Former NSW AG proposed as new corruption chief

Former NSW Attorney General John Hatzistergos has been proposed as the new ICAC Chief Commmissioner when Peter Hall QC’s term ends in August.

John Hatzistergos

The announcement of the proposed appointment is subject to approval by the parliamentary ICAC Committee, which has up to 30 days to veto it.

Mr Hatzistergos, who served as attorney general from 2007 to 2011, was previously chair of the ICAC Joint Committee and an examiner at the Australian Crime Commission.

He was appointed a District Court judge in 2014, during which time he conducted a 12-month review of the Bail Act.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said Mr Hatzistergos had experience as a barrister, judge and in government.

“He will come into the role at Chief Commissioner at a time when our government has boosted integrity agency funding and independence,” the Premier said in a statement.

Mr Hall, who has been critical about funding arrangements for the corruption watchdog, which he argued left the ICAC subject to control by the government, was appointed to his five year term on August 7, 2017.

Mr Perrottet also announced the proposed appointments of retired ACT Supreme Court Chief Justice Helen Murrell SC, and Mental Health Review Tribunal President Paul Lakatos SC as Commissioners.

The appointments were proposed following a selection process by a nominations panel including DP&C head Michael Coutts-Trotter and communities and justice secretary Michael Tidball.

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