Cracks in Aussie System allow Corruption to grow
This may debunk commonly held beliefs that corruption exists only in autocratic and closed systems. Usually so, but it seems that Australia has regressed from being a free and fair system to one ridden with irregularities, inadequate checks and justice system. Despite pumping in money, much of state funds had been wasted on consultancy, studies, red tape, inefficiencies rather than generate benefits for the people. There are reasons why the first state NSW is no longer number one. It has been bleeding for two decades. How long more can it sustain with the ongoing incompetence and malaise?
Citations
Vice files buried as law fails to cope
Natalie O'Brien December 12, 2010
PROSECUTORS have left scores of the state's highest-profile corruption cases on the shelf because they are ''chronically understaffed'' and too swamped to handle the rising workload.
Delays of up to four years in deciding on criminal charges against more than 100 people have been condemned as ''unacceptable'' and ''unfair'' by a former head of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Jerrold Cripps, QC.
Since 2007, ICAC has found that 165 people acted corruptly but 110 of them are still awaiting a decision on whether they will be charged, a Sun-Herald investigation has found.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is yet to decide if there is enough evidence to prosecute public officials such as former Wollongong council manager Joe Scimone and former town planner Beth Morgan, who were caught up in the ''sex for development'' scandal.
Also waiting are RailCorp contractors including Adam Azzopardi, Nat ''the Bobcat'' Severino and William Kuipers, who were found to have acted corruptly. Former ferries chief Geoff Smith is also awaiting word on whether he will be prosecuted.
In the case of ICAC's 2003 inquiry into the NSW Grains Board, it took so long to lay charges - five years - that the key witness died and the charges were withdrawn earlier this year.
Mr Cripps said the delays meant vital evidence may be lost as the memory of witnesses faded. And it was unfair to people who might later be acquitted to spend such a long time under a cloud.
''Criminal prosecutions should be dealt with as quickly as possible,'' said Mr Cripps, who stepped down last year after five years at ICAC.
A spokeswoman for the prosecutions office cited reasons for the long delays including ''chronic understaffing'', ''chronic overwork'', inadequate resources and the sheer size and complexity of the ICAC matters.
She disputed the numbers of people waiting for outcomes, saying they had calculated it as 101, not 110, out of 25 cases dating back to 2007.
But shadow attorney-general Greg Smith, SC, said: ''The community would expect people who are the subject of an ICAC finding of corrupt conduct to pay the price. Instead, Labor's failure to resource the bodies properly sees them roam free. This is symptomatic of 15 years of Labor neglect of the state's watchdogs.''
The head of the joint parliamentary committee which oversees ICAC, Labor MP Richard Amery, did not want to comment.
A Sun-Herald investigation this year revealed a number of RailCorp contractors recommended for prosecution for acting corruptly had returned to working with the corporation or other government-related rail companies. The inquiry was concluded in 2008 and ICAC recommended prosecutions of 33 people; of those, only two have faced charges.
In the Wollongong inquiry, ICAC recommended in 2008 the prosecution of 11 people. Of those, five have faced charges. There has been no decision on the remaining six.
ICAC's investigations have been steadily increasing and were up by 186 per cent in 2009-2010, according to its annual report.
The prosecutions office spokeswoman said ICAC matters were ''markedly different from general criminal prosecutions''. Their complexity often meant returning to ICAC for more information.
''All matters brought before the court rest on the admissibility and strength of the evidence … Frequently the evidence these agencies have gathered will include evidence given under objection - that is, the person has admitted to taking part in a criminal enterprise on the basis that the evidence will not be used against him/her in criminal proceedings - or evidence that is otherwise not legally admissible.''
Asked about some criticisms of the way briefs had been prepared, she said: ''ICAC briefs have been improving in quality over the past two years or so.''
http://www.smh.com.au/national/vice-files-buried-as-law-fails-to-cope-20101211-18tgs.html
NSW MP rorted expenses, corruption watchdog finds
Sean Nicholls December 7, 2010
The Labor MP for Drummoyne, Angela D'Amore, has been sacked as a parliamentary secretary, but the Premier is refusing to call for her resignation from Parliament after the corruption watchdog found she acted corruptly in falsely claiming thousands of dollars in entitlements for two staff members.
