Transcript
FRANCIS NII: O'Neill had the absolute majority of 74-plus members in the last government, and he could have passed the bill, and by now it should have been in operation. But Peter O'Neill and his members in the last parliament stalled it and deliberately delayed it until the election. They're trying to introduce the ICAC bill again in this parliament. I don't think it will go through because of the corruption that is still being the major issue at the moment. With the prime minister alleged to have been involved in corruption himself, and the court battle that is going on, and other ministers also being implicated in other corrupt deals, I don't think the ICAC bill will get through in this parliament. The other factor is that the current government does not have the numerical strength. Their number is only about 64, and they need about 74 members to actually get a bill passed.
JOHNNY BLADES: MPs in the opposition, wouldn't they support an an Independent Commission Against Corruption?
FN: Yes there are some good MPs on the other side who can support, but given the prime minister has been using the court process to continuously delay the process of justice regarding the corruption allegations laid against him, that might be a hindrance for the opposition to join the government to get this bill passed through. If the prime minister is really serious about getting rid of corruption in this country, the most honourable thing for him to do is allow the police fraud squad to interview him and get his name cleared and the integrity of the office of the prime minister, there must be a restoration of confidence in the office of the prime minister. And that might open up doors for the opposition to join in and get the bill passed.
JB: Is there a lot of public interest in that particular case?
FN: The whole country is watching now with interest as to how this case is going to end.
JB: Is corruption rife in the public service as well?
FN: Corruption has become very systematic, and it's hard to get rid of it. So the best way is to come up with a very strong regulation body. The ICAC must come in to play so that corruption can be tackled, from the top down. At the moment corruption in the public service is very complicated. Corruption like bribery, nepotism in appointments, kickbacks, fixed contractual appointments or inflated projects. All this. Corruption is so rooted in this country.
