ICAC report into SA Health privately met with anger by Premier, commissioner says
Updated
SA's corruption watchdog claims Premier Steven
Marshall privately rebuked him for releasing a report into potential
health department corruption, despite Mr Marshall telling Parliament he
found the report "extraordinarily helpful".
Key points:
- An ICAC report found SA Health was at risk of corruption, misconduct and maladministration
- Publicly, Premier Steven Marshall said he found the report "extraordinarily helpful"
- But the ICAC says privately the Premier expressed "dissatisfaction" at the report's release
Mr Lander delivered a report to the State Government last week outlining his concerns that SA Health was at risk of corruption, misconduct and maladministration.
The following day, Mr Marshall said he found the document to be "extraordinarily helpful".
However, Mr Lander said during a private meeting on Friday, the Premier "forcefully" expressed "dissatisfaction" at the report's release.
"I've spoken to the Premier … he said publicly that he's found the report very useful, very helpful, but that wasn't what he conveyed to me though," Mr Lander told ABC Radio Adelaide.
"He said that the report had put back the chances of correcting the problems in health … I think he meant that the report was inflammatory.
"I defended myself, I said that the public had a right to know about this, that the public should know that a person in my position had reached a state of frustration in relation to an agency that had a budget of an excess of $6 billion and that there was significant waste.
"The impression he gave me is he didn't think it was helpful."
When asked if the Premier was angry during the exchange, the commissioner simply replied "yes".
Mr Marshall said he and the commissioner regularly spoke and the State Government appreciated his input.
"I'm not going to go through the details of that conversation, but I'm very happy to stand by all my public and private statements that I have made," he said.
"We welcome the report coming to the Parliament but there have been some aspects which I think have been quite demoralising on the workforce."
SA Health's poor reporting makes corruption 'easier'
Last week, Mr Lander said he wrote the report when an investigation into the conduct of an SA Health employee stalled because of poor record keeping.His report outlined cultural issues, poor record management, bullying and harassment, conflicts of interest and mismanaged procurement practices.
"These are learnings I have obtained over the last six or more years in investigations I've carried out into corruption in SA Health," he said this morning.
"The poor documentation within SA Health makes it very difficult to establish corruption and it makes it easy to engage in corruption."
On the same day the report was released, the State Government announced a new taskforce would be deployed to crack down on corruption within SA Health.
Mr Lander has asked the State Government for $2 million to conduct a full evaluation of SA Health's practices, a request that has been rejected.
'Devastating blow' to Premier's credibility
Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas said the incident had brought Mr Marshall's integrity into question."This morning we have seen the ICAC … deliver a devastating blow to the credibility of Steven Marshall," he said.
"If we can't trust the Premier on this, how can we trust the Premier on anything at all?
"It's extraordinary to have the Premier of the state receiving the report from the ICAC, then failing to read it, then having been embarrassed into reading it, then trying to essentially dress down the ICAC commissioner for having written it in the first place."
SA Best MLC Connie Bonaros said the Premier had been "two-faced" and she had lost confidence in him.
"It is absolutely Steven Marshall's biggest and most scandalous situation in office," she said.
"I think we are all going to have to ask ourselves some very serious questions about what the fallout will be from here."
***Language Warning:...unbe-fuckin'-lievable!...truly unbe-fuckin'-lievable!...
"I said that the public had a right to know about this"
...and with all the due respect I can muster, fuck you Bruce Lander you corruptly complicit minion masquerading as intensely independent master-of-all...(strewth! say what you really think!-Ed)...I just did...(ah, alright, well, End Language Warning then-Ed)...fair enough...and if y'all don't understand why I am so vehemently 'disrespectful' of my mate Bruce, then y'all are clearly a relatively new availee of this 'ere blog and are therefore blissfully unawares of his/ICAC's 2013-14 fraudulent faux-investigation of the Mt Gambier City Council...(well given that here on TMGI is literally the only place you'll see that fake investigation reported, it's a safe bet that new availees will not be aware of it-Ed)...indeed, and therefore not aware either of,
1) the related SAPol (police) Anti-Corruption Branch raid of my home 7th/8th May 2014, as part of
2) my own ICAC/SAPol 'Operation Baritone' starting "mid-February 2014" and possibly still going,
3) leading into my "bizarre trial" (TBW) from February 2015 - April 2018,
4) which continued even after I proved "Malicious Prosecution" at Trial in November 2016,
5) until in April 2018 I was 'Convicted' of 18 breaches of the SA ICAC Act 2012 Section 56,
6) and fined the maximum $30,000 per 'Count' (total $540,000 commuted to 'Community Service'),
7) with 3 unexplained Suppression/Restraining Orders attached.
