A recent report released by The Australia Institute, an independent think tank, has labelled Tasmania’s Integrity Commission as ‘toothless’.
The report compared Tasmania’s anti-corruption body to that of New South Wales, and found that due to lack of funding and systematic issues, the Integrity Commission was close to powerless; in four years, New South Wales held 28 public hearings, whereas Tasmania held none.
Geoffrey Watson SC, the barrister who led the inquiry, says that public sector corruption is currently one of the ‘most serious’ crimes in Australia.