Since the agency’s doors opened on Saturday, 44 referrals have been made, according to the new national anti-corruption commissioner, who is cautioning against the commission being exploited as a political tool.
Paul Brereton stated his desire for the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to “have the reputation of being fearless but fair, independent, and impartial” in his first public speech following assumption of the position.
The Green Party has already requested that the NACC look into the troubled consulting company PwC’s tax leak issue, which has already taken the lives of eight partners.
At a special hearing in Canberra, commissioner Brereton stated, “It is important to understand that the fact that we decide to launch an investigation does not imply that there is necessarily corrupt conduct.”
“I will utilise my authority to make public declarations about corruption issues to initiate an investigation when it may be in the public interest to do so in order to clear the air.
“I will not hesitate to use the power to make public statements, if necessary, to avoid unfair harm to reputations and to say that the referral was inappropriate,” he said. “Should it be sought to ‘weaponise’ the commission through inappropriate or unfounded referrals.”
The results of the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption’s (ICAC) inquiry against former premier Gladys Berejiklian and her ex-partner Daryl Maguire were made public last week.
The state ICAC was criticised for allegedly damaging Ms. Berejiklian’s reputation at public hearings and for taking an excessively lengthy time to complete the investigation.
Commissioner Brereton stated that public hearings would only be held in “exceptional circumstances” and that his organisation would strive to have 90% of its investigations concluded within a year.
He stated, “On the one hand, it is not in the public interest to have people’s reputations destroyed by accusations that may turn out to be unfounded.
The public is interested in learning about evidence of corrupt behaviour by or involving public officials, government agencies, and politicians, as well as in public scrutiny of the commission’s operations.
“The main factors will be the significance of the alleged corrupt conduct, the desirability of exposing evidence of it, and the appropriateness of public scrutiny of the Commission’s activities weighed against any unfair prejudice to a person’s reputation, privacy, safety, or wellbeing that might be caused if the hearing were held in public,” according to the statement.
By submitting PwC, the Greens are accused of “weaponizing” the panel.
Barbara Pocock, a South Australian Greens senator, referred troubled consulting firm PwC to the NACC on Sunday, stating that such an investigation may run concurrently with the ongoing Australian Federal Police investigation.
Barnaby Joyce, a leading member of the Nationals, claimed on Channel Seven that the Greens were “weaponizing” the panel just days after it was established, but Senator Pocock disagreed.
“The PwC matter really pulls together a bunch of threads of profiting out of confidential government information,” Senator Pocock said.
The NACC may also look into Stuart Robert’s relationship with a lobbying firm, despite the fact that both the former MP and the consulting company have vehemently denied any misconduct.
Brittany Higgins, a former Liberal staffer who claimed she was sexually assaulted by a coworker in then-minister Linda Reynolds’ Parliament House office, has been nominated for referral by the Coalition.
There have never been any criminal conclusions in that case.
Late on Monday, Senator Reynolds declared she would refer the settlement to the NACC.
She said in a statement that the public had never been informed of the reasons behind the financial settlement, and she expressed concern that she had never been given the chance to participate in the negotiations.
