rayney was prepared to go were evident by a phone tap he had an electronics expert, Tim Pearson, install on the family phone.

"He was prepared to risk his practise and that, in our submission, shows his capacity to think through what is happening, to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages to himself," Mr Agius said.

"He took a calculated risk. He is a man who spent a great deal of his time gambling. Weighing up risks was something that was in his nature. Taking long shots was in his nature. He took a risk that it was worth the trouble by having Mr Pearson intercept his wife's phone calls."

Mr Agius also told the court that a press conference by Det Sen Sgt Jack Lee in September 2007 in which Mr Rayney was identified as the prime and only suspect in Mrs Rayney's death, was countered by the evidence of the investigating officer Carlos Correia who testified that they had not had a narrow focus during their investigations.

He said a comment by a police officer on the day Mrs Rayney's body was taken from the grave that police knew Mr Rayney was the killer and he may have had help from a male lover was inappropriate but flippant.

Mr Agius also questioned how or why police would plant seed pods in Mrs Rayney's hair or body bag before they knew the results of the post mortem examination.

"Why would any police officer do that at that time given that at that time no one knew what would be found at the post mortem?" he asked.

Mr Agius said when forensic pathologist Gerard Cadden had been examining Mrs Rayney's body on the day before the post mortem on August 16, 2007 - a day when he did not find the pods - he had been looking for injury to her scalp, not raking through her hair.

Prosecutors have given the trial judge Justice Brian Martin lengthy written submissions as part of their closing.

The written submissions have not yet been made public.

Mr Rayney's lawyers will sum up tomorrow before Justice Martin, who is hearing the case without a jury, retires to consider his verdict.

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Satterly's mansion the scene of wine glory

Grand Cru's Vince Salpietro has been hosting a series of super-premium tastings at Nigel Satterly's Peppermint Grove residence. Source: PerthNow

IT was a swanky setting hard to leave a bad taste and the stars of the show didn't disappoint.

About 20 guests gathered at Nigel Satterly's Peppermint Grove house - which he has converted into a space for seven days of parties, wine tastings and celebrations - for a special vertical tasting of Moss Wood cabernets going back to 1982.
 
The event was hosted by Moss Wood winemaker Keith Mugford and Vince Salpietro of Grand Cru Wineshow & Cellar, who house some of Australia's rarest and most expensive wines in their purpose-built underground cellar at Liquor Barons in Mt Lawley.
 
Satterly is a loyal customer - one of many high-flying West Aussies who place their trust in Salpietro when it comes to stocking their expensive wine cellars.

The property guru invited Grand Cru to co-host at his converted Peppermint Grove house for a week of lavish events, which also included a champagne tasting for 40 of Perth's top executives and a Penfolds Grange dinner tonight co-hosted by Penfolds global ambassador Jamie Sachs and featuring Grange as old as 1960.

 
While Salpietro is thrilled to have hosted events with Satterly this past week, it's his new venture that is his true passion.

Grand Cru's collection of wines is impressive, specialising in iconic Australian brands, which have either been purchased directly from producers or sourced from only the most reputable auctioneers where the condition and storage of the wine is guaranteed.

Snapshot of tasting notes from the Moss Wood vertical:

2009 Moss Wood Cabernet
Sweet fruit, loads of tar and berry upfront. The mint and choc-berry flavours exceptional and refined (96pts)

2005 Moss Wood Cabernet
Perfect growing season, picked early due to rain. Leafy, tarry, complex, elegant and vibrant with more pronounced chocolate (97pts)
 
2001 Moss Wood Cabernet
Fruit density hits you like Mr T. Texture, intensity and power beggars belief for a 10yo wine. Like Tom Jones, it just keeps on giving. (98pts)
 
1993 Moss Wood Cabernet
Fruity nose. Cooler vintage means the freshness is not there - but still shows good balance and handling. A touch green. (94pts)
 
1991 Moss Wood Special Reserve Cabernet
Hot vintage. Red-brick beauty, the still fruit holding up well. Meaty with sweet mulberry on the fresh palate. (96pts)
 
1991 Moss Wood Cabernet
Hot vintage. Lashings of soft old leather and oak influence still impressive (96pts)
 
1990 Moss Wood Special Reserve Cabernet
Like the vortex in Donnie Darko, except your travelling through a tight waterfall of ripe cherry and leather. Meaty, luscious, tad green (96pts)
 
1990 Moss Wood Cabernet
The fruit density and tannin sets it apart. Like getting hit with a garden hose but it's worth it. Ripe, rambunctious, ready (97pts)
 
1983 Moss Wood Special Reserve Cabernet
Like fine ancient chocolate from another land. Just full-on coffee, mocha and dark chocolate ... Seriously classy, long and seductive (98pts)

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