The
National Anti-Corruption Commission (Consequential and
Transitional Provisions) Bill 2022
passed both houses of the Australian Parliament on 30 November 2023
after the government accepted 38 amendments - 36 originating in the
House of Representatives and 2 in the Senate.
So
on 12 December 2022 the NATIONAL
ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION ACT 2022
received the Governor-General's assent and the National
Anti-Corruption Commission
(NACC) was born.
The
NACC is apparently overseen by the Parliamentary
Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission (PJC-NACC) (current membership composition 6 ALP, 4 Coalition, 1 Greens & 1 Independent) and an Inspector of
the National Anti-Corruption Commission
(the Inspector).
Its
jurisdiction limited to the federal public service, its day-to-day
activities opaque and lacking any real transparency, it blithely
produces meaningless stripped statistics such as this excerpt from a
Media
Alert
concerning NACC Referral and assessment
from 1 July 2023 to 2 June 2024:
"At
the end of the reporting period, the Commission had:
received
3023 referrals
excluded
2350 referrals at the triage stage because they did not involve a
Commonwealth public official or did not raise a corruption issue
139
referrals awaiting triage
257
triaged referrals under assessment including 22 under preliminary
investigation
assessed
260 referrals, in respect of which the Commission:
*
decided to take no further action in 247 cases. Typically, this is
because the referral does not raise a corruption issue, or there are
insufficient prospects of finding corrupt conduct, or the matter is
already being adequately investigated by another agency, or
a corruption investigation would not add value in the public
interest. [my
yellow highlighting]
*
referred 9 corruption issues to agencies for investigation or
consideration.
*
decided to investigate 19 corruption issues itself.
*
decided to investigate 6 corruption issues jointly with another
agency.
So
it should come as no surprise that the NACC produced this on its News
and Media webpage on Thursday, 6 June 2024:
NationalAnti-Corruption Commission decides not to pursue Robodebt RoyalCommission referrals but focus on ensuring lessons learnt
Media
Releases
Published:
6
Jun 2024
On
6 July 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Commission)
received referrals concerning six public officials from the Royal
Commission into the Robodebt Scheme (Robodebt Royal Commission)
pursuant to section 6P(2B) of the Royal Commissions Act 1902 (Cth).
The
Commission has carefully considered each referral and reviewed the
extensive material provided by the Robodebt Royal Commission,
including its final report, and the Confidential Chapter.
The
Commission has become aware that five of the six public officials
were also the subject of referrals to the Australian Public Service
Commission (APSC).
The
Commission is conscious of the impact of the Robodebt Scheme on
individuals and the public, the seniority of the officials involved,
and the need to ensure that any corruption issue is fully
investigated.
However,
the conduct of the six public officials in connection with the
Robodebt Scheme has already been fully explored by the Robodebt Royal
Commission and extensively discussed in its final report. After close
consideration of the evidence that was available to the Royal
Commission, the Commission has concluded that it is unlikely it would
obtain significant new evidence.
In
the absence of a real likelihood of a further investigation producing
significant new evidence, it is undesirable for a number of reasons
to conduct multiple investigations into the same matter. This
includes the risk of inconsistent outcomes, and the oppression
involved in subjecting individuals to repeated investigations.
In
deciding whether to commence a corruption investigation, the
Commission takes into account a range of factors. A significant
consideration is whether a corruption investigation would add value
in the public interest, and that is particularly relevant where there
are or have been other investigations into the same matter. There is
not value in duplicating work that has been or is being done by
others, in this case with the investigatory powers of the Royal
Commission, and the remedial powers of the APSC.
Beyond
considering whether the conduct in question amounted to corrupt
conduct within the meaning of the Act and, if satisfied, making such
a finding, the Commission cannot grant a remedy or impose a sanction
(as the APSC can). Nor could it make any recommendation that could
not have been made by the Robodebt Royal Commission. An investigation
by the Commission would not provide any individual remedy or redress
for the recipients of government payments or their families who
suffered due to the Robodebt Scheme.
The
Commission has therefore decided not to commence a corruption
investigation as it would not add value in the public interest.
However, the Commission considers that the outcomes of the Robodebt
Royal Commission contain lessons of great importance for enhancing
integrity in the Commonwealth public sector and the accountability of
public officials. The Commission will continue through its
investigation, inquiry, and corruption prevention and education
functions, to address the integrity issues raised in the final
report, particularly in relation to ethical decision making, to
ensure that those lessons are learnt, and to hold public officials to
account.
In
order to avoid any possible perception of a conflict of interest, the
Commissioner delegated the decision in this matter to a Deputy
Commissioner. [my
yellow highlighting]
The
Commission will not be making further comment.
For
the record the current NACC deputy commissioners appear to be Ms
Nicole Rose PSM, Dr Ben Gauntlett and Ms
Kylie Kilgour.
So it was with one of these individuals that NACC Commissioner
Hon Paul Brereton AM RFD SC
decided to play 'pass the parcel.
Pundits have already coined a term to cover the public reaction to National Anti-Corruption Commission decisions - Being NACCered.
The reaction of one of a handful of reputable journalists who followed the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme proceedings:
