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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-05-01 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

INDEPENDENT COMMISSIONER AGAINST CORRUPTION

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:07): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The state government will today give notice to introduce a bill to create an Independent Commissioner against Corruption and an Office of Public Integrity. The community expects its government to be open and accountable and should have confidence that decisions its government makes are made for the right reasons. The community also expects the same set of rules that apply to it should apply to office holders involved in public decision-making.

This bill provides a completely independent and easily accessible place to go if they have any basis for thinking this is not the case. The South Australian Independent Commissioner against Corruption will be completely independent of government, with powers equal to any crime-fighting body in Australia. If passed unamended, this legislation will create the most effective and publicly accessible anti-corruption structure in Australia. Not only will this bill create an independent and powerful ICAC, it will also establish a one-stop shop—the Office of Public Integrity—to process complaints about public administration, ranging from misconduct to serious corruption. The OPI will be overseen by an independent commissioner, a position we will seek to fill as soon as the bill is passed.

The ICAC will have significant powers to gather evidence and compel witnesses to answer questions, based on the successful Australian Crime Commission model established in 2002. The ICAC's powers will be significant and its independence will be guaranteed. For this reason, the bill includes a number of important measures to ensure accountability and as much transparency as is possible for such a high-powered investigative body. The commissioner will have the power to make public statements about the ICAC's work in the public interest. However, he or she will be required to consider the prejudicial effect on a person's reputation or the capacity of a public statement to damage a potential prosecution.

A new joint committee of parliament will be formed to examine the ICAC's report to parliament and reports from the Police Ombudsman and the Commissioner of Police. The seven-member Crime and Corruption Policy Review Committee will report to both houses of parliament on any matter of policy affecting public administration arising out of any of these reports. The proposed committee will also review reports provided to parliament under the government's anti-crime gang legislation. In addition, a reviewer will be appointed each year to conduct a review of the exercise of the powers of the ICAC during that financial year, and a report on the review will be tabled in parliament.

Overseas and interstate experience shows us that preventing corruption before it arises is the best anti-corruption strategy. One of the ICAC's most significant functions will be education, with a particular focus on government departments and agencies. The legislation sets out the role of the ICAC as the identification and investigation of corruption in public administration, and the prevention or minimisation of corruption, misconduct and maladministration in public administration. The OPI's role is to receive and assess complaints about public administration and to make recommendations about which body should investigate each complaint.

Where a complaint is assessed as involving an allegation of corruption, the OPI must refer it to the ICAC. The OPI is the publicly accessible shopfront while the ICAC will have the powers and resources to investigate and root out corrupt activity. Neither the OPI nor the ICAC will prosecute offences. Rather, they will make recommendations to South Australia Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions about matters they believe should be prosecuted.

Under the bill the ICAC will appoint investigators who will hold search powers under a warrant to access personal details, to search people, places and vehicles, and to seize evidence. Investigators will also be able to use listening and surveillance devices. The ICAC will also have the power to conduct an examination: a powerful investigative tool which includes the use of coercive powers.

Failure to comply with the directions of an examiner may result in a witness facing contempt proceedings in the Supreme Court. A fine of $20,000 or four years' imprisonment will be the maximum penalty for providing false or misleading evidence during an examination. The government will also introduce the Telecommunications (Interception) Bill 2012 to allow the ICAC to use telephone intercepts.

I am confident that this bill will give South Australia the best anti-corruption framework in the nation. This South Australian solution will balance serious powers with accountability and independence, and forensic investigation with public education. Ultimately, I believe this model will ensure that South Australians will have confidence in the integrity of our public institutions.

The SPEAKER: Order! There's a lot of background noise today; people are chatting at the top of their voices to each other.

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