The findings of the NSW ICAC into the corrupt conduct of the former Liberal State Premier Gladys Berejiklian, and her master and boyfriend former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire, have been released. The ICAC found the pair had acted corruptly whilst in public office. The findings are damning in the extreme for both.

Without corruption commissions at a state and territory level, and soon at a federal level, much of the behaviour of corrupt politicians would never see the light of day. In fact without the NSW ICAC Miss 'Squeaky Clean' Gladys might still be Premier, and 'Good Old' Daryl still be the member for Wagga Wagga, with a public persona of goodness and honesty, while covering up shady private corrupt activity.

Lets hope the new national ant-corrution commission has the necessary teeth to get stuck into any past federal political corruption over recent years. The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has claimed Labor’s national anti-corruption commission will be able to investigate “any person” who could seek to corrupt a public official or hold any person who holds public office, lets hope so!

Of course anti-corruption commissions play an
important role in keeping people in positions of
power honest. Realistically though - I can't help
wondering - how effective are they really? People
who hold these positions usually have legal teams
to protect them and often proven anything is very
difficult, expensive and can drag on for years.

Is it worth doing?

What other deterrant is there?

Sounds bad.

What law did she break?

What's that, you say....She didn't break any laws? Oh well, no harm no foul. She'll be able to seek exoneration during the appeal.

What's that, you say....She can't appeal? Well, doesn't sound like any court that should exist in a rule of law nation.

Whats really important to our country right now is gay flags on the harbour bridge, and gender transitions for the kiddies, while everyone foots the bill for them as well as their mental health needs.

Pfft, with that level of waste who even cares about corruption.

Thank goodness for Albo.

Oh and don't forget money for Ukraine, don't worry about the homeless
- They deserve to be homeless

If a single mums living in a car or a tent in winter with her 2 kids
- Then she and the kids deserve it.

- But we have to make sure little 14 johnny can have his pork n beans cut off
- Because if he wants to be a girl, it's his right.

You lot that support political parties suck.
Wouldn't matter what party you support, if that party was doing the wrong thing, then they'd give them a free pass.

And no more plastic bags or straws, they were too useful and convenient. Not that everything else in woolies doesn't contain plastic. what do they want to put the bread in paper bags next?
Who cares about the forest and animals that live in them that need to be cut down down for all these paper bags etc, don't you know it's all about the environment.

Maybe I should just start identifying as a caveman.
Seems like that's what they want, may as well just get ahead of things.

Hi Foxy,

"I can't help wondering - how effective are they really?"

We should ask the likes of Eddie Obeid, Ian Macdonald and now Gladys Berejiklian, and Daryl Maguire, as to how effective the NSW ICAC has been. Where would things be now without a strong investigative body that the state has. Its obvious at a federal level corrupt practices were rife under previous governments, and there was no effective body to investigate such things. Hopefully the new federal anti-corruption commission will get stuck into a backlog of cases.

It seems that Gladys won't be prosecuted because her corrupt behaviour wasn't criminal; but the boyfriend's was.

It is more and more important to put the 'bottom feeders'- Liberals, Labor and the Greens at the bottom of the voting slip.

She should just claim that Liberal MP Daryl Maguire raped her.
She'd get a huge settlement like Brittany Higgins 3 million.
Why not, the whole country's gone to shite anyways...

Dear mhaze,

Seem you are perfectly fine with non disclosure of conflicts of interest because 'no law has been broken'. What a dystopian world you want for us.

Dear Armchair Critic,

Why are you quoting a figure of $3 million? The amount was never disclosed. This is just a speculative amount which you have been fed and decided to regurgitate it here. Higgins says the amount was substantially less but non disclosure rules prevent her being open about the correct figure.

You are OLO's conspiracy guru and yet here you are being lead by the nose by purposeful misinformation. You are being the pawn you always seemed to be at pains to avoid. How does that make you feel?

There's a bit of poetic justice here that might or might not come out in the days to come. What has happened to Gladys was what happened to others in the past (remember Margaret Cunneen; and there were others, including a government minister and several business people who were named, shamed and ruined, but never prosecuted) could also happen to her. But, she sat on the information and advice; did nothing from 2017 until she copped the same treatment.

That’s poetic justice in my book. Stiff cheese, Gladys. You allowed it to happen to others because you didn't care about them. Now it's happened to you.

"Why are you quoting a figure of $3 million? The amount was never disclosed."

A lot of things were never disclosed since the case was never concluded.

She gets a payout, and for what?
- there's no legal outcome, hence no perpetrator.
Innocent until proven guilty.
There's not even any crime.
It's an alleged crime.

Situations like this I imagine the government would want to keep under wraps.
The government certainly not going to want to people to know how much they paid a woman for unproven allegations.
And she's not going to want to tell, because it's going to lead to her being publicly attacked.

I know the amount was never disclosed, but I'm happy to go with the 3 million dollar figure anyway, you know why?
- Because any amount the government has paid her should be transparent, it's matter of public interest.