(Well, when you put it like that, and regular availees will know that that is a micro-explanation of this massively broad and ongoing Pro-Paedophile Political Persecution, your anger and disdain are surely hard-earned and absolutely appropriate-Ed)...well I certainly think so...this is what has been done to me, under the direct control of Bruce, mate, because I dared to speak/blog about his fake investigation of MGCC, an investigation I proved in Court was an unrecorded 30min chat with me in a cafe and another unrecorded chat in a hallway with (then) MGCC CEO Mark McShane, no hearings, no interviews of MGCC Councillors or staff, not nothing..(well clearly "the public had the right to know" doesn't apply to SA ICAC and this fake MGCC inquiry, either during or after the event-Ed)...exactly...and as appalling as Premier Stephen Marshall's conduct is...(and Health Minister Stephen Wades as well, he hadn't read that report either-Ed)...absolutely, as inexcusable as the Liberal's conduct has been, I ain't gunna' let Labor go mouthing-off about others when it was Labor's 16 years of catastrophic incompetence and corruption that caused and continues to cause such chaos in/for the SA Health system...(fair point sir, particularly when it comes to Regional Health Services, or rather the lack of-Ed)...exactly...
I also point dear availees to the associated story, Why SA Has The Most Secretive ICAC, which I have attached here below...this is from over 2 years ago, but it is absolutely relevant, and the title of the article indicates that it is an explanatory rather than a challenging piece...I note that this article seems to contradict itself, quoting Labor as referring to the NSW ICAC as a "Star Chamber" dragging politician's reputations through the mud, but after having already identified that multiple NSW politicians faced charges or were even gaoled...(and some quit, eg, NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell-Ed)...true, it would seem to indicate that the NSW ICAC was very open and extremely effective, at least until it was fundamentally gutted by recent changes...a quick Google search brings us this 'Star Chamber' definition from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary...
"Characterized by secrecy and often being irresponsibly arbitrary and oppressive."
...and another definition/observation provided...
"Judgements in Star Chamber proceedings will be high-handed, unfair, and predetermined."
...clearly the NSW ICAC was not a Star Chamber, it operated openly and fairly and with numerous seemingly appropriate outcomes affecting both major political parties...anyhoos, here 'tis...***
Why South Australia has the nation's most secretive anti-corruption commission
Posted
ICAC (Independent Commissioner Against Corruption):
Four letters that can send a chill down the spine of any bureaucrat or
minister.
The New South Wales ICAC has seen a parade of politicians and public servants front public hearings to explain themselves.Some have gone on to face charges and end up behind bars.
In other states, the letters are different — IBAC (Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission), CCC (Corruption and Crime Commission) or CCC (Crime and Corruption Commission) elicit similar chills.
But South Australia's ICAC is an altogether different beast.
Commissioner and former judge Bruce Lander conducts his investigations in strict secrecy.
It's illegal in SA to reveal that an ICAC investigation is underway, or that a matter had been referred to the commissioner — unless the commissioner himself chooses to publicise the information.
The stealth was intended. The Weatherill Government — dragged to the point of establishing an ICAC after spending years decrying the need for one — was eager to avoid the "star chamber" approach in New South Wales, where reputations were dragged to the public mud before charges would ever be laid.
The SA Government argued that ICAC was an investigative body and, if it established a case of corruption, the matter would ultimately be dealt with in full public view by the courts.
But under the ICAC Act Commissioner Lander has another important role.
At his choosing, he can exercise the powers of an Ombudsman to investigate what he considers to be serious cases of misconduct or maladministration — conduct unlikely to result in criminal charges, but nonetheless a serious threat to the good governance of the state.
He has chosen to exercise this power by launching an investigation into the Oakden nursing home abuse scandal.
Oakden matter to be heard behind closed doors
Like the investigation into the Government's controversial sale of land at Gillman two years ago, the Oakden matter will be heard behind closed doors.
Eventually, the commissioner may choose to release a public report of his findings.
The report into the Gillman matter slapped two senior bureaucrats for maladministration.
Premier Jay Weatherill and Minister Tom Koutsantonis were cleared, but not before the latter was called out for crude language when dealing with his agency.
Commissioner Lander has been a strong supporter of the secrecy provisions surrounding his office. But in the wake of Gillman, he had a change of heart.
