Statement regarding the Inspector of the ICAC’s report to the Premier

Thursday 12 May 2016

Statement regarding the Inspector of the ICAC’s report to the Premier

The Inspector of the ICAC, the Hon David Levine AO RFD QC, has today published a report to NSW Premier Mike Baird on the Inspector’s review of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption.

The Inspector did not undertake any consultation with the Commission on any of the important issues canvassed in the report.

The Inspector’s “principal recommendation”, that the Commission should conduct all examinations in private, is contrary to the considered conclusions reached by the 2005 Independent Review of the ICAC conducted by Bruce McClintock SC and the more recent 2015 Independent Panel Review conducted by the Hon Murray Gleeson AC and Mr McClintock. The Commission agrees with the Independent Panel Review’s assessment that public inquiries “…serve an important role in the disclosure of corrupt conduct [and] in disclosing the ICAC’s investigative processes”.

Recommendations 2, 3, 4, 8 and 16 are already largely addressed in the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 and/or in the Commission’s internal policies and procedures.

The report provides no apparent policy or practical justification for recommendations 6, 9, 10, 11, and 13.

Recommendation 15 provides that consideration be given to the introduction of an “exoneration protocol”. This recommendation ignores the basis upon which corrupt conduct findings are made under the ICAC Act. It also ignores relevant case law.

The Commission intends to make a detailed response to the premier.

Contact: ICAC Manager Communications & Media, Nicole Thomas, 02 8281 5799 / 0417 467 801