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The pinnacle of the investigation into alleged Australian warfare crimes in Afghanistan has been named as the primary federal anti-corruption chief.
NSW Court docket of Attraction decide Paul Brereton will lead the Nationwide Anti-Corruption Fee.
Deputy commissioners will likely be Nicole Rose and Dr Ben Gauntlett.
“The federal government is delivering on its dedication to the Australian folks to return integrity, honesty and accountability to authorities,” Legal professional-Normal Mark Dreyfus mentioned.
Legal guidelines to place in place the fee handed the federal parliament in December.
The physique will examine critical or systemic corrupt conduct throughout the commonwealth public sector by ministers, parliamentarians and their workers, statutory officer holders, workers of all authorities entities and authorities contractors.
It’ll function independently of the federal government and have the ability to launch inquiries by itself initiative or in response to referrals, together with from whistleblowers and the general public.
The fee will have the ability to examine alleged corruption that occurred earlier than the legal guidelines had been handed.
Nevertheless, public hearings will solely happen in distinctive circumstances and the place it’s thought-about within the public curiosity to take action.
The legal guidelines present protections for whistleblowers and exemptions for journalists to guard the identification of sources.
– AAP