He requested that the Government consider allowing him to hold public hearings, but only when he is exercising his role to investigate maladministration.
"I made that recommendation to protect myself so that people would understand and would be satisfied that the way in which the investigation was carried out was transparent and was conducted appropriately," Mr Lander told a parliamentary committee.The idea was ignored by the SA Government and its chief lawmaker Attorney-General John Rau.
Commissioner Lander offered some interesting reflections on that decision yesterday.
When asked why the idea lacked political support, Bruce Lander mused on the fact that public hearings were an ongoing process and the publicity surrounding them had the potential to cause political damage.
It is an interesting point for the South Australian Government to reflect on, as it rails against what has been dubbed a culture of cover-up at an institutional level, which led to the Oakden mess.
***...and there we go...Bruce protected Weatherill and Koutsontonis over the extraordinary corruption of the (ultimately failed) Gillman Land Sale, and I believe that the "two senior bureaucrats" were merely scapegoats who even then never faced any actual charges...then he has jumped-on the Aged Care bandwagon and simultaneously locked that down as well, again clearing the responsible Labor Ministers, Jack 'The Rat' Snelling and Leesa Vlahos, exonerations duly decorated with Bruce's faux-outrage about Leesa'a supposed disrespect, etc, etc...if y'all don't know this stuff, please to be Googling it...
The bottom-line reality is that SA's ICAC is the dictionary definition of a 'Star Chamber', and Comm Bruce Lander's conduct is unacceptably self-serving, that is, he exercises his extraordinary powers as ICAC Comm, Judicial Conduct Comm, Police Conduct Comm, and when it suits him as Ombudsman as well, he uses these vast and in some cases undefinable powers as-and-when it suits him and his paymasters in the SA Parliament...SA ICAC is about protecting high-level Institutionalised Corruption in SA, and I confidently predict that for all his bluff and bluster theatrics, for all his piss and vinegar carry-on, we in SA will never ever see a State Politician charged under ICAC...(what about our local Member Troy Bell? he's facing ICAC charges-Ed)...yeah, fair call, but that's for stuff he allegedly did before being elected, and the politically expedient timing of it shows that it was exactly that, politically expedient action against a then Liberal Opposition Member...(a political attack you reckon-Ed)...indeed, and one that also conveniently proffers Bruce a chance to point at something that supposedly proves his genuine intent and worth to SA...(yeah, it is all a bit too convenient isn't it-Ed)...who knows, maybe Mr Bell is guilty as sin, but the timing, etc, that reeks of opportunistic political manipulation...
Tomorrow: An Open Letter To Former MGCC Councillor Josh Lynagh
(Umm, why?-Ed)...because our mate Josh has allegedly gone to the trouble of reading great chunks of this 'ere blog and then chosen to leave a 'Comment' to that effect...(really?-Ed)...oh yeah, it's a fabulous piece of feigned ignorance and deleted realities where-in Josh, mate, claims he doesn't understand why he would feature here on TMGI...(you're shitting me, right?-Ed)...no no, supposedly Josh, mate, either doesn't understand or remember what it is he's done, and he'd like to get together and have a chat about it to sort things out...(you are kidding me?-Ed)...no...(mate, there's no way I'd be going anywhere near him, it sounds like an absolute set-up-Ed)...you ain't the first person to express that concern, and indeed, I have my own concerns about this hugely disingenuous attempt to redefine what he has said and/or done...and to that end, the safest way to respond, the best way to protect myself, is as always, via this 'ere blog...(and how do you know he'll see it?-Ed)...well according to Josh, people tell him when he's mentioned here-in...(well we are apparently the talk of the town, not least of all in Council-Ed)...well apparently...
And just to preempt one of my concerns, Dear Googles, I am immediately responding to my mate Josh...to put it simply, when he goes back into all the places, spaces, and/or websites where he has denigrated and defamed me and denigrated other St Martins Child Abuse Cover-up parents, and/or lied to Mt Gambier Ratepayers, etc, etc, all with a direct intent to deceive and manipulate them, often on behalf of MGCC, when he has gone into all of those forums and publicly apologised for all of the things he knows he has done, then I'll consider meeting with him to offer my forgiveness...("offer your forgiveness", you are a bloody gem mate-Ed)...for example, I refer The Googles to where Josh, mate, made a very specific statement about me on his Limestone Coast Community News website, where-in he promoted and encouraged a grossly misinformed and derogatory debate about me, and himself stated, "He defames people", which is in and of itself technically a Criminal Defamation of me because it's a knowingly untrue statement of fact about a specific criminal behaviour, and is/was made deliberately to denigrate and discredit me, not least of all politically...(and that right there is Criminal Defamation-Ed)...indeed it is...
