CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION – AUSTRALIA

Push for national integrity commission to restart after Somyurek fall

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Crowe
The Age – Page: Online : 17-Jun-20

Federal crossbench MPs say the branch-stacking scandal in Victoria has highlighted the need for a national anti-corruption commission. The federal government revealed plans to establish the Commonwealth Integrity Commission in 2018, although progress on the issue has since stalled amid claims that its powers would not be sufficient. Attorney-General Christian Porter has indicated that he will seek to resume negotiations with crossbenchers to establish the CIC.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Secret plans for anti-graft body

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Chris Merritt
The Australian – Page: 8 : 15-May-19

Former Victorian Court of Appeal judge Stephen Charles says Labor has a detailed plan for its proposed federal anti-corruption commission. Charles says he is a member of a group of retired judges who drafted the plan, which has been accepted by Labor’s legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus. A spokeswoman for Dreyfus has rejected suggestions that Labor has a "secret plan". Labor has previously stated that it has only developed a series of ‘design principles’ for the anti-corruption watchdog, and it will consult with legal experts if it wins the election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COURT OF APPEAL (VICTORIA), THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Secret federal ICAC slammed

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 14-Dec-18

Labor leader Bill Shorten has criticised the federal government’s proposed national integrity commission, warning that the anti-corruption agency would lack transparency and it would have limited scope and powers. It would comprise a law-enforcement division and a public-sector division, but only the former will be authorised to conduct public hearings. Labor has been calling for an anti-corruption watchdog at federal level since early 2018; Prime Minister Scott Morrison has disclosed that the government has been working on its proposal since January, although it only recently dismissed the need for such an agency.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION

Warning over integrity watchdog

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 4 : 27-Nov-18

The federal government agreed to support a Labor motion to establish a national integrity commission on 26 November, following a backdown by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The Coalition did not oppose the motion after MP Llew O’Brien signalled that he may be prepared to cross the floor. Meanwhile, Attorney-General Christian Porter has warned that as drafted, a crossbench bill to establish an anti-corruption commission could apply to federal public servants, including ABC and SBS journalists.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

Labor wants anti-corruption watchdog

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Oliver Caffrey
News.com.au – Page: Online : 21-Nov-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to support Labor’s push to establish a National Integrity Commission. Labor had flagged plans for a national anti-corruption agency in early 2018, and Shorten says he will seek the support of crossbenchers for the proposal when Parliament resumes in late November. A survey by Roy Morgan in September found strong support for a national anti-corruption watchdog. The SMS Morgan Poll showed that 90% of Australians support establishing a National Crimes Authority to investigate federal government, union and private sector corruption.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Shock AWU claims: detective breaks silence on fraud scandal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 22-Feb-18

Former Western Australian major fraud squad detective David ­McAlpine headed a two-year investigation into an Australian Workers’ Union slush fund in the late 1990s. He says the WA Director of Public Prosecutions ordered him to cease the investigation shortly before he was slated to travel to Melbourne and executive a series of search warrants concerning the use of money from the slush fund. He also says former executives of Thiess may have misled the trade union royal commission regarding payments that the construction firm made to AWU officials for the slush fund.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION – WORKPLACE REFORM ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED, THIESS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, WESTERN AUSTRALIAN POLICE SERVICE, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, MELBOURNE WATER CORPORATION

Labor accused of posturing on ICAC

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Chris Merritt, Nicola Berkovic
The Australian – Page: 4 : 1-Feb-18

The Federal Government has urged Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to provide more details on his proposal to establish a national anti-corruption commission. Attorney-General Christian Porter argues that amongst other things, Shorten should state whether such an agency would hold public hearings and would be able to examine how former Labor senator Sam Dastyari obtained security intelligence ­information. He adds that some state-based anti-corruption agencies have at times breached the rights of individuals.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Shorten war on business

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 31-Jan-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has committed to establishing a national anti-corruption commission if Labor wins the next federal election. He has also signalled plans to either increase the minimum wage or replace it with a so-called "living wage". Meanwhile, business groups have expressed concern over Shorten’s proposal to rebalance enterprise bargaining laws in favour of workers. Private health insurance companies will also be targeted by Shorten, while he has ruled out supporting the Federal Government’s company tax cuts package.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Jackson faces jail over fraud charges

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 1-Sep-16

Former union leader Kathy Jackson has been charged with 70 offences. The former national secretary of the Health Services Union (HSU) will appear in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 19 September 2016. The case was triggered by HSU’s complaint to police that Jackson misappropriated $900,000 from the union. Jackson declared bankruptcy in 2015.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MELBOURNE MAGISTRATES’ COURT, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Australian firms caught up in foreign bribe claims

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick McKenzie, Emmanuel Freudenthal, Michael Bachelard, Richard Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 25-Aug-16

The Australian Federal Police is investigating allegations of bribery involving Sundance Resources and the Snowy Mountains Engineering Company (SMEC). The Sundance case implicates the son of the Republic of Congo’s president, Denis Sassou Nguesso, in arranging mining licences in 2016 for which he was rewarded with Sundance shares. SMEC’s employees allegedly bribed Sri Lankan officials in 2011.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, SUNDANCE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SDL, SNOWY MOUNTAINS ENGINEERING CORPORATION LIMITED, WORLD BANK, TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL