Million dollar NACC boss freezes media as questions heat up

ANTHONY KLAN

The boss of the embattled National Anti-Corruption Commission Paul Brereton has been paid almost $1 million by taxpayers in the role to date — including $73,226 for one month’s work before it commenced operations.

The revelations come as the NACC — embroiled in controversy over Brereton failing to “recuse” himself over the Robodebt referrals — has claimed it can no longer answer media questions because of limited “resources”.

Searches of Federal procurement register AusTender show Brereton was given a contract for $73,226.12 for “temporary personnel services”, for the period June 1 to June 30 last year, before the NACC officially commenced operations on July 1.

“The Commissioner was engaged by AGD (Attorney-General’s Department) as Commissioner-designate for the period from 1 June 2023 to work on the establishment of the Commission in preparation for its commencement on 1 July 2023,” the NACC told The Klaxon earlier this month.

The Remuneration Tribunal shows the NACC Commissioner is paid $784,600 a year, plus travel expenses and allowances. Since Brereton started on June 1 last year, he has been paid $962,053, plus travel expenses and allowances.

“Brereton has been paid $962,053 to date”

The $73,226.12 contract to Brereton for the month of June last year. Source: AusTender

The NACC shocked the nation when it announced in June that it would not investigate six public officials referred to it by the Royal Commission into Robodebt.

It said Brereton, who freedom of information documents show had declared a conflict of interest behind-the-scenes, had “delegated the decision in this matter” to an unnamed Deputy Commissioner.

As reported by The Klaxon on July 1 Brereton has close personal ties to Kathryn Campbell — the most senior public servant who oversaw Robodebt — including through their time as senior officers in the Army Reserve.

Paul Brereton (second from left), Kathryn Campbell (second from right). Source: Frontline, Defence Service Journal, December 2022.

The Klaxon has recently published a string of major exposes, including revealing Brereton broke the NACC’s own conflict of interest guidelines; that the NACC only created its “Integrity Policy” after it received referrals from the Robodebt Royal Commission; and that its decision not to investigate the Robodebt referrals is just two pages long.

Brereton failed to “recuse” himself in the legal sense, despite using the word repeatedly in official correspondence, and was involved in the Robodebt matters.

In an explosive expose Monday, The Klaxon revealed how intimately involved he was in the matter — with freedom of information documents showing he remained present throughout the majority of a NACC Senior Assessment Panel meeting that considered Robodebt.

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Brereton was intimately involved in the NACC Robodebt “decision” meeting on October 19, as shown by red arrows. The period Brereton was outside the room is shown in green, exiting only as the “decision” was made.  Source: FoI/NACC. Mark-ups: The Klaxon

Early Tuesday morning — for the first time — the NACC said it could no longer respond to our questions because of “time and resources”.

“Given the considerable time and resources it would require to answer your queries we are unable to assist,” the NACC said in a statement, at 7.32am Tuesday morning.

The Klaxon’s Michelle Fahy had sent the NACC ten questions on Monday.

NACC’s response to journalist Michelle Fahy early Tuesday morning.

Given the NACC’s claims to Fahy regarding “time and resources”, this reporter, later on Tuesday morning, separately approached the NACC, with a single question.

“How many meetings has the NACC Senior Assessment Panel held to date, and at how many was the matter of the Royal Commission Robodebt referrals formally considered?” we asked.

The NACC responded: “As your colleague Ms Fahy was advised, the Commission has made best efforts to respond to your questions but is unable to assist further”.

More from The Klaxon on the NACC & Robodebt:

26 Aug – “Recused” NACC boss Brereton at Robodebt meeting

23 Aug – NACC’s year-long Robodebt decision: just two pages long

22 Aug – NACC boss breaks own integrity policy over Robodebt

12 July – NACC marred by “silence and secrecy”

8 July – NACCered: How Dreyfus fudged the figures to deliver a secret regulator

1 July — Brereton’s NACC cloaked in military-grade secrecy

No mention of “time and resources” was made this time, but the outcome was the same, with the NACC refusing to answer vital questions over Brereton’s involvement in the Robodebt referrals matter.

Further, a close reading of the NACC response shows it curiously states that “the Commission has made best efforts” to respond.

Yet the NACC clearly hasn’t made “its” best efforts to respond — given the question we put to it was one sentence long and easily answered.

We pointed this out to the NACC, and that “as the nation’s anti-corruption regulator, it is important the NACC does not make false or misleading public claims”.

Journalist Anthony Klan’s questions to the NACC Tuesday – unanswered.

We asked the NACC: “Is it the NACC’s position that it made the NACC’s ‘best’ efforts’ to respond to our questions?”. If so, we asked, “why has the NACC made this false claim?”

We received no response.

We asked that if it was not the NACC’s position that the NACC had “made the NACC’s ‘best’ efforts’ to respond to our questions”, then “whose ‘best efforts’ is the NACC referring to and what does the NACC mean by this”?

Again, we received no response.

More to come…

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