13th May 2022
The announcement by the Ombudsman, Ms Deborah Glass OBE (Herald Sun 11/5/22), that an outsider will probe cronyism is the first sign of cracks appearing in the wall of corruption that is endemic to Victoria.
Corruption can only survive and grow when those who hold positions of power can act in concert, only achievable by widespread cronyism, nepotism and indebtedness.
The Community Advocacy Alliance (CAA) fully supports this initiative and congratulates the Ombudsman on her response to the Government referral.
This chink in this hitherto impenetrable corruption wall will knock out the foundations to bring that edifice tumbling down.
The importance of this announcement cannot be understated.
Once the collapse starts, it will inevitably lead to the breadth and depth of corruption in Victoria being exposed as the conies fight for survival.
A pattern is already evident with the exposé by those involved in the political branch stacking issues. You can expect that pattern to be replicated many times over.
Once the ‘penny has dropped’, that most cronies will suffer financial pain at least, and some may end up in jail; there will be a mad scramble to want to talk to the inquiry. Many realising the ‘jig is up,’ and those who have had their careers and lives ruined by cronyism.
Government entities use the selection panel process to mask cronyism, but a compliant or corrupt selection panel is not a defence but an extension of cronyism.
All Victorians must support every effort to fight this corruption pandemic that costs each Victorian $4000(est) every year and remove those who serve their selfish self-interests instead of the State.
The fewer cronies that survive, the greater the benefit for us all.
The CAA will be making a comprehensive submission and invites input for consideration from members and supporters.
For further information, go to https://www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/our-impact/news/politicisation-of-the-public-service-issues-paper-and-request-for-submissions/
Governments that only employee and contract with persons from the same political mindset soon forget the public service is public and not a service to government to lie cheat and manipulate on the behalf of government. Keep the public service public, transparent, accountable, ethical and progressive.
I hope it happens but I have doubts, remember the hotel enquiry? Run by a former judge and found that nobody was responsible. How do we know that this won’t end the same?
Cronyism, nepotism and widespread corruption are endemic in the mining industry, particularly in the Hunter Valley coal-mines – probably wherever there is big money to be made in Australia. It’s a “pandemic of corruption”, and I’ve worked across many different industries.
Having seen these things come and go many times over the years, I can’t help but feel that this is the bad guys using more camouflage, having tried every other type of ‘wriggle on the hook” and that this may be a case of “Oh my God! What’s that over there, look!!” pointing vigorously in the opposite direction and then running off in another direction sufficient to distract and then disappear (via yet more delay, deviation and deceit), I can only hope that the Ombudsman’s office has sniffed so much excrement to date, that it can sniff it no longer. Having just undergone a session with the Ombudsman’s office wherein they declared no punishments for deliberate and calculated discrimination against our disabled members and many others of the public, by an Eastern suburbs council, the Ombudsman’s office seems to have gone against the findings of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission and all the other evidence provided. Apparently it is not illegal to discriminate against the disabled in Victoria according to current Government hypocrisies and the perpetrators are also then invited to not only continue their dirty deeds, but are then allowed to describe further at the so called conciliation what else they propose to do to the disabled victims. We hope this has “significantly” changed.