Post-Fitzgerald body takes on crime as well as corruption

THE Newman government will task the state’s post-Fitzgerald inquiry watchdog equally with crime and corruption, in a new hand-picked body.

Former anti-corruption commissioner Tony Fitzgerald pictured at his home on the Sunshine Coast.

THE Newman government has backed down on its push to refocus the states’ post-Fitzgerald inquiry watchdog on serious crime, rather than official corruption in legislation that sailed through the parliament.

The Crime and Misconduct Commission has been renamed the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) in a controversial revamp of the watchdog that has drawn condemnation from lawyers and anti-corruption fighter Tony Fitzgerald.

Under the changes, the Newman government will no longer need bipartisan support to appoint the CCC’s chair or any of its commissioners.

But state attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie, who initially had wanted to shift the primary focus of the watchdog from corruption to combating serious crime, introduced eleventh-hour amendments to put both on an equal footing for investigation.

And Mr Bleijie also followed the recommendations of the Liberal National Party parliamentary committee, which reviewed the initial legislation, by giving veto power on any CCC appointments to the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee.

The move is tokenistic as the PCMC is always stacked with government MPs.

Mr Bleijie said the watchdog, “oozed incompetence” and was in desperate need of an overhaul.

“The new Crime and Corruption Commission will be a modern, unmuzzled watchdog that will fearlessly and effectively tackle serious crime and corruption in Queensland, something the old Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) was unable to do,” Mr Bleijie said.

“It will be better equipped to go after the criminal Mr Bigs and corrupt officials, whatever their political persuasion.

“We are keeping our promise to Queenslanders that we would revitalise frontline services and restore accountability in government.

“The sad reality is the CMC was plagued with problems. Three independent reports all found serious issues with its internal structure, administration, culture and complaints handling processes.

“The CMC was being used as a political weapon by the Labor Party while being flooded by minor, malicious and vexatious complaints.

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said Premier Campbell Newman and Mr Bleijie were arrogantly trashing Tony Fitzgerald’s legacy.

Labor has vehemently opposed the laws, saying they could pave the way to more corruption.

“What the Attorney-General has done is prove that he has no concept of the importance of the landmark reforms Tony Fitzgerald implemented and no value in the importance of appointing the CMC chair on a bipartisan basis,’’ she said.

“A future Labor Government would restore that essential need. Queenslanders clearly want that.

“A future Labor Government would also treat the CMC with the respect it requires — not treat it as a political plaything — and recognise the vital importance of the reforms we enjoyed to fight corruption over the past 25 years.”

The proposed amendments have drawn widespread opposition, including from the bar Association of Queensland and Mr Fitzgerald, who accused the Newman government of trying to undermine the CMC’s independence for the future benefit of Liberal National Party politicians

Even CMC acting chairman Ken Levy, who last year controversially consulted with Newman government advisers before backing a crackdown on bikies, rallied against the changes which will make the primary focus of the agency on serious crime.

Mr Levy had warned that it would become the only watchdog in Australia without its primary aim of combating serious corruption.