The establishment of Tasmania s Integrity Commission has taken a major step forward, with the appointment of several key positions including that of Chief Commissioner.
The Acting Attorney-General, Michelle O Byrne, today said former Victorian Judge of Appeal, the Hon Murray Kellam AO QC, would take on the role of Chief Commissioner of the Integrity Commission’s Board.
The Integrity Commission Chief Commissioner will be responsible for leading the Integrity Commission and its board, as well as chairing any Integrity Tribunals should a matter progress to the inquiry level, Ms O Byrne said.
I’m pleased that someone of both Murray Kellam’s experience and stature will be taking on the role.
He was instrumental in setting up the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and is a widely respected legal figure whose distinguished career has involved practising in every Australian State and Territory.
Justice Kellam has a longstanding interest in ethical issues, has presented ethics training to magistrates and judges in a number of Australian jurisdictions and was appointed Queen’s Counsel prior to his appointment to the bench.
Ms O Byrne said Justice Kellam was also the first President of Victoria’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2005 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, based on his service to the law through judicial and legal training roles, in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.
He had also devoted much of his time to helping Melbourne’s disadvantaged and has worked with refugees in Thailand and Australia.
Justice Kellam’s current activities include a UNICEF project in Myanmar to improve the system of juvenile justice in that country and in chairing the National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council, an appointment he will finish at the end of the year.
Justice Kellam resigned as a Judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria last year, and holds the position of Adjunct Professor at Monash University’s Faculty of Economics.
Ms O’Byrne said the final three members to be appointed to the Integrity Commission Board would be:
• Luppo Prins a former Assistant Commissioner with Tasmania Police and former member of the Australasian Crime Commissioners Forum and the National Crime Authority Secretariat, who has also dealt with road safety, prison security and child protection issues;
• David Hudson, a former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment; and
• Tasmanian Electoral Commission Chair Elizabeth Gillam, who has also held the position of Policy Manager for the Local Government Association of Tasmania.
The remaining three board positions, as specified by the Integrity Commission Act, will be held by the Ombudsman, the Auditor-General and the State Service Commissioner.
Ms O’Byrne said that the establishment of the Integrity Commission was a critical component of the Government s commitment to restore trust in democracy.
The Commission will help deliver greater levels of accountability and ethical standards from both our elected representatives and public officials, she said.
With the key positions of the Chief Executive, Chief Commissioner and members of the board filled, the Commission s board will now be in a position to hold its first meeting at the end of the month.
More than $12 million has been allocated over four years to cover the Integrity Commission s operating costs, with the costs of any formal inquiry allocated above and beyond that initial amount.
The Integrity Commission will commence operation on 1 October when the Integrity Commission Act comes into force.
