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April 19th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu has defended giving the state’s yet-to-be established anti-corruption body the power to conduct most hearings in secret.
The Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) will only hold open hearings if exceptional circumstances exist, there is a public interest in making proceedings public and a public examination would not cause unreasonable damage to a person’s reputation, safety or wellbeing.
The bill setting out the powers of the IBAC was presented to parliament on Thursday.
Mr Baillieu said it was appropriate the IBAC would decide what information remained behind closed doors.
“It’s in the province of the IBAC to determine what it needs to make public,” he told reporters.
“We are preserving an opportunity for IBAC to report as it sees fit and I think that’s appropriate.
“We chose to put in place what we believe is best practice, and we’ve looked at all the other jurisdictions and all the other models, and we believe this is an appropriate step.”
Minister responsible for the IBAC Andrew McIntosh said the IBAC must provide the Victorian Inspectorate with a written report explaining the reasons why a particular hearing would be made public.
This report must be provided at least seven days before the public examination was held.
The IBAC will be able to compel a person to give evidence or produce documents.
Witnesses will have the right to have legal representations and information obtained during an examination will be inadmissible as evidence against any person before a court or tribunal unless it was video recorded or the court is satisfied there are exceptional circumstances justifying the admission of that evidence.
Children aged under 16 cannot be examined or people with language difficulties or mental impairment.
Any person who fails to give evidence to the IBAC if called or fails to produce required documents can be charged with contempt.
The privilege against self-incrimination won’t apply to anyone summonsed or examined by IBAC.
The IBAC will have retrospective powers to investigate corruption if it is in the public interest and if there is new evidence that has not been considered by another investigatory body.
Mr McIntosh said every effort had been made to balance IBAC’s powers with the rights of individuals.
“We intend to uncover and stop whatever serious corruption exists in the Victorian public sector, not carry out witch hunts,” he said in a statement.
Opposition anti-corruption commission spokeswoman Jill Hennessy said the government had failed to deliver on its promise of public hearings.
She said under the current bill, it appeared the premier could appoint an acting commissioner as the first commissioner, without consulting Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews.
Before winning power in November 2010, the government pledged to have an IBAC operational by July 2011.
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