ICAC boss makes call on Torrens to Darlington bikie link
The anti-corruption commissioner has made a call on assessing the state’s Transport Department over its $15.4 billion project.
South Australian Independent Commission Against Corruption Commissioner Emma Townsend has confirmed she will “conduct an evaluation” of the Infrastructure and Transport Department.
Her announcement followed revelations that a member of the outlawed Comanchero bikie gang was involved with court proceedings from a contractor working on the $15.4 billion Torrens to Darlington project, and Premier Peter Malinauskas asking for the investigation.
In a statement, Townsend said the evaluation would focus on “the controls and processes involved in the procurement and contract management of major infrastructure projects”.
“This will include the frameworks and safeguards needed to protect against infiltration by organised crime,” she said.
“I regard this evaluation as an opportunity to support the department to identify potential corruption risks and strengthen its existing controls if necessary.”
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She stressed that an evaluation was “different to an ICAC investigation, which is conducted in private in accordance with the ICAC Act”.
“Evaluations… are conducted with a view to advancing comprehensive systems for preventing or minimising corruption in public administration,” she said.
“Once complete, the findings of ICAC evaluations are tabled in parliament and made public.”
Formal terms of reference for the evaluation were now being developed by ICAC.
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“While I am unable to predict the completion date for the evaluation at present, I expect that this will be a complex piece of work that may take considerable time and resources to complete,” Townsend said.
This morning, the Premier said he had written to ICAC asking the Commissioner to consider conducting the independent evaluation of the procurement, contracting and subcontracting processes on the Torrens to Darlington project.
Townsend acknowledged the Premier’s letter but said that “I am independently of the view that it is in the public interest to conduct such an evaluation”.
“As with all of the work that ICAC undertakes, this evaluation will be conducted with independence and a high level of scrutiny,” she said.
The contractor at the centre of the action has since been removed from the project, but Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn on Friday called for Labor MP Joe Szakacs to be sacked from the Infrastructure and Transport Minister portfolio over claims he knew about the issue before it emerged in the media.
The lawyer of Unley constituent and Career Boss Australia shareholder Robert Cammarano reportedly raised concerns about the bikie in the office of new Labor minister Alice Rolls on September 11.
Malinauskas today defended Szakacs saying he had “done the right thing” in referring the issue for investigation.
On Monday afternoon, Hurn reiterated calls for Szakacs to resign, saying the Premier must prove his “zero tolerance” policy on protecting the state’s construction sector.
“Zero tolerance means zero tolerance. It does not mean weeks of silence and a Minister who still has his job,” Hurn said.
“This is a $15 billion project and we need someone managing it with complete and utter transparency – not under a cloud of secrecy.
“If the situation today is serious enough for the Premier to write to ICAC, it was serious enough to act on weeks ago when two senior Government Ministers already had details.”
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