The Illawarra Greens welcome the final report of the Independent Commission Against Corruption into Wollongong City Council.
The ICAC report details corrupt conduct of some staff at Wollongong from the General Manager down, over many years.
Convenor of the Illawarra Greens Jill Merrin said, “the people of Wollongong have lived with the shady dealings of this Council for so long that we have started to believe it is normal.”
“This report shows that some senior managers and ALP Councillors have held their responsibilities of public trust in contempt. We hope that the Director of Public Prosecutions will follow through with the recommended prosecution of those found to have acted corruptly.”
The inquiry has found that General Manager Rod Oxley dismantled internal firewalls against corruption, allowing corruption to spread. The report states that “..council’s internal firewalls against corrupt conduct were largely undermined or ignored by Mr Oxley, creating a straightforward opportunity for corrupt developers to influence the DA assessment process from start to finish.”
“This most serious conflict of interest at the very top of Wollongong Council was allowed to fester for over 20 years,” said Ms Merrin. “Mr Oxley must be held culpable and be banned from serving on any boards of holding other positions of public responsibility.”
The Greens have also called for more consideration of ICAC’s recommendations for the prevention of corruption in Wollongong.
“Most of the recommendations provide for strengthened safeguards over how Wollongong does business. The community group Wollongong Against Corruption has also devised a Charter of Ethical Governance to ensure corruption cannot take root again in Wollongong.”
“We support most of ICAC’s recommendations, but we don’t support taking power away from the Council and handing it to state Planning Panels or the Minister for Planning.
“Independent Hearing and Assessment Panels should also not take the place of well-resourced, independent expert advice. We want to see IHAPs which always include environmental and heritage expertise,” said Ms Merrin.
“This report is a good start but we need more in-depth investigation into the corrupt relationships at the local and state levels. The Greens support the community’s call for a Royal Commission into corruption at all levels of government.”
Contact: Jill Merrin, Illawarra Greens, 0422 655 711