Pressure on Qld corruption watchdog as another prosecution is dropped

Former Moreton Bay mayor Allan Sutherland, who had misconduct charges dropped, believes the state’s corruption watchdog is “broken” and has called for the chairman to resign.

The 65-year-old was charged with two counts of misconduct in public office by the Crime and Corruption Commission in December 2019, but the Director of Public Prosecutions offered no evidence on both counts at a brief hearing in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Allan Sutherland ripped into the CCC while speaking to media outside court on Thursday. He became Moreton Bay mayor in 2008, but was suspended when he was charged, and later quit.Credit: Toby Crockford

Mr Sutherland’s case was one of two high-profile CCC cases that could be committed for trial this year, but Thursday’s concession casts further doubt on the organisation’s future.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has said Cabinet would consider the CCC’s future when it reconvenes next week. There have been calls for CCC chairman Alan MacSporran to resign.

Speaking outside court after being cleared, Mr Sutherland said he would be making submissions to the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee inquiry into the CCC’s actions.

“I always knew it would come to this from day one ... I had never done anything wrong, and I think the investigation was appalling,” he said.

“I believe the CCC are out of control ... They have systemic problems throughout their organisation and I will be working with whomever it takes to make sure that another mayor doesn’t have to go through what I have been through.

“Eight-thousand recorded phone calls – that’s how many times my phone was recorded ... [that included] personal discussions with my daughter during her pregnancy and all sorts of discussions with my wife and friends.

“There has got to be change in that organisation, and you can’t do that while you have the current top echelon in place.”

Deputy Premier and Local Government Minister Steven Miles was on Thursday asked whether Mr MacSporran’s position was untenable and whether he should resign as chairman.

“Some of those questions are best directed to Mr MacSporran and the CCC,” Mr Miles responded.

Mr Miles said he had followed the case but had to be careful in his comments. He lives in Moreton Bay, worked closely with Mr Sutherland as mayor, and is under CCC oversight in his position.

Thursday’s decision to abandon the case against Mr Sutherland followed committal hearings last year that aimed to decide whether the case should be committed for trial in a higher court.

The CCC had alleged Mr Sutherland influenced Moreton Bay Regional Council to change the scope of a road upgrade as part of a sports complex development.

The allegation specified that the upgrade ensured the roadwork included the stretch of Paradise Road in Burpengary in front of a piece of land Mr Sutherland owned.

According to real estate records, Mr Sutherland and his wife, Gayle, spent $700,000 on a two-hectare block on that road in Burpengary, 35 kilometres north of Brisbane, in September 2010.

The upgrade was completed before the end of his mayoral term.

The second allegation was that Mr Sutherland lobbied councillors or council employees to change proposed amendments to the project’s planning scheme, a move that would have benefited a planned development application for his block of land on Paradise Road.

The decision to drop the case on Thursday marked another high-profile loss for the CCC, which is under pressure from a parliamentary inquiry into its handling of the Logan City Council case.

The CCC are now relying on their other remaining high-profile case: the charges against Detective Bryan Anthony Swift.

Detective Swift is accused of leaking to a Nine News journalist the address of a suspect, who was later charged with terrorism and other offences as part of separate investigations. The case was due to return to court on January 28 and a decision was expected soon on whether he should stand trial.

Last year was marred by high-profile CCC cases repeatedly falling over in court.