NACC is go 1.7.2023

[Kwality]

The long awaited NACC is officially open for business on Saturday 1.7.23 & there will be much politically partisan commentary over where it looks first.

Alleged secret plan to funnel kickbacks to Liberal minister​

Alleged secret plan to funnel kickbacks to Liberal minister

A consultancy allegedly planned to funnel funds to federal Liberal minister Stuart Robert in return for his help in winning government contracts

www.afr.com

'A consulting company run by friends of former Liberal MP Stuart Robert allegedly established a firm to funnel money to Mr Robert in return for him using his position as a minister in the Morrison government to help the consultancy and its clients win lucrative government services contracts.

The explosive allegations, which Mr Robert vehemently denied on Wednesday and called an abuse of parliamentary privilege, are contained in a sworn statement tendered by a whistleblower to a parliamentary committee investigating Mr Robert’s links with consultancy Synergy 360.'

This is a current allegation that deserves investigation involving both a member & a 3rd party that, IF successful, would be a clarion call for integrity.

 

[Gough]

There's going to be a parking spot out the front with this bloke's name on it.

Lobbying firm proposed structure to allow Stuart Robert to profit from winning government contracts, parliamentary committee told

Audit committee publishes witness statement claiming arrangement was designed by lobbying firm Synergy 360 to facilitate flow of funds to Robert, which he denies

www.theguardian.com

 

[Kwality]

There's going to be a parking spot out the front with this bloke's name on it.

Lobbying firm proposed structure to allow Stuart Robert to profit from winning government contracts, parliamentary committee told

Audit committee publishes witness statement claiming arrangement was designed by lobbying firm Synergy 360 to facilitate flow of funds to Robert, which he denies

www.theguardian.com

It should be an open & shut case & not some drawn out case that drags on until the next election.

 

[Kwality]

Interesting piece in The Guardian:

Lobbying firm proposed structure to allow Stuart Robert to profit from winning government contracts, parliamentary committee told

IF its as clear as Mr Shorten suggests .....

 

[Kwality]

'One of the nation’s senior law enforcement officers has been lured out of retirement in anticipation in a surge in demand for investigative skills following the establishment the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Former chief executive officer of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and director of the Australian Institute of Criminology, Mike Phelan, has joined Kroll to advise its forensic investigations and intelligence team, including on its work for federal government clients.

Former ACIC CEO Michael Phelan (far left), pictured in 2020 with former Immigration and Border Protection Department secretary Michael Pezzullo and ASIO Director-General of Security Mike Burgess. Alex Ellinghausen

His will focus on helping clients with complex investigations related to bribery and corruption, money laundering and other financial crime, and cybersecurity. Kroll services state and federal governments in Australia, the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
The NACC began operating on July 1 and within 10 days had received 311 referrals, of which, it said, more than half “related to matters well publicised in the media”.

Mr Phelan, who also had a 30-year career with the Australian Federal Police, said
while the NACC was resourced with investigators, other government departments and agencies were not adequately resourced to prepare referrals of a sufficient quality for the NACC to consider.'

NACC work boom lures top cop out of retirement

Former Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission CEO Mike Phelan has joined Kroll ahead of a likely glut of work for departments liaising with the corruption body.

www.afr.com

So who or what are Kroll :

Sydney | Asia Pacific | Kroll

Contact our Kroll experts in Sydney for solutions to help you stay ahead of complex demands related to risk, governance and growth.

www.kroll.com

Not much on Google:

Kroll tech helps clubs and athletes combat social media abuse​

27 April 2023 Consultancy.com.au 3 min. read

The online abuse of sports stars is a growing and seemingly intractable issue, with the AFL among other organisations grappling for solutions. Cutting off the harmful content at its source may be one to consider.
The AFL and its wider community of stakeholders – and more importantly, those targeted – have suffered from a seemingly endless string of brainless racial taunts on social media in recent times, with little presenting in the way of a solution.

Search

As the leading independent provider of risk and financial advisory solutions, Kroll leverages our unique insights, data and technology to help clients stay ahead of complex demands. Click for more details.

www.kroll.com

Interesting couple of months ahead.