If they want to keep it secret, then I'll highlight it.

The people of NSW should be thankful that they have an anti-corruption commission to weed out another corrupt state Premier in Berejiklian. Others exposed by the ICAC have been the LIBERAL Premiers, Greiner and O'Farell, both unceremoniously removed from office. Not since the days of the most corrupt Premier the state has ever seen in the LIBERAL Robin Askin, who literally was paid wads of cash in brown paper bags by organised crime, has a state leader been able to act corruptly and get away with it. For the NSW ICAC, a job well done.

What other deterrant is there?
Foxy,
A character & mentality building National Service will reduce corruption as young people will see what a level playing field means. You never know, it might even produce reasonable honest politicians & bureaucrats !
A Flat tax without negative gearing will ensure business will have many unfair & criminal loopholes closed !
Where there's a bit of decency there'll be a bit of snowballing !

Dear Individual,

Listening to the news is certainly depressing nowadays
especially as you have pointed out - the recent crime
rates of young people. Action certainly needs to be
taken - but where the answers lie - I'm not sure.
It's like the world has gone mad. I like to think that
there are honest leaders and politicians out there who
go into politics wanting to make a difference. Unfortunately
we don't hear about many of those.

SR

"Seem you are perfectly fine with non disclosure of conflicts of interest because 'no law has been broken'. What a dystopian world you want for us."

Oh, I'm fine with a system that calls out ALL conflicts of interest. But we don't and won't have such a system. So it won't be evenly applied and only those with targets on them will be examined.

BTW, does paying a sheila $x because she helped bring down your opponents via dubious rape claims rise to the level of conflict of interest? I suspect we'll never find out.

Hi Foxy,

"I like to think that there are honest leaders and politicians out there who go into politics wanting to make a difference. Unfortunately
we don't hear about many of those."

Absolutely true, over the years I've met many decent people from across the political spectrum, who are either in politics, or want to enter politics, with the aim of "making a difference". Its easy to be cynical and downcast about others, collectively we tend to get off on negativity, and the media certainly caters to our inclinations in that regard.

The fact that the media doesn't address the very real threat to society, the Peter Principle, is a clear indicator that money means more to politicians than integrity !
The only time they display some outrage is when they have a clear target from their opposition !

We're told that the former NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian
has been found to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct
by the state's corruption watchdog. However the Independent
Commission Against Corruption(ICAC) has not recommended that
charges be pursued against the former NSW Premier.

So what's all this about? Is is merely political stirring?
And to what end?

Now ICAC itself is to be investigated: ostensibly for taking so long to present their report. But I suspect there are people who don't believe its findings are doing some string-pulling.

The shock and horror that Saint Gladys - a Liberal, for heaven's sake! - was found to be corrupt was laughable. People are in denial.

Alan Jones, whom I admire and agree with on most things, declared straight out on ADH TV that 'their girl' was not corrupt. He added a night to his schedule just to let us know that.

Bringing down the corrupt and crooked is a good idea until one of your own gets nabbed, apparently. It pays to think the worst of all politicians, and just vote for the least bad of the buggers. You won't choke with indignation when any of them are taken down.

And to what end?
Foxy,
The main objective for the accuser has been achieved. A political adversary & her party have been damaged.
The next one will be a Labor one & so the game continues !
Lawyers make money & media gets another week's wage. Job done !

Paul Collits begins his article 'Libs scramble to downplay Gladys corruption finding' with the words: 'And, true to form, the clueless NSW Liberal Party has circled the wagons in praise of her leadership – calling ICAC’s Operation Keppel a “soap opera”.'

He opines that their "tricky attempts" to downplay Berejiklian’s behaviour serves to reinforce their recent loss of power. He also says the finding is good news, and it's a pity that she can't be prosecuted. He echoes what many of us know: that politicians have lost their sense of right and wrong.

And that applies to all brands.

The woman herself has just uttered the usual BS about what an honour and a privilege it had been to "serve".

Hopefully the findings against this "Leftist robot" will put the wind up the ones still in the game; and a way to prosecute will be found: because, as sure as eggs, there will be more like Gladys still lurking in places they have no right to be. As Collits points out - those for whom ICAC is a problem, should know that a much worse problem is "endemic political corruption".

"serve".
Yeah, right ! We'd all like to "serve" for half a Mill a year !

Indyvidual

Maybe she meant self-serve. Self is all politicians seem to be interested in these days.

Looking into corruption looking into corruption looking into corruption looking .......

It'd be a lot less costly & far more effective if the education system's indoctrination branch were dissolved & replaced by an integrity-building National Service !

Indy,

Why didn't you volunteer for National Service when you had the opportunity. Now you're safe, and well past it, you demand young people today be conscripted, YOU are a hypocrite! How about a Seniors National Service for all YOU Old Farts who are sucking off the taxpayer teat!

Paul1405,
Time to change your silly stuck record. What is your objection to decency ? Is your Peter Principle bureaudroid position in jeopardy from a couple of ounces of integrity ?

