Hi there PAUL1405...

Paul, in your second last paragraph you said therein '...we have to be careful as to what powers we give to the corruption watchdogs...'? Oh how true, how very true! The more statutory power conferred upon an individual, the more chance they may become, targets of corruption.

It's so very easy to let our own personal, as well as our vocational standards and ethics degenerate, by succumbing to the temptation(s) of a highly desirable benefit. The bigger the corrupt gain - the bigger the allurement offered?

Many years ago while still in uniform I was offered an inducement, of such magnitude it took every morsel of personal strength not to yield. Naturally I can't say too much, but it was not money or property. It was 'favours' from the most stunningly beautiful, film star quality, woman one could imagine. What stopped it dead in it's tracks, was my fear of the consequences from an Internal Investigation if I was 'given up', plus gaol, plus loss of my career and my marriage, as I feel sure I'd not be forgiven?

Moreover you're right about political corruption too. Corruption knows no bounds, doesn't follow Party lines? Politicians are awfully powerful, both politically and statutory. I've also alluded too, on several occasions since participating on this Forum, a certain jurists who I'd dearly like to take down, if for no other reason than his/her depraved immorality. However I expect half the Force would be lined up ahead of me to do so, such as the known quantity of his/her criminality. And I've often averred, police may 'know' something quite factually, but can it be proven in a Court of Law?

Hi Chris,

You've probably read Colin Dillon's 'Code of Silence' which has just been published ? The first Indigenous police commissioner in Australia, he put his career (and perhaps his life) very much on the line, in many ways, when he went to the Fitzgerald Commission in 1987 to report corruption across the Queensland Police Force. We need many, many people with that sort of courage and integrity.

But I would respectfully suggest that there are many corrupt Indigenous organisations, although incompetence and sheer gormlessness complicate the picture. Nepotism is rife in (perhaps) most organisations, and there seems to be a common pattern: people seen by governments as having power in their 'communities' are put in charge and no questions asked, or books ever examined. Those people are often both unqualified and incompetent, so they employ non-Indigenous yes-men to do the actual work. If qualified Indigenous staff are ever appointed - people that neither unqualified Blacks nor qualified Whites want around - they are harassed and eventually sacked or forced to resign. Friends and relations of the 'big man' take their place. The organisation flubs along, unchecked and unassessed.

And so it's being going for decades now. Sara Hudson was right in her Review of a sample of a thousand organisations, that a tiny percentage seemed to be audited or overseen in any way, and even fewer seemed to be getting any of the outcomes that they were being paid for. Thirty billion, one would have thought, should go a long way.

Yes, indeed, it does.

Joe

Hi there STEELEREDUX...

India, what a contradiction, is that great Nation! I've only been there twice, the first Bombay and the Goa coast. The second, Calcutta and it's environs, the latter was positively brilliant! The West Bengalis are the worlds greatest debaters without doubt and among the highest educated people on the sub-continent, despite their poverty.

Corruption is endemic in our great country, but why? Do we simply dismiss minor 'kick backs' or the odd benefit as fair game? Is falsifying our tax return, a form of corrupt conduct, or a national (annual) sport? We call a tradie to do a job at home, he gives two amounts at the conclusion of his work, one amount where he'll accept a credit card and he'll issue a receipt? The other strictly cash and no receipt, but at a greatly discounted amount?

STEELEREDUX, do you think it forms part of our Aussie character to offer or accept a benefit to which we're not entitled - after all the government's got plenty, and we pay our taxes don't we. I think most Aussies consider this type of behaviour quite acceptable? Yet we roar with indignation and disapproval when we hear of a politician who's used his position to garner some advantage or material benefit. Or a Company CEO has, through crafty accounting, lost millions of his shareholders money?

I knew of a detective who used to squeeze into his uniform whenever he needed to purchase a new set of tyres, or an expensive part, for his car. Commissioners regulations used to say inter alia; '...a member shall not use his office to obtain any benefit or other advantage as a result of his appointment...' (or similar words). So in order to fully comply with that regulation, he'd wear his uniform. Is this corrupt conduct or cleverly circumventing the Commissioners regulations, do you think ?

I was in the NSW public service at the time of the Greiner Metherall ICAC affair, senior enough to know a bit of the background. Corruption has nothing to do with left or right - it's all about human behaviour, and all sides are equally corruptable, though I can think of some politicians, on both sides, and senior public servants I've met with high ethics.
Loved the Indian story!

Hi there CHRISGAFF1000...

Speaking of our gifted 'amateur Podiatrists', the infamous 'toecutters', we mustn't forget Stephen John NETTIES, very able with a pair of bolt cutters or stout gardening shears! What a waste of good white flesh. Speaking of James (Jimmy) FINCH and and his roll-model mentor John Andrew STUART, both wore the Whisky fire or did they? I'm sorry your worship my memory's exhausted, and I don't have any friggin' notes of which to refer too, they all went up in the fire?

I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so disingenuous over such a tragedy with the deaths of 15 innocent souls. It's just all the crap you had to go through whenever you jumped the box. And the ol' memory wasn't so hot, because of too many long nights and too much (unpaid) O/T, in order to get your Brief in? That was the lousy part of the job, paper and more paper together with the old Olivetti manual always needing a replacement ribbon, placed strategically on the charge counter.

'Nifty' Neville was well centered whenever one discussed political corruption. I notice his daughter beat the murder charge of that drug dealer, on an accessorial plea, and received a token penalty. She virtually walked with time already served, and was subsequently discharged? I'm unable to comment further, as I've got no truck in the matter?

I hope you're well old fella, and life in sunny Qld is treating you much better than when we last spoke? I heard on the news 'Skippy' is finally pulling the plug at the end of this month, no more extensions he reckons?

O sung wu,

There is corruption at all levels, I can remember 25 Pounder Guns that had been fully rebuilt by a civilian contractor sitting in storage for some years until they were sent to the same civilian contractor to be rebuilt.
There was a reason for this as there was no work available and the contractor would have had to lay off valued and well trained staff; still it was corrupt practice.

Then there was the army establishment that had a fuel supply station (virtually a Service Station, without the parts sales-1960s) there was a vast discrepancy found in the records and thousands of gallons of petrol and diesel was missing; the Corporal in charge was charged, kept his mouth shut, was convicted and got out after a couple of years and quickly got a new job, he was appointed as a director of a large civilian firm that had big defence contracts.