Final nail in Anti-Corruption Commission coffin

26/5/04
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) was officially declared dead and buried today.
Attorney General Jim McGinty said the commission's doors were closed and the keys handed over to the Western Australian Government after the Governor proclaimed legislation to abolish the ACC.
"This brings to an end an unfortunate chapter in the fight against corruption in this State," Mr McGinty said.
"The Anti-Corruption Commission established by the Liberal Government in 1996 was under-resourced and lacked sufficient powers to ever be an effective corruption and crime watchdog - it was set up to fail."
The ACC had been wound up on the recommendation of the Police Royal Commission last year. In its place, the new and more powerful Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) was set up by the Gallop Government on January 1 this year.
The Attorney General said the CCC was the toughest anti-corruption agency in the nation, with substantial powers and resources to investigate alleged corruption by police and public officers, as well as overseeing the police service's use of coercive powers to investigate organised crime.
The CCC has all the powers of a Royal Commission including the ability to:

• hold public hearings;
• compel witnesses to give evidence;
• conduct integrity tests and controlled operations; and
• use assumed identities.

Mr McGinty said there were also hefty penalties for anyone attempting to hinder the work of the CCC - such as giving false testimony, bribing of witnesses, destroying evidence and victimisation of people assisting the commission.
Offences carried penalties of up to five years' imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000.
"Based on recommendations from the Kennedy Royal Commission, the WA Government has created a watchdog with extensive powers to fight corruption in this State," the Attorney General said.
As well as the extensive new powers, Mr McGinty said the CCC was far better resourced than the ACC, with a recurrent budget of about $21million a year, more than double that of the ACC.
To date, the commission had recruited about 90 of its 150 staff and already has 1,200 cases on its books - about 50 per cent more than the number received by the ACC and the Ombudsman combined.
Eleven full investigations and 34 intelligence probes had been referred to the CCC from the Kennedy Royal Commission. The ACC and the Ombudsman had also handed over a number of their relevant cases.
Mr McGinty said one of the great drawbacks of the ACC was that everything it did had to be kept secret, which meant the public had no way of knowing what it was achieving.
Similarly, there were over-cautious rules that made it an offence to even say a matter was being investigated by the ACC.
The Attorney General said the ACC had been dogged by controversy during its history. In one of its biggest cases the ACC found six drug squad officers guilty of improper conduct in 1998. However, the Supreme Court later ruled that the ACC did not have the power to make such a finding.
There had also been allegations of bullying and victimisation from its own staff.
As an added safeguard, Mr McGinty said an independent Parliamentary inspector had been appointed to watch over the CCC and report to Parliament.
Attorney General's office: 9220 5000