ICAC and Political Corruption
Last month we published an article entitled “The ghost of cronyism and corruption still haunts Queensland”. Recently, the shooting of NSW businessman, Michael McGurk, in cold blood has intensified allegations of endemic government corruption in New South Wales.
Mr McGurk was shot dead at his Cremorne home on Sydney’s lower north shore last week in what police say was a targeted killing. Before his death he told reporters about a recording he claimed to have made containing revelations that implicated New South Wales and Federal Labor politicians in corruption. The tape is purported to contain conversations about Members of Parliament receiving payments from businessmen in return for favours.
This commentary will not discuss the current police investigations currently taking place. However, its objective is to foster discussion of political corruption and to examine the historical factors and developments that have taken place.
Accusations of political corruption have long been part of political debate in New South Wales and other states. In recent headlines, we have seen the Ute-gate scandal, Wollongong City Council allegations of corrupt conduct, and the incarceration of a former Beattie minister for corruptly receiving $360,000 in secret payments from Queensland businessmen.
Although the federal government in Australia raises most of the revenue, the state governments spend it. Education, police, health, roads, transport, housing and justice fall largely under state jurisdiction, presenting potentially large opportunities and rewards for corrupt activity.
Both the major political parties in Australia, Labor and Liberal (in a coalition with the National Party), have been accused of succumbing to these opportunities when in power at the state level. In recent decades, corruption accusations surrounded New South Wales governments under Liberal Premiers Robin Askin and Eric Willis (1965-1976), and under their Labor successors, Premiers Neville Wran and Barrie Unsworth (1976-1988). In the 1988 election, the Liberal leader Nick Greiner promised to establish an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to investigate activities and recommend prosecution against individuals where necessary.
Corruption was a major platform in the Liberals’ 1988 election victory and Greiner established ICAC when he became State premier. However, in 1992 Premier Greiner and one of his ministers were forced to resign from Parliament following an ICAC investigation into their involvement in appointing a former colleague to a senior bureaucratic position. The courts later cleared both the Premier and his minister.
In an article in today’s Sydney Morning Herald, Professor Mark Findlay (Director of The Institute of Criminology, The University of Sydney) described the success and failures of ICAC. He stated:
“Its real foundation ‘successes’ were not high profile. It slowly reversed an intensely corrupt local government planning structure. It radically improved public tendering. It challenged the improper use of public information. These are long-lasting betterments of public administration. But when faced with corruption within the police and prisons, it prevaricated and failed. This was the start of a shift in its self-image.
The tragic fiasco of Wollongong council and its shockwaves back up through State Labor could not be pushed under the carpet. ICAC was left to expose the shabby culture of ‘anything-for-influence’. ICAC is no longer at the forefront of corrupt politics. The high public theatre of corruption prevention hearings has given way to a more understated investigatory approach.”
One problem with a review agency like ICAC is that the executive government controls its resources and appointments to this independent body.
In a paper entitled “Perils of Government Dominance”, Professor Scott Prasser argues that parliaments cannot rely on watchdogs alone to guard against bad government. In recent decades, we have seen the dominance of the executive government over the legislature, the judiciary, and the public service. This is a threat to democracy and goes against the doctrine of the separation of powers.
Lord Hailsham observed and predicted the disturbing trend of the expansion of the executive more than 30 years ago. He asserted that the powers of government within Parliament “are now largely in the hands of the government machine, so that the government controls Parliament and not Parliament the government.” This is alarmingly true in both consecutive Federal and State Governments who have bypassed the role of Parliament in order to push their own political agendas driven largely by political opportunism and party politics.
Prasser describes the emergence of “elective dictatorship”. He stated: “The increasing focus of government leaders and the almost endless election campaigns are now a feature of modern democracy. Consequently, the executive becomes more anxious to control both the political agenda and the institutions of government to minimise mistakes and maximise political outcomes. This desire for control is reflected in the expansion of the prime minister and premiers’ departments that now dominate government operations. Today, leaders want not only to have their finger on the pulse, but also to control the flow of all government business.”
Sadly, that has long been a common feature in New South Wales politics. Perhaps Professor Findlay has rightly encapsulated the mood of the people when he wrote:
“Irrespective of the outcome, the community is convinced that corruption remains a feature of public life in New South Wales. After a quarter century of corruption prevention, ICAC has been incapable of stemming high-level political corruption. Neither has it succeeded in overcoming public suspicion that it is business as usual in Macquarie Street.”
References: Mark Findlay, ICAC now little more than a last resort, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 September 2009; Scott Prasser, Perils of Government Dominance, Australian Policy Online; Michael Jackson and Rodney Smith, Inside Moves and Outside Views, Governance, Vol.9, No.1, January 1996.