EXPLAINED: What you need to know about CCC commission of inquiry
There are a lot of questions about the newly announced commission of inquiry into the functions of the state’s corruption watchdog. We’ve answered the main ones.
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There are a lot of questions about the newly announced commission of inquiry into the functions of the state’s corruption watchdog being led by Tony Fitzgerald.
We’ve answered the main ones.
In a nutshell, what has happened?
The state government has announced a commission of inquiry into the functions of the state’s corruption watchdog.
The inquiry was a recommendation by the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee, which last year found the Crime and Corruption Commission operated outside the limits of its powers and failed to act independently and impartially in charging Logan councillors with fraud.
Tony Fitzgerald, who chaired Queensland’s transformative Fitzgerald Inquiry during the ’80s, will chair the commission of inquiry along with Judge Alan Wilson.
What exactly will the commission of inquiry look at?
The inquiry’s terms of reference have been based on recommendation six by the PCCC to review the corruption watchdog’s structure – specifically relating to its investigatory and charging functions.
It will also look at the role of seconded police officers and consider whether the Director of Public Prosecutions, or an independent legal adviser, should be consulted by the CCC before they issue serious criminal charges (recommendation three).
When does the inquiry start?
Staff will start being recruited from Monday, February 7.
Both Mr Fitzgerald and Mr Wilson will also start next Monday. The inquiry will go for
no more than six months and cost $5m.
Is this the integrity inquiry people have been calling for during the last week?
No. This inquiry is separate to a broader probe into the government’s integrity that Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has been under pressure to call.
This inquiry will only look at the CCC. It will not investigate concerns around interference in independent bodies or claims that public servants and politicians think it’s their right to choose what information is released publicly.
What were the recommendations from the PCCC?
● Recommendations three and six form the foundation of the inquiry (detail above).
● Recommendation one: Calls for the government to review the protections that public interest disclosers are afforded.
● Recommendation two: Calls for the government to review laws overseeing how the CCC can disperse information, including what’s collected from its coercive “Star Chamber” hearings, to ensure they strike the balance.
● Recommendation four: Which calls for the CCC to reform its culture, would need to be implemented by the watchdog.
● Recommendation five: Calls for the Justice Department to consider the length of tenures of CCC senior officers.
One and two will be reviewed by the government. Five will be considered.
Who are the key players?
TONY FITZGERALD
A former judge headed the landmark 1980s Fitzgerald inquiry which uncovered systemic corruption in Queensland. The two-year inquiry led to the resignation of long-term premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen and the jailing of other figures. Mr Fitzgerald has been a QC for more than 40 years and was the inaugural President of the Queensland Court of Appeal.
ALAN WILSON
A Supreme Court judge in Queensland between 2009 and 2015. Prior to that he served in the District Court and Planning and Environment Court. He was also appointed as the inaugural President of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal in 2009.
Examples of failed CCC investigations/charges
MICHELLE STENNER
Senior Queensland Police officer Michelle Stenner in October 2021 walked free from court after being acquitted of three perjury charges.
After a five-day trial in the Brisbane District Court, Judge David Kent told the jury that there was no evidence to support an element of the case against Superintendent Stenner
The top cop was dragged through a four-year legal process including two trials after a juror in her first trial deliberately disobeyed directions not to make external inquiries outside of court.
MARTIN LONGHURST
It took a jury less than 30 minutes to find former police prosecutor Martin Longhurst not guilty of a misconduct charge brought against him by the CCC.
The respected barrister was accused of misconduct for downgrading a traffic charge for an acquaintance.
The jury rejected the CCC’s case and found in favour of Mr Longhurst who had argued his actions were simply a case of him fairly and properly exercising his prosecutorial discretion.
Shockingly, the case was tried twice after a first jury was unable to reach a verdict, meaning the lawyer was forced to endure two trials before the matter was resolved in October 2019.
ALASTAIR MCDOUGALL
High-profile criminal barrister Alastair McDougall was accused of knowingly giving false testimony at a CCC hearing.
But before the first day of his trial in the Brisbane District Court in July last year had even finished, the judge determined he had no case to answer and directed the jury to find him not guilty.
The judge found the question Mr McDougall had been asked during a coercive hearing that led to the charge was “so vague as to cause some real concern about what weight could be placed on the answer given”.
MICHAEL NEILAND
Police officer Michael Neiland was charged with an offence of misconduct in relation to public office over allegations he had accessed QPRIME to obtain information which he disclosed to a relative.
However a judge dismissed the case after concluding that the charge did not stack up because the information he was accused of sharing was available to the public and that no benefit was derived as required under the legislation to prove the charge.
LOGAN COUNCILLORS
Several Logan councillors, including Phil Pidgeon and Trevina Schwarz, lost their jobs and endured years of stress after the CCC wrongly charged them with fraud over the sacking of a former council CEO.
In April, the DPP dropped fraud charges against the eight councillors, many of whom spoke about the toll the charges had taken on their lives and careers.
The CCC was criticised for overstepping by wading into an industrial relations dispute and the case has sparked an independent review into the watchdog.
ANDREW ANTONIOLLI
Former Ipswich mayor Andrew Antoniolli was vindicated after a court dismissed an application to overturn his successful appeal against fraud convictions.
Mr Antoniolli was found guilty of 12 counts of fraud and one of attempted fraud in 2019 relating to the alleged misuse of $10,000 of council funds to purchase auction items at charity events.
But Ipswich District Court Judge Dennis Lynch QC acquitted him on all charges in December 2020, finding the magistrate had erred in ignoring he did not acknowledge he had done anything wrong by bidding on charity auctions or supporting payments from the community fund.
The Commissioner of Police sought to overturn Judge Lynch’s decision but the Court of Appeal in November 2021 refused leave to appeal. The dismissal was another blow for the Crime and Corruption Commission which brought the charges against Mr Antoniolli.
ALLAN SUTHERLAND
Misconduct charges brought against former Moreton Bay Mayor Allan Sutherland were dropped after the crown offered no evidence.
Mr Sutherland was facing two counts of misconduct in public office, but the matter was dismissed by Magistrate Mark Nolan on January 20 this year.
He had been accused of influencing council over a road upgrade past his property and lobbying councillors in relation to a planning scheme.
It is the latest setback for the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) who charged Mr Sutherland following an investigation.
He was charged and suspended as mayor of the Moreton Bay Regional Council in December 2019.
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