New South Wales’ former Attorney-General John Hatzistergos has been selected as the new chief commissioner for the state’s under-fire Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) which is undergoing major changes.
A five-person panel headed by NSW Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Bathurst put forward Mr Hatzistergos name to premier Dominic Perrottet to replace the outgoing ICAC chief commissioner Peter Hall QC whose seven-year term ends in August.
A long serving Labor NSW Labor MP who was a senior minister in the Labor government of Kristina Keneally, Mr Hatzistergos is District Court Judge. The selection panel also selected to serve as commissioners Paul Lakatos SC, a NSW District Court judge and president of NSW’s Mental Health Review Tribunal and Helen Murrell, the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the ACT.
A spokesman for Premier Perrottet said the selection panel unanimously recommended the new ICAC appointments.
“The cabinet supported these recommendations and, in line with statutory requirements, these recommendations now proceed to the NSW Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on ICAC for either ratification or veto,” the spokesman said.
Mr Hall’s term along with commissioners Stephen Rushton SC and Patricia McDonald came under scrutiny especially from former prime minister Scott Morrison who frequently referred to ICAC as a kangaroo court in voicing his opposition to setting up an integrity body at federal level.
Mr Morrison also described as “shameful” and “an absolute disgraceful” ICAC’s inquiry into the former premier of NSW Gladys Berejiklian.
In May Mr Rushton used his last appearance as commissioner before the NSW parliament’s oversight committee to forcefully respond to the former PM’s comments he also warned that the comments could have eroded public trust in ICAC.
“To those buffoons who have repeatedly described this commission as a kangaroo court, I would say three things. First, it is deeply offensive to the hardworking staff of the commission. It undermines the institution,” Mr Rushton said.
“Second, there are vast differences between the functions of the commission and a court. Those differences are readily accessible, and there has been much written about those vast differences. To describe us as a kangaroo court is not just misleading, but un-true.”
Mr Perrottet continued to back ICAC and pledged during the elections to honour increased funding to the commission. He finalised for next month’s state budget a new model that will provide more funding for ICAC and increased its overall baseline spending.