Ex-Logan councillors welcome new CCC rules to stop ‘naming and shaming’

Queensland will now require the Crime and Corruption Commission to consult with the Director of Public Prosecutions before laying charges, after the high-profile Logan City Council dismissal.

Ex-Logan City councillors Laurie Smith, Trevina Schwarz and Phil Pidgeon address a parliamentary committee last year. Picture: Queensland Parliament

The state government has tightened laws governing the state crime watchdog, forcing it to seek written advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions before laying charges.

The new laws follow a five-year bitter legal battle with eight former Logan City councillors who lost their jobs in 2019 after the Crime and Corruption Commission charged them with fraud, with the DPP dismissing those charges two years later, citing a lack of evidence.

Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said the harm that may result from “unsound charging practices” were significant and said the new laws clamp down on the CCC’s investigative and prosecutorial functions.

“These are high stakes — a view reinforced by the PCCC in its report on its inquiry into the Crime and Corruption Commission’s investigation of former councillors of Logan City Council,” she said.

“First and foremost, there is the harm to individuals, in particular to their privacy and reputation.

“There is also the harm done to the public’s confidence in the justice system itself.

“The high-profile nature of prosecutions arising from CCC investigations means they are in the public eye in a way that other prosecutions are not.”

The Logan City Council was dismissed after eight councillors were charged with fraud. Picture: Judith Kerr

The new laws were welcomed by two of the former Logan City councillors, Phil Pidgeon and Trevina Schwarz, who are still fighting the state government for compensation after losing their jobs.

Mr Pidgeon said the legislation was designed to stop the CCC from “naming and shaming” public officials when matters were before a court.

“Whether a person is a politician or not is irrelevant, everybody under the law has the right to a fair hearing and their day in court,” Mr Pidgeon said.

“We had CCC officers claiming in public that we were guilty and we had not even been to court and we lost our jobs in the process with public humiliation.

“This is a step in the right direction to ensuring the CCC is not judge, jury and executioner and cannot make any disparaging comments against individuals while matters are before a court.

Ex-Logan City councillors Phil Pidgeon and Trevina Schwarz say they are still waiting for compensation. Picture: Judith Kerr

“But more needs to be done because to this day, five years down the track, the former Logan councillors are still waiting for an apology from the CCC and we are still waiting for compensation.”

The new laws passed in state parliament overnight took up recommendations made in three reports of the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee, along with report of the Fitzgerald-Wilson Commission of Inquiry and the CCC’s report Culture and corruption risks in local government after an investigation into Ipswich City Council.

The State Opposition also has a CCC private members Bill before the House, which is designed to allow some CCC reports to be made public.

Originally published as Ex-Logan councillors welcome new CCC rules to stop ‘naming and shaming’