No conflict, acting anti-corruption chief says

June 28th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Ron Bonighton

The new acting head of Victoria’s anti-corruption commission has dismissed concerns that his position creates a conflict of interest.

Ron Bonighton, who the government announced today as the interim head of its Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, will head both the controversial Office of the Police

Integrity and the new corruption-fighting body. The Ombudsman is currently investigating the Office of Police Integrity.

Mr Bonighton told journalists that the commission would be able to handle complaints about the police integrity body and, if necessary, the legislation underpinning the commission would allow him to step aside while a complaint is being investigated.

After a year-long search, the Baillieu government has failed to find a qualified person to permanently head its much-vaunted anti-corruption body and has instead appointed Mr Bonighton for six months.

The former director of the top-secret intelligence agency the Defence Signals Directorate said his aim was to expose corruption and prevent it “where it can breed”.

But Mr Bonighton’s new role will be hampered by a delay in transferring Commonwealth telecommunication intercept powers to the new body. More legislation must also pass the Victorian parliament before the body can start investigating. Until this process is completed, Mr Bonighton cannot take complaints about corruption from the Victorian public.

Mr Bonighton could not say how many staff from the controversial Office of Police Integrity would be transferred to the new body, which will also investigate police corruption.

“We need a fresh start, we need fresh faces, we are dealing with a new environment, so we will need new and different people,” he said. ‘‘But there’s a tremendous reservoir of talent in the OPI, a lot of technical skill as well.’’

“Corruption is an insidious business that seeps into honest endeavour, that upsets the level playing field, adds cost to public works and infrastructure and generally undermines the faith of the citizenry in its public administration. So Victoria I think deserves a competent anti-corruption body that focuses on that field specifically,” said Mr Bonighton.

But the new interim commissioner, who said today he had no legal training, defended the government’s decision to exclude the offence of misconduct in public office from the purview of the commission. “This is going to be the high end of the anti corruption business,” he said.

Melbourne’s legal community and experts in government accountability have criticised the new body as being too restricted and open to legal challenge. Despite the government’s promises that it would modelled on the New South Wales anti-corruption commission, the Victorian body will operate on a much narrower definition of corruption.

The corruption body, which is running a year behind schedule, will cover 250,000 public sector employees, MPs, judges, police, local government and contractors.

At a press conference this morning, Premier Ted Baillieu said Mr Bonighton would undertake the transition between the Office of Police Integrity and the new commission.

Minister for the establishment of an anti-corruption commission, Andrew McIntosh, said a search was still under way for a permanent head. “It is not the case that we can’t find anyone,” he said.

Mr McIntosh said Mr Bonighton was somebody Victorians could trust and he would be involved in ‘‘capacity building’’ for the new organisation.

Mr Bonighton took the helm at the Office of Police Integrity in January after the controversial tenure of Michael Strong ended.

Government sources say Mr Bonighton, a newcomer to the OPI, should not be tarred by its problematic history. Mr Baillieu said Mr Bonighton’s appointment was part of an orderly “step by step” process and you could not “go down to the supermarket” to get a ready-made anti-corruption body off the shelf.

Melbourne’s legal community and experts in government accountability have criticised the new body as being too restricted and open to legal challenge. Despite the government’s promises that it would be modelled on the New South Wales anti-corruption commission, it does not cover the offence of misconduct in public office.

The commission, which is running a year behind schedule, will cover 250,000 public sector employees, MPs, judges, police, local government and contractors.

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