RR Phantom
Location : Wasted Space
Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
 |  Subject: Ozschwitz: ICAC lashes corrupt RailCorp inaction  Wed Jul 09, 2008 11:53 pm | |
| THE head of the Independent Commission Against Corruption has criticised RailCorp for its unwillingness to stop improper behaviour despite repeatedly being involved in corruption cases.
"RailCorp is exceptional in its intransigence," Commissioner Justice Jerrold Cripps, QC, told a State Government parliamentary inquiry yesterday.
"RailCorp has flooded us with work."
To spur more action on its recommendations, the commission would in future take cases to the minister concerned, he said.
The commission should also have the power to compel prosecution, he told the inquiry.
Asked about the apparent failure of RailCorp to act on some ICAC findings, Mr Cripps said: "It should have been referred to the minster and for him to report it to Parliament. We will be doing more of that in the future.
"We would like to think the exposure of senior officials acting corruptly would help stop corruption."
ICAC has conducted a series of investigations into RailCorp, most recently for suspect contracts, padded invoices and false wage claims - including contractors who allegedly bribed a former RailCorp employee to sign false invoices for work that had never been completed.
"We keep exposing, and nothing happens," Mr Cripps said.
The inquiry's focus yesterday was on earlier investigations involving RailCorp such as Operation Persis, which related to the letting of contracts for air-conditioning. ICAC had earlier made 47 recommendations to RailCorp, but the final RailCorp response to Operation Persis was yet to be received, even though it was due by the end of June.
ICAC was "unable … to identify which, if any, of its recommendations have been implemented", it said in answer to a question on notice from the parliamentary committee. Asked if the commission's recommendations had had little effect on RailCorp, Mr Cripps said: "I think that's fair."
ICAC should have pushed RailCorp harder, he said, but its role was to investigate corruption and it had not been responsible for introducing policies to prevent corruption.
If RailCorp management did not implement ICAC recommendations then it was "up to the minister to act", Mr Cripps said.
During yesterday's hearing, Mr Cripps said witnesses who lied giving evidence to ICAC should be jailed for five years, as was allowed in ICAC legislation.
He criticised cases where witnesses who had lied were given lesser sentences.
ICAC passes information to the Director of Public Prosecutions which decides whether to pursue legal action.
Mr Cripps wanted the commission to have power to compel a prosecution, perhaps via other government agencies such as the Attorney-General, if the DPP decided against taking action.
"We should have a bigger say in prosecuting people who have committed offences under [ICAC] legislation," he said. "I'd like to look at the Queensland legislation: they do engage in some independent prosecution."
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