ICAC rort report: Pork-barrelling could count as corruption under tough new rules

The corruption watch dog has brought out tough new rules to tackle pork barrelling and rorts ahead of the state election. Here’s how ICAC decides what’s corrupt and what’s not.

NSW’S corruption watchdog has ruled that pork-barrelling could constitute corruption — warning current and future governments to steer clear of rorts.

In a new report the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found that pork-barrelling should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

ICAC found five examples of behaviour that could be found corrupt: influencing a public servant with decision making powers on grants, using ministerial power to approve grants for personal interest or to deliver grants to marginal electorates, or conducting a merit-based grants scheme to dishonestly favour political or private advantage.

“Do not have an unfettered discretion to distribute public funds. The exercise of ministerial discretion is subject to the rule of law, which ensures that it must accord with public trust and accountability principles,” the report said.

The commission has made 21 recommendations to prevent rorts including amending Government Sector Finance Act 2018 to include obligations that a Minister must not spend funds unless they are “satisfied that the expenditure would be an efficient, effective, economical and ethical use of the money and that the expenditure represents value for money”.

The new report has handed down 21 recommendations. Picture: Supplied

They also advocated that the Ministerial Code of Conduct should be changed to prevent Ministers from using their role to act “dishonestly” or to derive a private benefit for themselves or someone else.

Labor MLC John Graham welcomed the new guidelines ahead of the election/

“Ministers do not have unfettered power to give grants, but at times in NSW they behave as if they do,“ he said.

“We want to see an end to the shredding and hyper politicised grant giving in NSW.

“The Premier could immediately back the Opposition’s Government Grants Administration Bill and help clean NSW grant giving up.”