The Corruption and Crime Commission: its beginnings, purpose and effectiveness by Tse Chee Loo Senior Lawyer, Corruption and Crime Commission ‘Western Australians deserve a Police Service and a public sector that are free from the scourge of corruption’.1
The solution to the ‘scourge’ proposed by former Attorney General Jim McGinty in 2003 was the Corruption and Crime Commission. The Commission was touted as ‘one of the most powerful crime and corruption fighting bodies in Australia’,2 that would be able to investigate Western Australian Judges, Ministers, Members of Parliament, Police and other public officers. Since its inception, the Commission has turned its attention to a diverse range of allegations of misconduct and, more recently, unexplained wealth allegations. In its early days, the Commission made headlines by probing into the proposed Smiths Beach Development in Yallingup - focussing on the attempts of former Premier, Brian Burke, and former Labor Government minister, Julian Grill, to influence public service officers involved in the development proposal.3 The Commission became associated in the public consciousness with Mr Burke wearing his signature panama hat.4 The Commission has since dealt with thousands of misconduct allegations, such as vehicle examiners accepting cash
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bribes to certify vehicles as roadworthy without examining them,5 senior executives at the North Metropolitan Health Service accepting bribes from contractors,6 and the use of electorate allowances by former Member of Parliament Mr Phillip Edman to fund visits to strip clubs, travel and entertainment for female companions, speeding infringements and expenses associated with Mr Edman’s private yacht.7 In 2019, the Commission’s identification of multiple, dubious payments authorised by the Acting Director-General of the Department of Communities led to an investigation of one of the largest cases of public sector fraud in Australia’s history. Following a cooperative investigation between the Commission, the WA
Police Force and the Department of Communities, the WA Police Force charged Mr Paul Whyte with over 500 corruption offences, totalling in excess of $22 million. Mr Whyte pleaded guilty to 530 corruption charges and is yet to enter pleas in relation to further charges. The Commission’s remit extends beyond investigating individual wrongdoing, to reporting on broader issues of public importance - such as the use of Taser weapons by the WA Police Force8 and misconduct risks in WA prisons.9 In 2018, the Commission took on a much greater role in tackling organised crime when it was granted additional powers to investigate unexplained wealth and criminal benefits, and to apply to the courts to freeze and confiscate assets. This significant change has assisted the Commission to fulfil its statutory functions and purposes as a ‘Crime Commission’ to combat and reduce the incidence of organised crime and illicit activity in WA. In October last year, the Commission resolved its first unexplained wealth matter in the Supreme Court. The matter had been referred to the Commission by
