Committee says watchdog needs to learn new tricks

Western Australia’s corruption watchdog should change the way it conducts public examinations, a report tabled in parliament has recommended.

Joint Standing Committee chairman Nick Goiran said it was beneficial for Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) examinations to be open to the public.

“Unfortunately, however, determining when the circumstances are right is incredibly difficult,” he said.

“This has been demonstrated by the fact that some past public examinations have produced a range of unsatisfactory outcomes.”

The committee has recommended the CCC Act be amended to specify the rights of people examined and the way the examinations should be conducted.

It also recommends a better definition of the circumstances under which an investigation could be opened to the public.

Mr Goiran said the committee agreed the CCC Commissioner should retain the discretion on whether to open an examination to the public and supported the anti-corruption role of the CCC.

However, he said all future witnesses should be given a greater level of procedural fairness than they had in the past.

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