ICAC’s Megan Latham is in the pantheon of heroes who have been under fire from governments for doing their jobs too well and too independently … She joins Justin Gleeson and Gillian Triggs in the heroes’ mausoleum … Responses from various sources to the Baird government’s scuttling of ICAC’s inquisitorial process … And, while we’re at it, where are the Cunneen tapes?
THE Baird government’s decision to poleaxe the Independent Commission Against Corruption and Commissioner Megan Latham has brought forth utterances from a variety of traditional sources.
Former commissioner and Commonwealth DPP Ian Temby said:
“Everybody thought she had security of tenure. The government has shown that, despite what is in the legislation, if it wants to, it will get rid of any ICAC commissioner if they don’t like what they’re doing.”
Baird & Co seem to be doing pretty much what prosecutor Margaret Cunneen wanted. According to a report in The Australian Financial Review earlier this year she had said:
“They’re out of control these people. They’re a rogue agency. This whole thing has to be completely destroyed.”
On Wednesday this week (Nov. 23) the crown prosecutor was heard at a Christmas lunch saying she was pleased “that vindictive woman” had resigned.
This was accompanied by a touching photo in The Sydney Morning Herald of the crown prosecutor bonding with the corrupt Eddie Obeid. Hat-tip Nick Moir.
Memories of Cunneen schmoozing arch criminal Roger Rogerson are also brought to mind. Only in Sydney!
These snaps of prosecutor Cunneen consorting with the underbelly of Sydney would make marvellous Christmas cards.
Former assistant ICAC commissioner Anthony Whealy, now chairman of Transparency International Australia, put it this way:
“This legislation was never about improving ICAC. It was designed to attack its independence, it was designed to weaken its structures, and overall it was designed to get rid of a woman who dared to question the lack of integrity of parliamentarians. I think it’s a day of utter shame.”
Later he added:
“I can’t think of anyone who’d want [the job]. Their independence is thoroughly undermined not only by this legislation but by the way in which Megan Latham’s appointment has been effectively terminated.”
The government might think that Bruce McClintock SC could be suitable for a commissioner’s job after he gave the new ICAC the thumbs-up in The Sydney Morning Herald.
He welcomed the fact that there would be three commissioners instead of one, that there would be special fairness protections for those under investigation for corruption, and new conduct guidelines for counsel assisting and staff.
He also approved of the new requirement for a majority vote to determine whether investigations should be conducted in public.
” … applying three independent minds to the question can only improve the quality of the ICAC’s judgment in exercising this extraordinary power.”
That assumes we’ll get independent minds as opposed to political sympathisers.
In July this year he was quite critical of most of Inspector Dave Levine’s recommendations seeking to redesign ICAC.
With his trademark charm, yesterday (Nov. 24) Levine, who has stepped down early as Inspector, told his favourite reporter Maestro Merritt at The National Rupert, that Latham should not return to the Supreme Court.
“Because of her active, politically motivated defence of her position, she has exposed herself as a political person to the point where, in my opinion, there should be no consideration of her reappointment.”
Levine, who is wearing more and more castoffs from Geoffrey Edelsten’s wardrobe, insists he is only interested in human rights and is “ideologically in favour of the promotion of integrity in government”.
In this grab, recorded on Instagram, he replied when asked his opinion of commissioner Latham, that he is “neutral”. This surprised many.
The former NSW DPP, Nicholas Cowdery, said that the Baird government’s attack on the independence of the corruption fighter is “unprincipled and unwarranted”.
The premier issued a statement saying:
“We respect her decision not to reapply for one of the three new commissioner positions.”
The parliamentary ICAC committee, dominated by Coalition reactionaries, has the power of veto over any proposed commissioner appointments.
The spark that set ICAC on fire was its attempt to investigate an allegation of corrupt conduct by Cunneen. The investigation was stopped as a result of the High Court finding an artificial meaning for “corrupt conduct” in the ICAC Act.
It concerned Cunneen’s alleged role in a car crash involving her son’s then girlfriend, Sophia Tilley, who at the time was driving the prosecutor’s car. She claimed publicly that Tilly had not drunk anything, that she had not interfered at the scene of the accident and that she had not advised Tilley to pretend to have chest pains in order to prevent the coppers obtaining evidence of the young lady’s blood alcohol level.
Latham gave Australian Crime Commission intercepts to the parliamentary ICAC committee in an endeavour to show that ICAC was not engaged in a wild and unjustified frolic. The intercepts caught Cunneen talking to a tow truck driver who was under surveillance.
Slices of what Cunneen said have been leaked to the press:
“Let’s hope that St Anthony does a miracle and takes all the alcohol out of the sample …
That naughty girl had alcohol … that’s all right, I can cover that … But she had drunk, she’s on her P-plates. But it had been some time ago, which is why I sent her a message to start having chest pains and get the ambulance because it has bought her a few more hours. Just hoping it goes down to zero ’cause otherwise there might be complicated insurance issues.”
The parliamentary committee decided not to release the intercepts or Cunneen’s text messages.
The upshot is that the new ICAC Act shifts the investigatory procedures towards a closer alignment with adversarial requirements and away from an inquisitorial approach – making it slower, more expensive and more difficult to get to the truth of the matter.
Bravo.