The Chief Executive of the NACC had to apologise for giving inaccurate testimony

The chief executive of Australia’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), Philip Reed, has written a letter to parliament apologising for giving inaccurate testimony to Senate Estimates.

This follows a series of scandals in the NACC’s upper management, including September’s revelation that chief commissioner Paul Brereton had continued to consult for his previous employer (the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force). That’s despite his $800,000 a year salary from the NACC.

In October, the NACC’s inspector also found that Mr. Brereton had engaged in misconduct by not recusing himself from the decision-making process on an investigation into the Robodebt scheme, despite declaring a “close association” with a person involved.

Despite the NACC being established less than three years ago, a steady flow of questionable decisions and scandals has eroded public confidence in its operations.

The Australia Institute, which campaigned for a decade to introduce a federal integrity commission, recommends five changes to make the NACC more effective and rebuild public confidence:

1. Bring forward the statutory review of the NACC
   • A statutory review is scheduled to take place in three years. This review should be brought forward and initiated now.
2. Allow public hearings whenever it is in the public interest to do so.
3. Implement a Whistleblower Protection Authority.
4. Ensure the Parliamentary Committee which oversees the NACC is not controlled by the government of the day.
5. Broaden the powers of the NACC Inspector.

The NACC urgently needs to correct course, and implementing those recommendations would ensure it does so before going too far adrift.

In the meantime, Mr. Reed will face Senate Estimates again next week, and he’ll surely have to answer questions as to how and why he gave inaccurate testimony last time.