Greens endorse Hatton call for Royal Commission into donations

by StreetCorner
04/11/2009

In response to the call by respected former independent member for South Coast, John Hatton, for a Royal Commission into the corruption of decision making in NSW and the failure of ICAC to investigate these matters, the Greens have endorsed Mr Hatton’s stand. “The Greens believe that the most effective response would be for a Royal Commission to be called with broad terms of reference to investigate the relationships between property developers, political parties and development approvals in this state,” said Sylvia Hale, Greens spokesperson for Planning. “Queensland's Crime and Misconduct Commission is now examining cash for ministerial access practices and success fees for lobbyists in that state, and yet ICAC would seem to believe there are no problems with decision making in NSW. This is patently not the case. “The terms of references of the upper house inquiry into Badgery’s Creek are too narrow to even begin to uncover the tangled relationships that exist between Government Ministers, lobbyists, developers, consultants and those in senior public service positions. Greens attempts to broaden the terms of reference for the inquiry were unsuccessful. “Despite Planning Minister Kristina Keneally’s recent statement that developer donations are l-e-g-a-l legal, I think most fair minded people view the system as c-o-r-r-u-p-t corrupt. “The Greens have previously referred extensive allegations of systemic corruption of the state’s planning system to the ICAC but ICAC has declined to investigate them.” “We said at the time that if the ICAC can’t or won’t investigate these matters a Royal Commission is required. Recent events emphasise the importance of a full, open and broad inquiry into corruption in the planning and development system,” Ms Hale said.

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