Corruption Matters - June 2022 | Issue 59

Home > Message from the Hon Peter Hall QC, ICAC Chief Commissioner

Message from the Hon Peter Hall QC, ICAC Chief Commissioner

As we move towards the end of the inaugural five years of ICAC’s three-Commissioner model, it is appropriate to make some observations on the Commission now, after almost 34 years of operation.

The Commission is, of course, a legal entity, a statutory agency. But in reality, it is a living dynamic entity peopled by individuals with wide-ranging qualifications and skills that make it one of Australia’s pre-eminent anti-corruption agencies.

It was, of course, Australia’s first such agency. As a specialist pioneer in anti-corruption work, commencing in temporary premises in 1989, there was no precedent for the Commission to follow. Under the able stewardship of its inaugural Commissioner, Ian Temby QC, its policies, powers and operations developed such that it fairly quickly became recognised as a formidable force in the state of NSW.

In June 1992, the Commission’s finding that former premier Nick Greiner had acted partially in the appointment of Dr Terry Metherell sent out shock waves, which subsided after the NSW Court of Appeal, though concluding that the finding of partiality had been validly made determined that the premier’s conduct could not meet the requirements of s 9 of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988. The Greiner matter signalled that ICAC would, as necessary, investigate corruption at any level of the public sector.

Since that landmark case, there have been changes from time-to-time in the Commission’s statutory charter, judicial challenges from time-to-time in respect of its work in the superior Courts, changes in its leadership through the appointments of Commissioners and changes in its staff. Through all these changes in its operating environment, there has, however, remained constancy in the Commission’s unremitting focus – its service to the community in preventing and exposing corrupt conduct.

The Commission’s success in fighting corruption has been achieved through skill, dedication and hard work. The challenges and difficulty in detecting and exposing corrupt conduct is often a painstaking task. It is much like fitting the tiles of a mosaic together. It takes time before the picture emerges.

The investigation and exposure of corruption is an especially difficult task. This, of course, arises from the fact that secrecy is at the core of corrupt conduct. However, the Commission’s ability in overcoming that difficulty is a reflection of the high skill levels of its investigators, forensic accountants and intelligence analysts, who constitute its Investigation Division along with the members of its investigation services section that provides investigations with surveillance, forensic and property services and technical personnel.

Corruption prevention similarly has its challenges and requires a sophisticated understanding of human behaviour, including motivations, human weaknesses, relationships, standards of conduct, the essential conditions for integrity in the public sector, operational systems and safeguards and corruption controls.

Taken as a whole, the Commission’s service to the NSW community from its first year of operation in 1989 until the present has been outstanding. It is not surprising that it continues to enjoy the strong support of the community.

In the last two years or so, notwithstanding the huge challenges thrown up by the COVID-19 pandemic, the accomplishments under the three-Commissioner model have been considerable. They include:

1. The completion of many significant investigations (public inquiries held were unanimously approved by the Commissioners).
   
   
2. A record number of assessments by the Assessment Panel.
   
   
3. The production of high-quality web content, annual reports and other publications by the Communications and Media Section.
   
   
4. The development of an effective relationship with its oversight agencies, the Inspector of the ICAC, Bruce McClintock SC, and with the ICAC Parliamentary Committee.
   
   
5. The completion of significant corruption prevention reports, including, in particular, the investigation of lobbying, access and influence in NSW (Operation Eclipse).
   
   
6. The enhancement of our technological capacity (a special mention to our IT staff for the successful transition to working-from-home processes, which kept the ICAC operating optimally despite the lockdown restrictions brought on by the pandemic).
   
   
7. The adoption of the “Equitable Briefing Policy”, facilitating greater gender diversity among applicants to the role of Counsel Assisting the Commission.

Over the period of the three-Commissioner model, new innovations included:

1. The establishment in 2018 of the Strategic Intelligence and Research Unit (SIRU) with support provided by it to the Investigation and Corruption Prevention Divisions. SIRU achievements include:
   
   (a) an extensive state-wide review into specific corrupt conduct risks in a key department of government
   
   (b) further investigations into possible corrupt conduct in another key department of government
   
   (c) research into local government issues with a statistical based analysis of the number and frequency of complaints concerning local government areas
   
   (d) establishment of the National Intelligence Network between all anti-corruption/integrity agencies utilising strategic and proactive methodologies
   
   (e) the award by the Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers for SIRU’s innovation in intelligence tradecraft development and application (August 2019)
   
   (f) development of initiatives in the proactive approach to investigations
   
   (g) securing by negotiation access to the Government Planning Portal operated by PAIE.
   
   
2. The introduction of the Commission’s Witness Co-operation Policy.
   
   
3. Enhanced collaboration between the Commission and the NSW Auditor-General in relation to investigations.
   
   
4. A three-year campaign for the establishment of an independent funding model for the ICAC; in May, the Premier told Parliament: “We will adjust the level of funding in the 2022-23 State budget to better reflect current and future resourcing needs in advance of a broader re-baselining exercise. That will not occur in time for this year's budget, but we are committed to that re-baselining. We will work with those agencies in relation to that.” The Government has also proposed a new and more transparent approach to Commission funding including the abolition of efficiency dividends.
   
   
5. A comprehensive examination of the legal and ethical constraints on “pork-barrelling” practices and the Commission’s jurisdiction in respect of such practices.
   
   
6. The establishment of the ICAC YouTube channel hosting a suite of informative short videos.

The Commission’s reputation today as an effective and responsible anti-corruption agency continues to grow. Every member of staff may be proud of his/her individual contributions and in its achievements and look ahead with confidence to the challenges that lie ahead.

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