The nation's anti-corruption commission is tonight under scrutiny, with a new report finding the commissioner didn't properly deal with a declared conflict of interest. It follows a decision by the NACC not to investigate individuals referred by the robodebt royal commission a move that now has to be reconsidered.
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00:00He's at the helm of the nation's corruption watchdog, but now the questions have turned
00:07on him.
00:08I think Paul Brereton's position as commissioner is in question, as the finding is that he
00:13committed officer misconduct as the commissioner.
00:17At issue, a perceived conflict of interest.
00:20Commissioner Paul Brereton was a close associate of one of the people referred to him by the
00:25Commission, and he didn't fully remove himself from the decision not to initiate an investigation,
00:31according to the inspector charged with keeping the NAC in check.
00:35Commissioner Brereton should ask himself whether him remaining in that position is good for
00:40the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
00:42The decision drew more than 1,200 complaints, with some considering the NAC had breached
00:48the public trust.
00:49While the commissioner had declared his relationship and delegated the decision, the inspector
00:54still found his involvement in the decision-making was comprehensive.
00:59At the meeting where the decision was made, the inspector said the NAC commissioner contributed
01:04to the discussion, settled the minutes and was involved in formulating the reasons for
01:09the decision.
01:10The National Anti-Corruption Commission really has to heed the lessons of this episode.
01:16The NAC has labelled this a mistake, a misapprehension by the commissioner, and for this much-anticipated
01:22body established to clean up politics, it's a bumpy start in its first high-profile case.
01:29Still, there's confidence from the major parties.
01:32I think the public has total trust in the commissioner and in the commission.
01:37The system has actually worked in that the inspector general has said, hey, you need
01:43to go back and redo this decision.
01:45A decision many will be waiting on.