Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission chairman Alan MacSporran quits

The heads of Queensland’s two integrity watchdogs have quit within days of each other, after Crime and Corruption Commission chief Alan MacSporran bowed to pressure.

Alan MacSporran says it ‘is clear to me that the relationship between myself and the PCCC has broken down irretrievably’. Picture: Domanii Cameron

The heads of Queensland’s two integrity watchdogs have quit within days of each other, after Crime and Corruption Commission chief Alan MacSporran bowed to pressure on Tuesday and resigned months after a damning parliamentary report into the organisation.

The veteran prosecutor, who has headed the anti-corruption body for six years, quit following criticism of the CCC’s decision to charge eight Logan City councillors with fraud after they sacked their chief executive.

A report by the parliamentary crime and corruption committee – which oversees the CCC – in December found the watchdog and its chair had not acted impartially in the pursuit of the councillors, whose charges were dropped in April after two years.

Mr MacSporran’s departure follows the shock resignation last Friday of Integrity Commissioner Nikola Stepanov, who regulates lobbyists and advises state MPs on conflicts of interest.

Premier Annastacia Palas­zczuk and her cabinet were expected to next Monday make a decision on Mr MacSporran’s ­future and a recommended overhaul of the CCC.

In a statement, Mr MacSporran said he reluctantly decided to resign, effective at the end of the week.

“Many people have urged me to continue in this important role, despite the recent finding contained in the report of the PCCC,’’ he said.

Nikola Stepanov. Picture: Jono Searle

“However, I find myself in a position where, despite a career spanning in excess of 40 years, where my honesty and integrity have never been questioned, it is clear to me that the relationship between myself and the PCCC has broken down irretrievably.

“This saddens me deeply.”

Mr MacSporran’s tenure as CCC chair has been defined by his investigation and public hearings into allegations of misconduct in local government, which led to a ban on donations from developers.

Yet while the CCC claimed the scalp of Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale, jailed for corruption, it has been accused of overzealous investigations and prosecutions, some of which were dropped, of Queensland councillors.

The abandonment of CCC charges last week against former high-profile Moreton Bay mayor Allan Sutherland, which had ended his career in 2020, brought further pressure on Mr MacSporran to resign.

It took the tally of failed ­prosecutions brought by the CCC to more than 20 in the past three years.

In its report, the bipartisan parliamentary committee found the CCC as an organisation, and Mr MacSporran himself, particularly “did not ensure the CCC acted independently and impartially” when it charged the Logan councillors

On Tuesday, parliamentary committee chair and LNP MP Jon Krause rejected Mr MacSporran’s claims that his resignation was because his relationship with the committee had deteriorated.

“This is not a matter of a breakdown of a relationship but an ­outcome of a review and oversight function carried out by the ­bipartisan committee,” Mr Krause said.

“I welcome the decision made today for new leadership to bring about cultural change and to ­address findings from the ­inquiry.”

When charging the Logan eight, the CCC alleged the ­councillors had fired the council’s chief executive, Sharon Kelsey, in 2018 out of revenge after she turned whistleblower against the mayor.

The parliamentary committee concluded the CCC then improperly interfered in civil proceedings concerning Ms Kelsey‘s termination.

Evidence before the inquiry showed the CCC had charged the councillors with fraud out of a “desire to assist Ms Kelsey” and had failed to “weigh all material considerations and evidence” ­before deciding to charge the councillors.

Mr MacSporran defended his decisions as CCC chair.

“In my long career, I have never, ever, let extraneous irrelevant considerations enter my thinking about a decision relating to the proper exercising of powers in proceedings as a Queen’s Counsel criminal barrister or as CCC chairperson,” Mr MacSporran said.

“The Queensland community rightly expects the CCC to do its statutory job, and that ultimately involves making very complex, tough and independent decisions as an investigative agency.”

A spokesman for Ms Palas­zczuk would not comment on Mr MacSporran’s resignation, saying “it is a matter for him”.

Opposition Leader David Crisfaulli had previously said Mr MacSporran’s position had become “un­tenable” after the damning parliamentary committee report was released in December.

“The Premier refused to do the same,” Mr Crisfaulli said.

“Alan MacSporran has shown the integrity that the Premier could not.”