The peak body representing Queensland’s 77 local governments remains increasingly concerned over the delay in implementing recommendations from the previous Commission of Inquiry relating to the Crime and Corruption Commission chaired by the Honourable Tony Fitzgerald AC KC and the Honourable Alan Wilson KC.
The most recent progress report into those recommendations, published in December 2023, noted legislative amendments to be introduced “in early 2024.”[1]
The LGAQ is concerned that today’s announcement by the state of a new Commission of Inquiry will only seek to further delay the work needed to reform the Crime and Corruption Commission.
“People’s lives were destroyed and the reputation of our chief corruption watchdog was brought into significant disrepute,” LGAQ CEO Alison Smith warned.
“It has been over 18 months since that report was handed down, which included key recommendations urgently needed to overhaul the remit of our State’s corruption watchdog.
“The LGAQ and our members support a strong and independent anti-corruption agency as a vital check and balance on democracy in Queensland.
“But that can only happen when these critical legislative reforms are introduced and passed.
“Implementing these recommendations was urgent in August 2022.
“As we head into the next term of local government, we have grave concerns about how much longer this will take to ensure that the lessons from the past are learnt and never repeated.
“We also must not forget the real human cost of the litany of failed CCC prosecutions.
“There has been no apology, and no compensation paid to date.
“Queenslanders deserve to have a corruption watchdog that is unbridled from it’s recent failings, not a pile of reports that simply gather dust.”
The LGAQ is seeking assurances that today’s new Commission of Inquiry doesn’t delay the urgent reforms that were recommended from the previous Commission of Inquiry.
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