The resignation of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, the Honourable Ann Vanstone KC, should trigger a rethink of the debilitating and troublesome changes to the ICAC that were rushed through the South Australian Parliament in 2021.
When those changes were passed with almost no scrutiny or debate, the Australia Institute’s National Integrity Committee of retired judges said that the changes raised a real concern that integrity had been set back considerably in South Australia.
“The South Australian Government cannot carry on with a business-as-usual approach when integrity has been so clearly compromised in the state,” said Bill Browne, Director of the Australia Institute’s Democracy & Accountability Program.
“Commissioner Vanstone has been unequivocal in her defence of the role of the anti-corruption commission in South Australia.
“That these complex reforms were rushed through the Parliament with almost no scrutiny or debate raised serious concerns for transparency in South Australia. Now, with the resignation of the Commissioner, South Australia has an opportunity to revisit these drastic changes and investigate the troubling impacts with the scrutiny they deserve.”
