Integrity Commission (Tasmania)

Last updated

Integrity Commission
Commission overview
Formed1 October 2010;14 years ago (2010-10-01)
JurisdictionTasmania
HeadquartersSurrey House, Level 2, 199 Macquarie St, Hobart, Tasmania
Employees
  • 15.5 (2020–2021) [1]
  • 14.2 (2017–2018) [2]
Annual budget
  • $2.7 million (2020–2021) [1]
  • $2.46 million (2017–2018) [2]
Commission executive
Key document
Website www.integrity.tas.gov.au

The Integrity Commission is a Tasmanian integrity agency established in 2010 to deal with complaints about public sector misconduct. [3]

Contents

History

In 2009 the Bartlett Labor government passed the "Integrity Commission Act 2009 (Tas)" which established Tasmania's Integrity Commission, with a commencement date of 1 October 2010. [4]

Murray Kellam was chief of the Commission from 2010 to 2015. When he stepped down, Kellam was critical of the Tasmanian Government for failing to create the offence of misconduct in public office. [5]

Kellam was replaced as chief by Greg Melick in August 2015. [6] [7]

The commission reported receiving 126 complaints in their 2016–17 annual report and 193 complaints in their 2017–18 report. [2]

Reviews

In 2015 the Joint Standing Committee on Integrity of the Tasmanian Parliament completed a review of the Commission. [8]

Pursuant to section 107 of the legislation covering the Commission, a 5 year review of the operation of the Commission is required. [9] William Cox, Governor of Tasmania from 2004–2008 and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Tasmania [10] [11] was appointed to conduct the review in November 2015 [8] and it was presented in May 2016. [9] This review made 55 recommendations of which 49 remained unimplemented in March 2022. [12]

Criticism

Responding to the Kellam's comments when he left the commission in 2015, Lara Giddings, the shadow attorney-general noted that their budget had been cut by 20% in the previous year which they saw as showing a lack of support for the Integrity Commission. [6]

In 2018 leader of the Tasmanian Greens, Cassy O'Connor, was critical of the practice of referring complaints back to the relevant department, saying: [13]

The fact that our integrity body, the Integrity Commission, is having to refer complaints back to the department that the complaint is made about will send a shudder down the spine of public servants who want to blow the whistle about potential bad practices or misconduct within their department.

— Cassy O'Connor [13]

In 2019 Geoffrey Watson SC , former council assisting the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in New South Wales, argued that it was "disturbing" that the Integrity Commission has never conducted public hearings and criticised the failure to make commission reports public. [2] Watson was also critical of the requirement for complaints to be made in writing, in contrast to other Australian jurisdictions. [2]

In March 2022 The Australia Institute published a report critical of the Commission finding that it ranked poorly in a number of areas and is one of the weakest anti-corruption bodies in Australia. [14] [12] The author of the report argued that public hearings are needed to demonstrate that justice is being done and noted that there had been no public hearings since the founding of the Commission. They also noted that there had been references to the Integrity Commission during the last 2 election campaigns that were unable to be investigated as rules prevent the investigation of elected members once an election campaign is underway. [12]

Kristie Johnston, independent member for the seat of the Division of Clark, said that there is "snowball's chance in hell that this government will move to reform and strengthen the Integrity Commission in Tasmania" [12] and Cassy O'Connor said "It has been in the Gutwein Government's interest to keep the Integrity Commission enfeebled, to make sure that it doesn't bare its teeth" [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasmanian Greens</span> Political party in Australia

The Tasmanian Greens are a political party in Australia which developed from numerous environmental campaigns in Tasmania, including the flooding of Lake Pedder and the Franklin Dam campaign. They form a part of the Australian Greens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasmanian Legislative Council</span> Upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania

The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament, the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. Members of the Legislative Council are often referred to as MLCs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent Commission Against Corruption (New South Wales)</span> Anti-corruption agency in New South Wales, Australia

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is an integrity agency of the Government of New South Wales responsible for eliminating and investigating corrupt activities and enhancing the integrity of the state's public administration. The commission was established in 1989, pursuant to the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act, 1988 (NSW), modeled after the ICAC in Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick McKim</span> Australian politician

Nicholas James McKim is an Australian politician, currently a member of the Australian Senate representing Tasmania. He was previously a Tasmanian Greens member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly elected at the 2002 election, representing the Franklin electorate from 2002 to 2015, and led the party from 2008 until 2014. On 21 April 2010, he became the first member of the Greens in any Australian ministry. From February 2020 until June 2022, he served as co-deputy leader of the Australian Greens.

Murray Byron Kellam was formerly a judge of the County Court of Victoria in Australia before being appointed as a judge on 28 January 1998 to the Supreme Court of Victoria, the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Victoria. He was also the first President of VCAT. On 16 May 2007 Kellam was appointed a judge of Appeal. He retired from the Supreme Court on 15 June 2009. Kellam also served as a member of the Supreme Court of Samoa. He was appointed an Acting Judge of the Supreme Court of the ACT on 8 March 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime and Corruption Commission</span> State government commission in Queensland, Australia

The Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) is an independent Queensland Government integrity agency created to combat and reduce the incidence of major crime and to continuously improve the integrity of, and to reduce the incidence of misconduct in, the Queensland public sector. Formerly the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) 2002–2014. The CCC also has a witness protection function. The commission was established on 1 January 2002, when the former Criminal Justice Commission and the Queensland Crime Commission were merged into a single entity under the name Crime and Misconduct Commission.

