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ICAC corruption prevention program to visit Orana and Far West

Friday 20 May 2016

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will visit the Orana and Far West regions of NSW next week, as part of the Commission’s program to bring anti-corruption initiatives and training to centres across the state.

The visit will be based in Cobar between 25 and 27 May. It will include workshops for state and local government agencies to raise awareness of corruption risks and learn ways to prevent corrupt conduct.

The ICAC Commissioner, the Hon Megan Latham, said that corruption is not just confined to large cities but can occur anywhere in the state so it is important that rural and regional areas have the benefit of accessing ICAC corruption prevention training and information.

“The Commission’s highly-skilled officers will provide hands-on training for state and local government officials in their local area,” Commissioner Latham said. “This will also give public officials an opportunity to ask questions about how they can best serve their community through the prevention of corruption in their agencies.

“I note that there has been an excellent response from agencies in their area to our visit, with one of the workshops already fully subscribed. I welcome those agencies and am very pleased that they are being proactive in learning how to manage corruption risks.”

Workshops scheduled for this visit include corruption prevention for managers, which focuses on developing an understanding of the nature of corruption, how and why it occurs, and what managers can do to prevent it. There will also be a fact-finder workshop, which is an introductory workshop for those who may be required to conduct an internal fact-finding investigation into a complaint or allegations of staff wrongdoing, including misconduct or corruption. There will also be a workshop tailored for local government operational staff.

Commissioner Latham will host a community leaders’ lunch as part of the visit, to be attended by close to 40 people including the Mayor of Cobar Shire, Councillor Lillian Brady OAM and other Cobar Shire councillors and senior staff, plus representatives from state government agencies, schools and community interest groups. The visit will also include Mr Max Britton, Senior Investigation Officer with the NSW Ombudsman, who will address the lunch about the role of the Ombudsman.

Agencies attending the outreach activities include Corrective Services NSW, the Department of Family and Community Services, NSW Rural Fire Service, TAFE Western and Western Local Land Services. Bogan, Bourke, Brewarrina, Cobar and Coonamble shire councils are also expected to participate.

The ICAC rural and regional outreach program has proved highly successful since its inception in 2001. Previous visits have included to the central coast, the Illawarra, the Hunter, the south east, the central west, the Riverina, the northern inland, the south coast, the north coast and the Blue Mountains. The Commission’s rural and regional outreach program previously visited the far west in 2001 at Broken Hill.


Media enquiries and interview requests:
ICAC Manager Communications & Media, Nicole Thomas, 02 8281 5799 / 0417 467 801