So tomorrow we'll spell it out for you Josh, mate, and remind you of all of the things you've done that you seem to have conveniently forgotten, and sure, when you've publicly apologised for your very public actions, then I'll absolutely consider possibly meeting with you, mate...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog....(mate, I cannot wait 'til tomorrow, it's gunna' be a corker!-Ed)...indeed, so until then, cheers and laters..
Did you really just write a near-500 word essay about how you're going to write even more about me tomorrow?
ReplyDeleteI am a public person who is very easy to get in touch with. The opportunities for you to talk to me personally have always been there. You see me crossing the road at the Main Corner, and you write about it in your blog. You see me walking along Crouch Street - and you write about it in your blog. You see me outside the Library - and you write about it in your blog. Not once have you stopped and said "Hey, I've got a problem with you, and I'm going to be a man about it and address it with you personally instead of hiding behind my blog."
I'm sure you have my mobile number, it's always been public. Same with my email address and Facebook.
At least I have had the decency to talk to you directly here on your blog, the only way I know to contact you, and instead of responding,you do what you always do and write a lengthy public post about me.
Calling me a coward - through your blog - is hypocrisy at its finest.
Also thank you for proving to me that it doesn't take much at all to bait you into writing about me again.
I had hoped that you might have taken me up on my offer for a personal conversation, but you've shown again that you're scared to actually have a conversation with the people you DEFAME online. I know that word scares you - angers you even - but let's face it, the only purpose of this blog is for you to say negative things about people you don't like, many of which you have no factual proof of.
Tomorrow (which usually means 'in a few days') when you post yet another 3,000 word essay about me, I'm sure your three regular readers will jump with joy knowing they can read in detail the same things you've already said in your previous 28 posts about me.
Your next post will be the 30th post mentioning me. There better be a cake.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteoh my god the way you write about other people is really sad
ReplyDeleteI guess you don't have a job and the government is paying you to stay at home all day and write all this bullshit about people
I pray you deal with your issues, because this bitterness you have with the world is not healthy
Hypocrite: *Writes about Josh Lynagh being a coward by apparently avoiding him.
ReplyDeleteAlso refuses to meet with Josh Lynagh for his own "safety."*
(If Mr Lynagh ia such a coward, what could Mr Fletcher possibly be worried about? -ed) Beats me Eduardo my man, beats me.
Who'se the coward really, I wonder, the guy who went out of his way to run for council, knowing he would be at the mercy of public scrutiny, or the guy sitting on his ass behind his keyboard, refusing to meet up with the man he calls a coward for "safety." (Seems like a pretty clear cut case of projection to me.-Ed) Gee I think you might just be correct Eduardo.
Whomever this "Ed" is keeps interjecting way WAY too much and turns makes the writing look like the work of a madman.
ReplyDeleteFire him asap, he's a hack with no talent and should be treated as such.
Nick you piece of shit you touched my son! You won't get away with this pervert!
ReplyDeleteThis is the first post in more than 6 years that has received more than two comments....and the post with the most comments you've ever received
ReplyDeleteAnother fun fact.....it's been 1 year and 7 months since there's been a comment that isn't either criticising the blog, or a bot-generated comment.
My favourite comments were here, where YOU COMMENTED YOURSELF to make it seem like people actually cared about your blog....you didn't think people would notice??
https://themountgambierindependent.blogspot.com/2013/08/comment-on-comment_6.html?m=1#comment-form
https://themountgambierindependent.blogspot.com/2013/07/blog-down-post-as-soon-as-possible-sorry.html?m=1#comment-form
This is the most action your blog has had since the days of Dick Stretcher!
Also I see you're still saying hi to the countries where the bot accounts are from at the start of every post haha. Keep it up. Love it. Hilarious.
Nick, Mate.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is painful to read, it literally hurts my eyes because they roll so far back, I can see my own brain.
You copy and paste a heap of stuff, then have a conversation with yourself... and for some reason, you think you should be trashing Josh?
If you were a 12 year old, I would ask if you had a crush on josh... you are clearly obsessed with him. Get some help.
Nick, mate. Go to TAFE, learn some literacy skills, then maybe you can write a Haiku... I’m not holding my breath, but it is Christmas time and Miracles’s can happen.
Until then, please stop writing your rubbish... the rest of the world might stumble across it and think all Australians are as rude and disgusting as yourself.