The National Anti-Corruption Commissioner, Paul Brereton, has quit, two years short of completing his five year term. His time in the job has been marked by repeated controversy.
Brereton said in a statement:
The ongoing focus on matters relating to me personally rather than the Commission’s work is drawing attention away from the Commission’s core purpose of strengthening integrity in the Commonwealth public sector.
I believe that the Commission’s success is paramount, and not due to any single person. While I will continue to resist any suggestion of impropriety, I have decided that it is time, now that the Commission is established and functioning with quality staff and good processes, to step aside and allow a new Commissioner to lead it into the next phase of its development.“
The Inspector of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has been investigating “complaints of agency maladministration or officer misconduct” regarding Brereton’s relationship with the Australian Defence Force.
Brereton had come under fire for undertaking consultancy work for the Inspector-General of the ADF while in his NACC post.
Earlier the Inspector of the NACC in 2024 found Brereton had committed “officer misconduct” for his handling of a conflict of interest in relation to the Robodebt scandal. He had failed to properly recuse himself when the NACC was considering referrals from the Robodebt royal commission. He had had a professional relationship with one of those referred. While he partialy recused himself he did not do so sufficiently.
Brereton is due to appear Tuesday at Senate estimates.
He will leave the NACC on July 6. He took office as the inaugural Commissioner on July 1 2023.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said in a statement:
Commissioner Brereton has made an invaluable contribution to the establishment of the NACC as its inaugural Commissioner.
Earlier this year, in an interview on Sky, Rowland said the government had confidence in Brereton but she had raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest relating to the ADF.
Setting up the NACC was a central promise of Labor in opposition. There was argument around its riding instructions, with only minimum provision for public hearings. So far it has held none. It has also produced what critics consider limited results.
Crossbench senator David Pocock said in a statement:
the NACC is essential to rebuilding trust in politics and institutions which sits now at historic lows.
I have called for some time for Commissioner Brereton to step aside and I welcome his decision to do so today. There have been too many perceived conflicts of interest, too many decisions out of step with community expectations and the need for the NACC Inspector to intervene too many times.
Pocock called on the government to use the opportunity “to reform key aspects of the NACC’s operation, including making it easier to hold public hearings.
“The appointment of the next Commissioner must occur through an independent and merits-based process that provides Australians with transparency. And it’s on the Attorney-General to ensure this is the case,” he said.
“We need the next Commissioner to help restore confidence in the organisation and for it to better fulfil the vision we had for it as a beacon of integrity.”
Brereton defended the NACC’s record under his rule:
Over the last three years, much progress has been made in pursuit of our mission of enhancing integrity in the Commonwealth public sector. While our mere existence has influenced and shaped behaviour for the better, that has been powerfully reinforced by our extensive education and engagement program, which has enhanced the integrity culture across the sector.
We have completed assessment of more than 92% of the 7,624 referrals received over the last three years.
We have published 7 investigation reports. Our investigations have exposed corrupt conduct in law enforcement agencies, Commonwealth departments and government business enterprises, including cronyism in a recruitment process, a secret commission in a procurement processes, dishonesty in senior executive decision-making, and the leaking of sensitive information about law enforcement investigations to criminal associates.
Much more is underway. Our 34 current investigations cover former or current parliamentarians and staff, senior executives in the public service, contractors and consultants, and a grants scheme. Fair and thorough investigations take time, and the outcomes of these and other investigations will emerge in due course, though it is important to remember that many will not result in findings of corrupt conduct. From the outset we have been committed to fairness, and that approach is well embedded in the Commission’s operations.
Crossbencher Helen Haines, who pushed for the establishment of the NACC, told reporters: “This is a very significant opportunity now for the National Anti-Corruption Commission to reset, Mr Brereton’s tenure has been overshadowed by the inspector of the NACC’s findings in 2024 of officer misconduct in regard to the Robodebt inquiry.”
“I remain incredibly proud of the work that got us to establishing Australia’s first federal Anti-Corruption Commission. But it’s time now for a reset.”
Brereton headed the investigation into allegations that some Australian soldiers committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Recently, VC winner Ben Roberts-Smith was charged with five war crimes of murder while serving in Afghanistan.
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