There’s merit in this least damaging ICAC model

The federal ICAC the Morrison government has announced is probably the least damaging of the options that confronted it.

The nation already has 27 federal integrity agencies and the Morrison government has just decided we need a 28th.

The good news is that the flawed NSW model had very little influence on this plan.

There will be no public hearings, no public findings of corruption and it appears the goal is to ensure the new agency becomes an orthodox part of the criminal justice system.

This structure avoids the possibility of NSW-style show trials and the confusion caused by the NSW commission’s ability to make findings frequently found to be at odds with those of the courts; the federal structure seems designed to work hand-in-glove with existing law enforcement agencies.

While that should improve their efficiency, it seems quite wasteful of public money to create a new bureaucracy that will inevitably cover much of the jurisdiction of the existing 27 integrity agencies.

It is hard to avoid the conclusion that this initiative is all about politics — eliminating the possibility that the push for a federal ICAC could become a distraction during next year’s election campaign.

That said, Morrison and Attorney-General Christian Porter have opted for a structure that will preserve the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial, which have been eroded in NSW by that state’s decision to establish the NSW commission as what amounts to a parallel system of rough justice.

Those who pick holes in the Morrison-Porter models are really hankering for a NSW-style system where the protections for the individual that have grown up over the centuries do not apply.

The absence of public hearings eliminates the possibility this new institution could be tempted to use publicity to bolster its own community standing in the same way as the NSW commission.

Looks good to me. I like it. Very interesting!