William John Ellis Cox, was Governor of Tasmania from 15 December 2004 to 2 April 2008, prior to which he was the state's Chief Justice and Lieutenant Governor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Police Integrity Commission</span> Defunct Australian police oversight organisation

The Police Integrity Commission, was a statutory corporation of the New South Wales Government, responsible for the prevention, detection, and investigation of alleged serious misconduct in the Police Force in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The mission of the commission was to be an effective agent in the reduction of serious police misconduct. On 1 July 2017, the Police Integrity Commission was abolished and replaced by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassy O'Connor</span> Australian politician

Cassandra Stanwell O'Connor is an Australian politician, who was a Tasmanian Greens member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 2008 to 2023, representing the electorate of Denison which was renamed to Clark in September 2018. Since the 2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election, she has represented the electorate of Hobart. O'Connor was the first female Greens minister in Australia, serving in the Giddings ministry intermittently from 2011-14. In 2015, she became leader of the Tasmanian Greens following the resignation of Kim Booth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Australia</span>

Corruption can take many forms, and can distort how public policy is made or implemented. This article discusses the responsibilities of the various agencies involved in combating corruption in Australia. Australia became a signatory to the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2005. While Australia is a wealthy democracy, over the decade since 2012, Australia's ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index from Transparency International has slipped from 7th place in 2012 to 14th in 2023, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. Additionally, there is a public perception that corruption in Australia is increasing. All states have broad-based anti-corruption agencies, and a national anti-corruption commission has been operational since July 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Tasmanian state election</span>

The 2018 Tasmanian state election was held on 3 March 2018 to elect all 25 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent Commission Against Corruption (South Australia)</span> South Australian corruption commissioner

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is a South Australian integrity agency and law enforcement body responsible for the prevention and investigation of corruption in public administration. It receives referrals from the Office for Public Integrity and can on-refer matters to the South Australia Police (SAPOL). ICAC was established by the Government of South Australia in 2013, and until 2021, could also investigate potential issues of misconduct and maladministration. Corruption investigations are undertaken in private and strict confidentiality provisions prevent unlawful disclosure or publication, resulting in a largely secret organisation. It is headed by a commissioner, an independent statutory officer responsible to the Parliament of South Australia. Its functions and activities are subject to the oversight of the Inspector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosalie Woodruff</span> Australian politician and epidemiologist

Rosalie Ellen Woodruff is an Australian politician and current leader of the Tasmanian Greens. She has represented Franklin in the Tasmanian House of Assembly since 17 August 2015, when she was elected in a countback to replace Nick McKim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission</span> Australian police oversight organisation

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) is Victoria's anti-corruption integrity agency with jurisdiction over the public sector. It does this by:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Tasmanian state election</span>

The 2021 Tasmanian state election was held on 1 May 2021 to elect all 25 members to the Tasmanian House of Assembly.

Felix Ashton Ellis is an Australian politician, who was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly on 17 August 2020 in a recount to fill a vacancy for the division of Braddon. A member of the Liberal Party, Ellis is a member of the Second Rockliff ministry serving as Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management, Skills and Training and Housing and Planning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Tasmanian state election</span> Election for the House of Assembly in the 51st Tasmanian Parliament

The 2024 Tasmanian state election was held on 23 March 2024 to elect all 35 members to the House of Assembly.

The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission oversights, monitors and investigates allegations of serious misconduct by the NSW Police Force (NSWPF) and NSW Crime Commission (NSWCC). It was set up on 1 July 2017 to replace the Police Integrity Commission and the Police and Compliance Branch of the Office of the Ombudsman

Kristie Joy Johnston is an Australian politician. She was elected as the Mayor of City of Glenorchy in 2014 and 2018 and is an Independent member for the seat of Division of Clark, having been elected in the 2021 Tasmanian state election.

The Kellem review was an Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) inquiry undertaken by Murray Kellam from July 2014 to February 2015 into Victoria Police human source management. The review was initiated in response to newspaper reports about the actions of lawyer Nicola Gobbo in providing information to police.

References

  1. 1 2 Integrity Commission Annual Review 2020–21 (PDF) (Report). Integrity Commission. 28 October 2021. eISSN   2204-6119. ISSN   2204-6100.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Humphries, Alexandra (6 March 2019). "Tasmania has a chequered past — is it time for a 'true' corruption commission?". ABC News. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  3. ↑ "Our focus – Integrity Commission". www.integrity.tas.gov.au. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  4. ↑ "View – Tasmanian Legislation Online". www.legislation.tas.gov.au. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  5. ↑ Day, Lauren (7 August 2015). "Corruption watchdog chief blasts 'complacent' Tas Government". ABC News. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  6. 1 2 Bolger, Rosemary (7 August 2015). "Hobart barrister set to be named Tasmanian Integrity Commissioner". ABC News. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  7. ↑ "Appointment of new Chief Commissioner of the Integrity Commission". www.premier.tas.gov.au. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  8. 1 2 Shannon, Lucy (29 November 2015). "Former governor to review Tasmanian corruption watchdog". ABC News. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  9. 1 2 Cox, William (May 2016). "Independent Review of the Integrity Commission Act 2009 - Report of the Independent Reviewer" (PDF). Integrity Commission Tasmania. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  10. ↑ "New governor is a break with the past". The Age . AAP. 18 November 2004. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  11. ↑ "Underwood to be Tasmania's new governor". The Sydney Morning Herald . AAP. 3 March 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Humphries, Alexandra (10 March 2022). "Little chance of any teeth for this corruption watchdog". ABC News. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  13. 1 2 Baines, Richard; Whitson, Rhiana (27 February 2018). "Tasmania's integrity watchdog sending complaints to departments for in-house probes". ABC News. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  14. ↑ Carr, Eloise; Hay, Rachel (March 2022). "Still toothless - Jurisdictional, funding and secrecy issues in the Integrity Commission Tasmania" (PDF). Hobart: The Australia Institute . Retrieved 22 December 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.