More details in :
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-mp-rorted-expenses-corruption-watchdog-finds-20101207-18ndh.html?from=smh_sb
'Culture of corruption' in MP's office: inquiry
Brian Robins May 3, 2010
The Independent Commission Against Corruption is holding public hearings into claims that Penrith MP Karyn Paluzzano and her staff may have made false claims relating to staff payments.
The inquiry has heard Ms Paluzzano and others devised a scheme to defraud the NSW parliament and benefit her relief staff, including her mother.
It is alleged Ms Paluzzano made false declarations in claim forms for an allowance called sitting day relief, which an MP can claim when one of their permanent electorate officers works at Parliament House on a sitting day.
The allowance covers the wages of relief staff who work in the MP’s office to replace a staff member working at Parliament House.
The ICAC inquiry has heard that between August 2006 and June 2007, 22 sitting day relief forms were submitted by the Penrith electorate.
Ms Paluzzano holds the post of parliamentary secretary for education.
Premier Kristina Keneally last week refused to stand her aside while the ICAC inquiry is under way.
Read more in :
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/culture-of-corruption-in-mps-office-inquiry-20100503-u2dn.html
What a waste: how NSW blew $2m a day
Heath Aston December 12, 2010
THE NSW government has squandered more than three-quarters of a billion dollars of taxpayer money in a year.
A Sun-Herald review of 12 months of reports by the NSW Auditor-General has found $778 million flushed down the toilet - more than $2 million a day.
Cases where money has been wasted directly or where the taxpayer has lost out through poor oversight, budget blow-outs or governmental blunders include:
$356 million spent on the abandoned CBD Metro for no result.
$188 million overspent on the Building the Education Revolution stimulus spending scheme.
$150 million lost on the sale of NSW Lotteries, which the Auditor-General found was too low.
$10 million dropped on the bungled handling of the V8 Supercars contract by former minister Ian Macdonald.
Over the year, Auditor-General Peter Achterstraat also found NSW had lost out on $8 million in coalmining royalties due to poor enforcement, and the final budget for World Youth Day had run $66 million over forecast.
Despite Youth Day being held in 2008, the Auditor-General's report did not come out until May this year.
Mr Achterstraat, who has been scathing about the flagrant approach by the NSW government in a succession of reports, is bound by legislation not to comment outside the times when he hands down a report.
The Sun-Herald understands he will drop a pre-election bombshell by taking the unusual step of releasing a year-in-review report in February.
Premier Kristina Keneally defended her government, saying reports such as the one on the CBD Metro showed she had taken the tough decision to redeploy $4.5 billion for better use.
Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell said: ''These hundreds of millions of dollars could have started the South West or North West rail links, or upgraded the Pacific and Princes highways.
''It could have hired more nurses, teachers and police or upgraded Tamworth, Dubbo or Port Macquarie Hospitals.''
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/what-a-waste-how-nsw-blew-2m-a-day-20101211-18tgy.html
Country Democracy Rank Press Freedom Rank Corruption Rank
Australia 9 22 8
http://www.worldaudit.org/democracy.htm (November 2010)
Despite the drop in ranking, Australia still holds a high position based on the criteria used by most studies. How long can we keep up the top ranking, if only others are worse than us.
AWB hits Australia’s corruption reputation The scandal involving AWB and payments to the regime of Saddam Hussein has cost Australia its position as one of the countries globally perceive to be the most corruption-free, according to a new report.
Transparency International’s (TI’s) 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index reported that Australia has slipped out of the top 10 countries perceived to be corruption-free for the first time. While the Cole Royal Commission laid the blame for the $300 million in bribes paid to the Iraqi regime with certain AWB executives, the TI index, which tracks perceptions of public sector corruption, suggests the scandal has impacted Australia’s image as a whole.
http://www.riskmanagementmagazine.com.au/articles/e8/0c050be8.asp
http://www.smh.com.au/business/australia-is-sliding-down-the-international-corruption-ladder-20100424-tknv.html
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