Police to investigate complaint by Dr Russel Norman re GCSB

Dr Russel Norman has laid a complaint under section 216(B) of the Crimes Act alleging illegality of work undertaken by the Government Communications Bureau.

The Police Commissioner Peter Marshall has asked Deputy Commissioner Mike Bush to appoint a senior police investigator to assess and investigate the complaint received from Dr Norman last week.

The Commissioner has further engaged the services of Kristy McDonald QC to provide an overview of this assessment and resultant investigation. This will lead to Ms McDonald's review of any recommendations that may arise. She will then make her own recommendations to the Commissioner's office.

"Ms McDonald is a senior counsel with more than 30 years experience in criminal law, she is a highly regarded Queens Counsel who has been engaged in major prosecutions, so she will provide excellent oversight of the Police work," Commissioner Marshall said.

"We can't put a timeframe on how long this assessment and investigation will take but it will be done as a matter of some urgency," Commissioner Marshall said.