Ministerial Statement

Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Annual Report 2013-14

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Industrial Relations) (14:26): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Two reports have been tabled today: the annual report of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption was tabled by you, Mr Speaker. I now table the report of a review of the operations of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption and the Office for Public Integrity.

The annual report of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption provides a summary of the first financial year of operation. Since opening on 2 September last year, a total of 1,547 contacts were received by the office; of these, 624 were general inquiries or outside the jurisdiction of the ICAC Act and the remainder were complaints and reports.

A total of 71 corruption investigations were commenced by the commissioner which covered 90 complaints and reports and three own-initiative assessments. The commissioner is required to report on a number of matters in his annual report, and he makes some observations and recommendations to government which we are considering or already acting upon.

The commissioner has recommended to amend, in a minor way, the confidentiality provisions within the ICAC Act. These recommendations relate to a person being able to have necessary discussions about their appearance before the commission without seeking formal permission from the commissioner. I will introduce a bill to parliament soon in order to address these concerns. These are essentially administrative matters not policy issues. The commissioner does not recommend public hearings.

The commissioner also makes observations about the role of the Police Ombudsman, raising concerns that a number of complaints are deemed—in his view, incorrectly—to be outside the jurisdiction of the Police Ombudsman. The commissioner says the arrangements are in need of an overhaul. The government is considering this recommendation.

We will be giving careful thought to the commissioner's recommendations regarding the use of private emails and social media. I will be providing advice to the Premier for him to communicate with ministerial staff, reminding them of their obligations under the State Records and the FOI acts.

The report also makes recommendations on a number of other areas, including lobbyists, political donations and codes of conduct for members of parliament and local government. The government will consider all recommendations and observations made in the report, and I thank the commissioner for his work.

The report I table today is a review of the first year of operation of the ICAC. It was conducted by the Hon. Kevin Duggan AM, QC in accordance with the requirements under the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Act 2012. The act requires the report to address the following: whether the powers under the ICAC Act were exercised in an appropriate manner, whether the practices and procedures of the commissioner and the office were effective and efficient, and whether the operations made an appreciable difference to the prevention or minimisation of corruption, misconduct and maladministration in public administration.

This report makes a number of recommendations of an administrative nature, including suggested changes to the website, providing copies of search warrants and summaries of searches and greater guidance to police officers around their powers. The report also recommends the government make amendments to the ICAC Act to provide for a mechanism for the making of complaints of abuse of the exercise of the powers of the commissioner or other forms of misconduct on the part of the ICAC. It further suggests amendments to ensure the act does not prevent people seeking legal advice. The government is also considering these recommendations. I table the report of a review of the operations of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption and the Office for Public Integrity.