15th of August 2021

Extracts cited from the Annual Report of IBAC 2019-2020.

“Public trust is crucial for effective government and functioning of our public institutions. Preventing and exposing public sector corruption builds community confidence and trust in the Victorian public sector and builds confidence in the Victorian integrity system.

It is imperative that IBAC is visibly and practically independent from the government of the day, while being accountable to the Victorian community. IBAC has the powers of a standing Royal Commission. These are significant powers with serious obligations.

A strong anti-corruption agency must be independent, accountable and adequately resourced.”

Why is this not happening?  Why is IBAC failing to investigate the serious misconduct of public officials of which almost everyone in the State must be aware?

Why has IBAC not received additional resources as its workload increases?

Given the outcomes achieved shown in their Annual Report, the additional resources needed may not be a quantitative but a qualitative issue given IBAC’s apparent investigative skills?

Could it be that the Government is content to see an anti-corruption watchdog that has no teeth?

When the following matters are considered it is no wonder that the efficacy of IBAC is in question.

Red Shirt Rorts – The services of electoral office staff were misused, the minions on the ground were arrested and interrogated by police, the Government claimed they would fully cooperate with the police inquiry but did not. Police failed to arrest and interview a single politician involved.  Why?  The perpetrators of these frauds walked away scot-free.  It should be noted that when the Government was caught out a large sum of money was promptly repaid.  Evidence of guilt?

Cancelling the East-West Link claiming no compensation would be paid on legal advice that the contracts were invalid. It was true, it did not cost a cent, just $1.3billion. The so-called legal advice was never released.

Government chauffeurs used to ferry MP’s dogs. New political strategy evolves. Ignore any misstep by politicians and it will go away. The old news approach, later to be followed by the ‘I can’t remember’ strategy.

Travelling expenses rort – how two politicians can blatantly steal from the State by submitting false travel claims and then be let off by repaying the money in part- is one of the most egregious failures of accountability in Political history – if you or I did this we would be locked up. But as with the Chauffer affair, سكس the politicians were quietly moved out of politics to avoid embarrassing the government.

The ‘Coate Inquiry’. Supposedly designed to quell community disquiet about contracts for millions of dollars not being properly awarded and other matters.  Politicians and bureaucrats gave evidence to the Inquiry, notable for the number of, ‘I can’t remember,’ responses to limited questioning by Counsel Assisting.  The handpicked legal team that seemingly failed to test witnesses and certain phone records, documents and witnesses who should have had knowledge of events were not called to give evidence.

This Inquiry raises further questions.  The Inquiry was into the actions of Government Ministers and Senior Bureaucrats.  Who chose the Inquiry Head?  Who chose Counsel Assisting?  Why was the Government Solicitor’s Office used as instructing Solicitors?  While not suggesting any impropriety on the part of the lawyers involved, surely this process was totally unethical and corrupt.

I-Cook Foods is the latest scandal to surface with the obvious deliberate effort to destroy a legitimate small business and steal its technology. This scandal looks to be multiple Local Governments acting in concert with the State Government to destroy a small business by allegedly criminal activity.

How many of these cases involved corruption?  Very hard to know since IBAC apparently did not deem any of them worth investigating.

But they did find time to charge a highly decorated Policemen with telling his partner he was interviewed by IBAC. The State might be better served by IBAC readjusting their priorities to address what they are allegedly there for. Applying allegedly scarce resources to trivial matters hardly justifies demanding more.

The CAA submits that IBAC is failing dismally in its function and should be held accountable for this failure. Additionally, the Inspectorate responsible for oversighting IBAC must also accept responsibility for these failures.

We repeat the words from IBAC itself:

“It is imperative that IBAC is visibly and practically independent from the government of the day, while being accountable to the Victorian community. IBAC has the powers of a standing Royal Commission. These are significant powers with serious obligations.

A strong anti-corruption agency must be independent, accountable and adequately resourced.”