The National Anti-corruption Commission, set up to investigate Commonwealth officials, including government ministers, MPs and their staffs, and public servants, has already attracted 300 plus complaints since it started 6 days ago!

"has already attracted 300 plus complaints since it started 6 days ago!" Well the NOALITION was in office for almost 10 years, sports rorts, car park rorts, land deals, Gladys and Daryl Stewey on the Gold Coast. Yep 300 you say, about one a fortnight, yep that's about right.

The Robodebt Royal Commission presented its findings to parliament today, and has recommended prosecutions be launched against several, as yet un-named persons (their names are in a sealed section of the 900 page report).

My question is; How Well will a few of the LIBERAL PARTIES ex-government ministers sleep tonight? Particularly, a pair of fundo religious happy clappers!

Just wait till this corruption inquiry comes to a sudden stop when it becomes too obvious that the bureaudroids responsible are actually Lefties trying to discredit the Coalition by causing this mess !

Some people have a BUCKET LIST

I have a SCUM BUCKET list;

1 SCOTT MORRISON
2 STEWART ROBERT
3 CHRISTIAN PORTER
4 ALAN TUDGE

Oh dear, they are all members of the LIBERAL PARTY. What does that tell you?

Indy,

My Scum Bucket List, are your kinda guys, you vote for those types every time. By-election for the seat of Fadden next week to replace the one on my list Stewart Robert. It will be an interesting result, hopefully the voters there will see what they got in the LNP's Stewart Robert and vote for some other party candidate or independent.

Paul1405,
No-one's more disappointed with 2,3 & 4 than I but why not also name the PS Union protected Labor supporting bureaudroids who are the real culprits who saw a chance to discredit the then PM ? Are you one of them ?

There have been quite a number of indicators in the Media in recent days of bureaudroids having been at the controls of that immoral fiasco but I doubt it'll ever be disclosed that most of them would very likely have been Labor supporting saboteurs !

The voters of Fadden get to decide today who should replace their pathetic ex-member Stewart Robert. With a huge existing majority the LNP, despite the political fallout over possible criminal behaviour by several ex-ministers, including 'Robodebt' Robert, they are most likely to retain the seat. With a Melbourne Cup field of candidates, a lucky 13, Labor will get the donkey vote, I expect voter backlash against the 'big two' with see the minor parties and independents pick up a swag of first preference votes. With such a big field the voters are spoilt for choice from the self claimed entrepreneur, probably runs a hot dog stand, to the financial genius, who probably operates out of the boot of his beat-up old 1984 Holden Commodore. Spoilt for choice!

The Fadden by-election seemed to bring no joy to anyone except the LCP Legalise Cannabis Party which polled a respectable 7.4% vote, even though the millennials stayed away in droves. Do we have a secret cohort of closet smoking millionaire octo's on the Gold Coast? The LNP managed a 2.4% swing on a two party preferred but given the fact Rambo Robert wasn't the candidate this time around, it hardly a massive swing. One again the voters of Fadden showed that millionaire yacht owners don't vote Labor. The Greens must be disappointed with half their supporters now puffing away with the LCP mob. The Lovely Pauline Party aka One Nation will be happy taking the Bronze Medal in 3rd place with 9%, I'm sure they will be holding a torch-light procession with the obligatory cross-burning somewhere this evening. As for all the rest, no ones getting their bond back, so bad luck suckers!

As much as I believe Dutton to be a very competent operator, I don't think the Coalition can win with him at the helm.
Unfortunately, due to the image-obsessed rather than merit observing society we've become, charisma-lacking Dutton will fight an uphill battle !

It never helps in politics to have the personality of a three-toes sloth, poor old Pete!

he personality of a three-toes sloth
Paul1405,
Still miles ahead of a maggot (bureaudroid) though !

Would you two settle for 'They're both weak leaders?'

Agree with that AC. We need a JACK LANG running the show, none of this namby-pamby nonsense with the 'Big Fella' he'd give Albo and The Dud a real 'WHAT FOR!" no worries! My Old Man was a "Langite". Keating got some of his political savvy from Jack Lang when Lang was in his very old age.

Paul1405,
Agree but what would happen with all the Paul1405's if Jack Lang were back or indeed merit-based salaries ?

The first to get the chop due to the Robodebt RC is the senior public servant, the Morrison appointed Kathryn Campbell. Campbell has been suspended without pay.

According to the RC, Campbell had been "responsible for a department that had established, implemented and maintained an unlawful program”, “did nothing of substance” when exposed to information that brought to light the illegality of income averaging, and “failed to act” when presented with opportunities to obtain legal advice. The commission found Campbell did so because she knew Scott Morrison wanted to “pursue the proposal and that the government could not achieve the savings” that were promised without income averaging.

Campbell is not the only one, there were four LIBERAL PARTY ministers deeply involved in the illegal Robodebt scheme, three have left Parliament, one is still sitting there with a smirky grin on his face! Time for another by-election, me thinks.