It has finally happened!
After years and years of promises and years of delays, Australia finally has a National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
This is a happy day for Australians' who are genuinely concerned about integrity in politics and public service as opposed to those hypocrites who are selectively concerned (they know who they are).
While it began "officially" on Saturday, July 1 2023, the official opening was a speech from the Hon Paul Brereton AM RFD SC on Monday, July 3.
This is a moment that many have long waited for and to be honest, never thought they would see but that's all this is; a moment.
The hard work kicks off in earnest as over the course of the weekend, they received 44 emails and 5 phone calls wanting matters investigated. That is a hell of a lot for the Commission to go through and look at.
As for those who were hoping this commission would be free of politics; well, we might be waiting a little bit on that one as three political parties have decided they want matters referred to the Commission.
Greens The Greens have kicked off the referral frenzy, referring the PwC Scandal to the Anti-Corruption Commission. The PwC Scandal basically involved someone using information obtained about government plans to tax multinational corporations and then selling the plan to those same corporations, netting PwC millions of dollars in fees. So far, 8 have been named and sacked. Using secret information to essentially double-dip in money earnings is absolutely outrageous and no Australian should stand for this.
Verdict: Absolutely MUST Investigate
Coalition (Liberal and National Party) They're looking very strongly at referring the Brittany Higgins payout to the Commission. I honestly have trouble understanding why because essentially she was given compensation for something that, while outside work hours, did happen on work premises. The way she was treated afterwards by the Coalition was a disgrace and the fact they're now considering referring it to the Commission alleging impropriety for what was Workers Compensation. If they have evidence of improper conduct, they should have to put up or shut up because this is officially getting outrageous.
Verdict: Only investigate IF hard evidence comes to light otherwise forget it
Labor (ALP) The ALP already have their own request that they're putting together, that of referring former LNP Minister Stuart Robert to the Commission. The allegation there is that Stuart Robert was allegedly going to receive kickbacks in return for helping a friend's consultancy business win government contracts. A second allegation is that Stuart Robert allegedly directed Centrelink leases to properties owned by a friend resulting in favourable terms such as long leases and high rents. This same friend's health companies associated with the NDIS were also allegedly given the same treatment. At this point in time, these are all just allegations but given this involves contracts worth $374m, well, something needs to be done.
Verdict: Absolutely MUST investigate
While it is early days so far in the life of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, just based on the possibility of these three referrals alone and potentially many more to come, there is no doubt whatsoever that the Commission has its work cut out for them. If this Commission can obtain results and has genuine power, we could actually get somewhere when it comes to corruption and government integrity, at least at Federal level.
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