Coroner & Legal
MPs in the sights of proposed Tasmanian Integrity Commission
TASMANIA’S promised anti-corruption body will have powers to initiate investigations, compel witnesses to give evidence, seize documents, enter premises and, subject to magistrate approval, place politicians under surveillance.
The details of a new Tasmanian Integrity Commission will be unveiled in much-anticipated legislation to be tabled in state parliament today.
Details obtained by The Australian suggest the Bartlett government has adopted most of the key recommendations of a parliamentary committee that demanded a body with powers to initiate its own investigations.
This is despite Premier David Bartlett’s initial reluctance to grant such powers, which he had warned could create a “Stasi”.
The new commission will have an independent board, with a chairman and chief executive, and will “triage” complaints, directing the less serious to existing bodies, such as the Ombudsman and State Services Commission.
However, it will also have powers to initiate investigations of MPs, senior bureaucrats, local government representatives, senior police officers, senior statutory officers and government businesses.
After an initial investigation, on the recommendation of the chief executive, the board will be able to create an integrity tribunal to exercise the full range of its investigative powers and recommend sanctions where necessary.
“The Integrity Commission’s investigative work will focus on senior and high-profile public officers such as MPs, heads of agency and senior bureaucrats,” Attorney-General Lara Giddings said.
Cartoon: Dave Groves