NACC marred by “silence and secrecy”

ANTHONY KLAN

The Albanese Government’s long promised anti-corruption commission is marred by “silence and secrecy” and has failed its first major test, according to one of the nation’s top legal experts.

Former Judge Anthony Whealy KC said he had “high hopes” for the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) — which passed its first anniversary last week — but now had serious concerns.

“You can’t deter corruption by remaining silent,” Whealy told the ABC.

“I’ve had great hopes for it, but so far there’s been silence and secrecy surrounding it, and that’s not a good thing”.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) had failed its “first test” by refusing to investigate the Robodebt welfare payments scandal and the reasons it gave were “fatuous”.

“We thought this will be a real test of the strength of the NACC and it decided it wouldn’t investigate those matters at all,” Whealy said.

“We all expected that it would, we were awaiting that carefully.

“That concerns me. It means that maybe we have a timid NACC and not a courageous one.

“It’s not very easy to be courageous in this job but that’s what we need in Australia”.

“It’s not very easy to be courageous in this job but that’s what we need in Australia” — Anthony Whealy KC

Whealy is a former NSW Court of Appeal judge and chair of the Centre for Public Integrity, an influential not-for-profit created by a group of top former judges.

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The Albanese Government’s NACC is cloaked in secrecy. Source: The Klaxon. (Image top, Anthony Whealy KC. Source: ABC).

Whealy’s comments follow those of fellow retired judge Geoffrey Watson SC, also a director of the Centre for Public Integrity, who last month said he felt a “really deep sense of disappointment” and a “sinking feeling” over the NACC’s failure to probe Robodebt.

“A really deep sense of disappointment” — Geoffrey Watson SC

“I just felt as though this is their first great opportunity and the organisation’s failed,” said Watson.

“It’s just a sinking feeling that this body is not standing up for what it should be doing”.

Undertaken by the former Federal Coalition Government, the Robodebt scheme saw $1.7 billion in debts unlawfully raised against more than half a million social security recipients between 2015 and 2019, with many taking their lives.

The Federal Government has paid $1.8 billion of taxpayer money to victims after a Federal Court class action but to date no official has been held to account.

The Royal Commission into the scheme – which was highly damning of government – extended its operations in order to make referrals to the NACC when it began operations on July 1 last year.

Yet early last month, in its first major announcement — and almost one year after receiving the referrals — the NACC said it would not investigate.

It released a vague statement and refused to comment further.

“I’ve been involved in a few (corruption inquiries) and they always involve money or power,” Watson told the ABC.

“Well, this one’s quite different – Robodebt is quite different because it involved people’s lives.

“How can you look past the fact that a royal commissioner examined it and said ‘this is so serious, I’m going to refer it to the specialist body’, and then the NACC turned its back on it?

“That was just a disappointment to the whole community,” Watson said.

The NACC was given the names of at least six public officials — including at least one minister — in a “sealed” document, with the view to it taking action. Those names have never been made public.

This week Whealy said he was unsatisfied with the reasons the NACC had given for refusing to investigate Robodebt.

“These are matters that affect many thousands of Australian citizens and they gave some reasons for why they wouldn’t investigate but I must say I thought the reasons were pretty fatuous,” he said.

Between 2012 and 2022 no OECD nation fell faster towards corruption than Australia, according to Transparency International, which noted the failure to implement an effective national corruption regulator as a key reason.

On Tuesday the Commissioner of South Australia’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Ann Vanstone KC, resigned over the regulator’s powers having been slashed by the two major parties.

South Australia ICAC boss Ann Vanstone KC resigned on Tuesday. Source: The Klaxon

Federally the former Morrison Coalition Government had long promised to deliver a federal anti-corruption body but later refused to do so.

The ALP made creating a federal anti-corruption body “with teeth” a key election pledge ahead of the 2022 election. Yet within months of being elected announced a regulator that would hold all hearings in secret, except in undefined “exceptional circumstances”.

As previously reported, as cover for the move Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus used fudged data vastly understating the level of hearings the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) holds in public.

The Albanese Government’s appointment of a military figure, Justice Paul Brereton, to run the NACC is seen as one of its biggest downfalls.

Watson said Brereton had a “fine legal background”, but speaking generally, “I wouldn’t pick a military person to run any kind of body like this”.

“I wouldn’t pick a military person to run any kind of body like this” — Watson

“He was a major general. Military people love power. And how do you get power?

“You have control. And how to you get control? You’ve got secrecy.

“It’s exactly the opposite kind of skill set that you want for an organisation like this,” Watson said.

Within days of the NACC’s shock Robodebt announcement it was announced the Inspector of the NACC, Gail Furness SC, would conduct an investigation into the decision after receiving almost 900 complaints from the public.

When asked about that probe this week Watson responded: “Well let’s hope the inspector’s not as timid as the NACC appears to have been”.

“That’s the way I’d put it”.

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