Annastacia Palaszczuk orders royal commission into Crime and Corruption Commission
Renowned corruption buster Tony Fitzgerald will head the inquiry, but the Premier has ignored calls for a wider probe.
Annastacia Palaszczuk has ignored calls for a wide-ranging review into interference in the public service, instead announcing former judge Tony Fitzgerald will lead a narrower inquiry into Queensland’s besieged corruption watchdog.
The veteran corruption buster has agreed to come out of retirement to oversee a commission of inquiry into the Crime and Corruption Commission he founded in the wake of the landmark Fitzgerald Inquiry three decades ago.
Announcing the appointment of Mr Fitzgerald, 80, the Premier insisted the inquiry’s scope would be limited to the structure of the CCC and would not delve into the mounting integrity issues that have been raised in recent weeks.
Ms Palaszczuk ignored calls from the state opposition, crossbenchers, civil libertarians, the outgoing integrity commissioner and former state archivist for a broader inquiry into political interference within the public service.
Instead, the inquiry will specifically review the CCC’s investigatory and charging functions and the power of seconded police to lay charges.
It comes after CCC chairman Alan MacSporran resigned last week under pressure after a parliamentary report, released in December, criticised him over the organisation’s decision to charge eight Logan councillors with fraud in 2019.
The bipartisan parliamentary committee found Mr MacSporran did not ensure the watchdog acted “independently and impartially” in its pursuit of the councillors and recommended the commission of inquiry be established.
Mr Fitzgerald is set to begin work on Monday with retired judge Alan Wilson, and the $5m inquiry is expected to take six months.
“It is clear a review of the CCC is needed,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“Who better than Tony Fitzgerald to conduct it? No one can argue about Tony Fitzgerald’s independence.”
The state opposition criticised the narrow scope of the inquiry, saying it should be widened to include integrity scandals engulfing the Palaszczuk government in the past fortnight.
“Today, the Premier has tried to release the pressure valve of the integrity crisis engulfing her government,” Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said.
“The state government has announced an inquiry into the CCC while refusing to open itself to an investigation. Queenslanders are smarter than this and won’t have the wool pulled over their eyes.”
The CCC, then known as the Criminal Justice Commission, was founded as a result of the Fitzgerald Inquiry into systemic corruption in Queensland, which ran from 1987-89 and led to the resignation of premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, and the jailing of several ministers and a police commissioner.
Mr Fitzgerald has made several interventions into Queensland state politics over the past decade.
Monday’s announcement came after the heads of two Queensland integrity bodies alleged interference in their offices.
Integrity Commissioner Nikola Stepanov tendered her resignation last week while former state archivist Mike Summerell revealed he was pushed out of his job by the government last March.
Mr Summerell said the slated inquiry needed to be widened.
“Clearly Tony Fitzgerald is an iconic figure and I am sure he will do a wonderful job in his review of the CCC,” he said. “However the scope and terms of reference as they stand seems to be more about reducing the power of CCC than promoting integrity in the Queensland government.
“The Premier seems to be quite keen on checks and balances for the CCC, but not for others it seems.”
Neil Doorley, a former senior media adviser to the Palaszczuk government, spoke out on Monday, describing the “dark arts practised behind closed doors” in ministerial offices.
The Local Government Association of Queensland welcomed Mr Fitzgerald’s appointment.
“Queensland needs to have a fearless CCC that is thorough, rigorous and robust,” president Mark Jamieson said.
“But it must have adequate checks and balances to preserve its own reputation and trust with the public, and to ensure it is not abusing its extensive powers.
“This commission of inquiry is the right move to ensure those failings are corrected.”
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