Wayne Moran’s stunning takedown of CCC after Alan MacSporran resignation

Mayor Tom Tate’s former right hand man Wayne Moran has launched a withering attack on the CCC and revealed for the first time how a shocking attack took place at his family home. FULL INTERVIEW

THE fallen former right-hand man of Mayor Tom Tate says the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) has been allowed to operate like a “secret Soviet-era police force” and should be totally overhauled.

Ex-council chief of staff Wayne Moran also says the watchdog was fuelled by “wild and unsubstantiated allegations from a disgruntled minority of locals”, causing great pain to staff and families.

Mr Moran, who had his role at council terminated in early 2020 following a CCC probe, was responding to the resignation of embattled chairman Alan MacSporran, who fell on his sword on Tuesday following a damning Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee (PCCC) report into the CCC.

The PCCC said the CCC had operated outside the limits of its powers and failed to act independently and impartially in charging Logan councillors with fraud.

Gold Coast Deputy Mayor Donna Gates, Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson and Mayor Tate also welcomed Mr MacSporran’s resignation.

Wayne Moran. Picture Glenn Hampson

Mr Moran said the watchdog’s inquiries into allegations of corrupt behaviour at Gold Coast City Council were flawed.

“They tried for years over three multimillion-dollar investigations to get Mayor Tate and other councillors and failed for a simple reason ... there was and is no such illegality, corruption or criminality here,” he said.

“Instead, we saw a never-ending political witch hunt generated from a disgruntled minority of locals who made wild and unsubstantiated claims and allegations.

“The CCC has been operating like a secret Soviet-era police force in Queensland and had completely lost its way. You can’t be developing and pushing a policy agenda (while) acting as an investigator, prosecutor, court, judge and jury.”

In 2020, the CCC found Mr Moran inappropriately interfered in council business and failed to properly declare conflicts of interest. The report also stated there was a perception friends and associates had benefited from his council position, saying “it is clear that this was also the reality”.

Mr Moran said the findings were “completely unfair and incorrect” and had “never been tested in court”.

“The CCC found no corruption, nothing criminal, nothing illegal on me. I never got a day in court, never got to test their ‘evidence’, never got to defend myself.

“These latest developments simply highlight what has happened to myself and many other innocent people caught up in the CCC web and their overreach.”

Alan MacSporran. Photographer: Liam Kidston.

Mr Moran said the stress caused by CCC probes had brought financial and personal strain and “destroyed families”.

“The 21 failed CCC prosecutions is the tip of the iceberg. There are countless others like me who were never charged with anything but their careers were ended anyway. It puts a lot of strain on financially. It puts a lot of strain on relationships. It destroys families. It destroys people. It’s unjust, unfair and un-Australian.”

Mr Moran added at the height of controversy over plans to fill Black Swan Lake at the Gold Coast Turf Club in 2018, his home was targeted by vandals.

“It wasn’t a random attack. I had been a major target on social media but this was next level.”

Mr Moran said he believed major reform was needed at the CCC and it should:

* Not have “seconded” police serving in their ranks, giving them an “arrest and charge capability”.

* Not have “almost warrantless listening devices or phone-tapping powers”.

* Need to produce briefs of evidence after investigations, forwarded to an independent body such as the DPP for consideration of possible charges.

A protest against the filling of Black Swan Lake. Picture: Paul Weston.

Mr Jamieson, president of Local Government Association of Queensland, called on the state government to implement the recommendations in the PCCC report.

“There must be a full review of the CCC, its structure, how it wields its considerable power, including its use of seconded police officers to prosecute,” he said.

“The CCC is an investigative body. It should not be prosecuting authority as well.”

Mayor Tate said Alan MacSporran should apologise “for the incredible pain and harm he has caused so many hardworking local government councillors and mayors”.

“The damage caused by this chair is immense and it will take a comprehensive review and resetting of the values and charter of the CCC to restore any faith in the institution,” he said.

Cr Gates said: “The findings of the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee made Mr MacSporran’s position untenable. Under the circumstances, his resignation, in my opinion, aligns with community expectation.”

Originally published as Wayne Moran’s stunning takedown of CCC after Alan MacSporran resignation