 

[Kwality]

'Mr Brereton addressed Allens law firm in Sydney during the UN Global Compact Network’s 2023 Australian Dialogue on Bribery and Corruption, where he honed in on the government’s reliance on private consultants.

“In the light of the extent to which government has in recent years retained external consultants, and the extent to which the delivery of many commonwealth services is outsourced to contracted service providers, this is a large field, which I expect will attract considerable interest from the commission,” he said.

The NACC was launched on July 1 and has already received 541 complaints in the first month.'

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/new-corruption-paul-brereton-has-consultants-in-his-sights/news-story/e0e1578ed34392ccf5b8fa5c06950aac

Mr Brereton said its formation had “implications for the corporate sector, business and lawyers, and the future of integrity in governance”.

 

[Kwality]

Here is one the NACC might flick back to the NT:
NAAJA is contracted by the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department (AGD) to provide Criminal and Civil Law services to Aboriginal people and their families in the Northern Territory.

This from the NAAJA chair & CEO.
“I’m going to get a f..king reference from the Prime Minister,” ousted North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency chief executive Priscilla Atkins screamed down the phone line.
It’s a conversation NAAJA chair Colleen Rosas recalls in detail. She says Ms Atkins called her, hysterical, and yelled: “You have accused me of criminal activity. I am going to f..king sue you for millions.”

The two women, along with chief financial officer Madhur Evans, are at the centre of serious allegations of corruption, bullying, fraud and deception within NAAJA, the country’s largest and best-resourced Indigenous legal organisation.

Some allegations include:

• Ms Atkins used company funds to acquire clothes, artworks, flights and cars – including a $129,000 Range Rover;

• Ms Evans secretly paid $20,000 directly into Ms Rosas’s bank account, in breach of the agency’s funding agreement;

• Ms Rosas requested her pay be given to her on a credit card so as not to alert the tax office and threaten her Centrelink pension;

• The NAAJA board was paid “huge” amounts of money, despite claims the attorney-general approved their pay for only eight days a year;

• Ms Rosas appointed her nephew as acting CEO, and a friend as head of HR – a position that was not publicly advertised;

• Ms Rosas told employees Ms Atkins was using cocaine;

The NT Independent Commission Against Corruption is investigating the allegations, and both state and the federal attorneys-general are considering intervening to prevent the organisation, which receives about $20m in taxpayer funds every year, from going under.

Meanwhile, Ms Atkins has sued the agency for unfair dismissal, in a matter that will be heard at trial in the Federal Court.

Sources believe NAAJA will spend up to $1m on the trial, after it recruited global firm King & Wood Mallesons to represent them.

NAAJA is mainly funded by the federal government, and conducts the lion’s share of Indigenous legal cases in the NT, where crime has increased by double digits in the past year. The organisation employs 200 workers in Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/ill-sue-you-for-millions-inside-the-corruption-scandal-plaguing-the-north-australian-aboriginal-justice-agency/news-story/f635d14c579e143eba8e4c710dc844b2

Not good timing in terms of Federal politics.

 

[Kwality]

'Commissioner Paul Brereton on Monday released a video detailing the NACC’s achievements over the past 100 days, including 27 presentations to parliamentarians, senior public servants, agency heads and staff, boardrooms, committees and associations.'

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/national-anticorruption-commission-probes-unlikely-to-involve-coalition-says-former-judge/news-story/3b0f12ce2b236e55e7b1805308fab885

'While the NACC refuses to provide details on the specifics of the investigations, Centre for Public Integrity chair and former NSW Court of Appeal judge Anthony Whealy said it was unlikely the investigations would “relate to things involving the previous government”.

“The NACC will be very careful not to go after political opponents who are part of the Coalition. There might be one there, but they will be very careful not to go into that field,” he said.'

 

[Gough]

A pre-emptive attack?

Cash wants to know if Mark Dreyfus recommended Justice Stephen Rothman as deputy commissioner of the Nacc. Cash says Rothman is a “political ally” of Dreyfus, so wants to know if he was involved.

There was no immediate answer.

It is outrageous the Minister representing the attorney-general took on notice a very simple question on whether the Attorney had recommended Justice Rothman,” Cash said.

This Government promised a new level of transparency and integrity before the election but has now completely retreated from that promise.

Cash said no one is questioning Rothman’s experience.