Australia’s Chronic Problem With Prosecuting Corruption
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The NACC is a joke. The NACC is an undigested SNACC. The NACC is a Nettled slumbering shadowy national embarrassment. Australia’s chronic problem with prosecuting corruption in the halls of power. Both side of politics at the pointy end protect their mates and peers. Macro corruption is the dirty secret we have writ large in this great southern land. Robodebt was politicians and public servants breaking the law and involved in corrupt behaviour. We have had a Royal Commission which found this to be true and referred 6 individuals to the NACC. The National Anti-Corruption Commission failed to find grounds to proceed and this was then challenged on the grounds of a conflict of interest for its chairman and subsequently reviewed by an independent delegate. It is like a constipated elephant on the dunny with the accountability trying to get out. Australian elites look after each other’s backs when it comes to any of them actually facing prosecution.
The NACC Failed So Here’s The Independent Delegate
“As a result of the decision made by its independent reconsideration delegate, Mr Geoffrey Nettle AC KC, on 10 February 2025, the Commission will investigate the 6 referrals it received from the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme.
The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether or not any of the 6 referred persons engaged in corrupt conduct.
Consistent with its usual practice, the Commission does not publish reasons for commencing an investigation, as doing so may prejudice the investigations, disclose information which the Commission is required by law to keep confidential, compromise investigative pathways and/or unfairly impact reputations and rights of individuals to impartial adjudication.
The Commission is now making arrangements to ensure the impartial and fair investigation of the referrals, as it did with the appointment of Mr Nettle as independent reconsideration delegate.
The Commissioner and those Deputy Commissioners who were involved in the original decision not to investigate the referrals, will not participate in the investigation.”
The secrecy will remain but none of the NACC commissioners will be involved in the investigation. Could there be any clearer evidence for the complete failure of the NACC? What is the point of them if they cannot get it right and what a bloody waste of taxpayer money. It would be funny if we, the Australian people, were not being treated with such scorn and disregard. The power elite do not want their brethren to be held accountable. They want all the benefits of the positions of power, the Qantas upgrades, the high salaries and the deferential treatment without the consequences if they cross the corrupt behaviour threshold. These federal pollies and senior public servants do not want their names sullied despite the fact that Robodebt cost the lives of vulnerable Australians, falsely accused half a million Aussies of owing money they didn’t to Centrelink and cost $1.8 billion and rising to tax payers in a settled class action brought against the government. In reality it would now be several billion dollars when you add up the Royal Commission and related enquiry costs.
Your NACC Is A Failure
Australia’s chronic problem with prosecuting corruption at the top makes the NACC an absent toothless tiger. Most regulatory and monitoring bodies in Australia are impotent wastes of space. They are largely window dressing ignored by the powerful. This is the Australian way. Robodebt is a national shame and the greatest betrayal by government of its people in our recent history. That not one person has been held accountable and prosecuted is deeply problematic. The NACC is a failure and must be remodelled if it is not going to be just another waste of public funds.
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.
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