Barry O’Farrell resigns claiming ‘massive failure of memory’ over gift of $3000 bottle of wine

NSW leader’s career drowned by inconsistent evidence over delivery of 1959 bottle of Penfolds Grange.

16 April, 2014

NSW officially names Justice Megan Latham as new ICAC

By Paul Hemsley The Parliament of New South Wales has given its blessing to the appointment of Supreme Court Judge the Hon Megan Latham as the next Commissioner of the state’s public sector watchdog, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). The state Parliament’s Committee on the ICAC confirmed Justice Latham’s appointment for a five year […]

4 November, 2013

South Australian councils want feedback on corruption

By Paul Hemsley The Local Government Association of South Australia (LGA) has commissioned Adelaide University to run an independent survey on people’s views about corruption, misconduct and maladministration in councils. The study will be conducted through the state government’s Local Government Research and Development Scheme to give the LGA an insight on public attitudes towards […]

22 October, 2013

Corruption crackdown on IT contractors in NSW

By Julian Bajkowski Fresh from making findings of corrupt conduct against former New South Wales Cabinet ministers and Labor Party power brokers, the state’s unrelenting watchdog against dodgy dealings in the government has turned its spotlight onto the often creative industry of IT contracting. The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) this week set out […]

23 August, 2013

O’Farrell turfs NSW Finance Minister over conflict of interest

By Paul Hemsley New South Wales Minister for Finance and Services and the Illawarra, Greg Pearce MLC, has finally been sacked by the state’s Premier Barry O’Farrell following a fresh revelation of a conflict of interest related to his Cabinet position. In an terse and unambiguously worded a statement issued unexpectedly late on Thursday afternoon, […]

2 August, 2013

ICAC makes corrupt conduct findings against Obeid and MacDonald

By Staff Writers The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in New South Wales has found that former state Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid and mining minister Ian MacDonald engaged in corrupt conduct in relation to the creation of the Mount Penny mining tenement in the Bylong Valley. At the conclusion of a marathon investigation that has […]

1 August, 2013

City of Ryde Mayor, councillors probed over corruption allegations

By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski The mayor of Sydney’s City of Ryde, Ivan Petch, and other five councillors are facing a public inquiry by the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) as part of investigations into allegations of a raft of dodgy and improper activities. A statement issued by the ICAC on […]

16 July, 2013

Minister vows collective punishment for dysfunctional NSW councils

By Julian Bajkowski New South Wales Local Government Minister Don Page has warned that misbehaving councillors will now be sin-binned and have their have their fees suspended under new laws to clean-out grafting elected representatives who rort the system for their own personal benefit that are now in force. The latest governance crackdown on the […]

4 March, 2013

Councils overhaul procurement communications

By Taryn Quarmby* Major changes are occurring in local governments across Australia. Recent investigations into the transparency of procurement and purchasing within local government have led to overhauls to help improve communication with local suppliers. Sourcing local can be a faster and more affordable procurement strategy for local government. With a greater understanding of the […]

7 January, 2013

South Australia creates corruption watchdog

By Paul Hemsley South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has announced that an Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) will finally be on the beat in the state by mid-2013 after enabling legislation was passed this week. The creation of a new corruption watchdog comes after years of government opposition to the establishment of the role and […]

30 November, 2012

NSW corruption probe to grill ex-Premiers

By Paul Hemsley with Julian Bajkowski Former New South Wales Premiers Morris Iemma and Nathan Rees will front the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) today as witnesses as part of an investigation into former Minister for Primary Industries and Minister for Mineral Resources Ian McDonald’s decisions surrounding approval for a coal mine  – and whether […]

13 November, 2012

New corruption scandal hits 14 NSW councils

By Julian Bajkowski The local government sector in New South Wales has been rocked by the findings of an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) probe released today that has found 41 people participated in corrupt conduct, with many now council employees and officers now likely to face prosecution. The corruption watchdog has found that “22 […]

29 October, 2012

Planning system recommendations

By David Ipp, Commissioner, ICAC In a report submitted to the NSW Government earlier this year, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) recommends changes to the NSW planning system in order to minimise the corruption risks inherent in the current processes. Among the 16 recommendations outlined in the report, the ICAC recommends that the government […]

13 April, 2012

ICAC investigates Sydney University’s ex-IT manager

As part of an ongoing investigation, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) plans to hold a public inquiry commencing on March 20 as part of an investigation into corruption allegations concerning the University of Sydney’s ex-IT manager's use of a recruitment agency.   It’s alleged that the ex-IT manager and his wife had an interest […]

13 March, 2012