OPINION: The allegations of millions of dollars of money being stolen from the Housing Authority have exposed WA’s public sector.
OPINION: The allegations of millions of dollars of money being stolen from the Housing Authority have exposed WA’s public sector.
Premier Mark McGowan and Treasurer Ben Wyatt had no alternative but to move swiftly to plug the gaps in public sector accountability exposed by the alleged pilfering of more than $25 million from the Housing Authority by a senior public servant, who has subsequently been sacked.
To have hesitated on the issue would have sent all the wrong messages.
Public servants needed to know that lax handling of taxpayers’ money would not be tolerated if confidence in the public sector was to be rebuilt.
Otherwise, why pay taxes if they are only going to be siphoned off for personal gain?
The extraordinary allegation that senior public servant Paul Whyte, and his associate Jacob Anthonisz, stole millions of dollars from the authority raises the question: If it could happen in the Housing Authority, what’s to stop plundering the public purse elsewhere in government?
That’s why all public sector bodies, including some trading enterprises which consider themselves ‘independent’ of government direction, must now appoint independently chaired audit committees.
And the accounting firms which conduct internal departmental audits must now be ‘rotated’ – presumably to help ensure their integrity.
The case for strong action has been building for months.
There have been claims that the former commissioner in charge of the WA’s Tokyo trade office inappropriately spent more than $500,000.
And the Health Department has also been targeted with hundreds of thousands of dollars being misused, including $170,000 being splurged on home improvements for a senior official.
In addition, former Labor health minister Jim McGinty, who knows ‘where the bodies are buried’, has been engaged to forensically examine the operations of the North Metropolitan Health Service to ensure taxpayers are getting value for money.
Some public servants feel aggrieved they don’t have the same opportunity for perks as their private sector counterparts do. This makes them susceptible to temptation.
Former NSW Labor premier Neville Wran was well aware of this weakness. When opening a new helipad for Channel 10 in Sydney’s Darling Harbour, before it was refurbished, he was asked if his government might consider running a helicopter shuttle service to Sydney Airport to beat traffic congestion.
“You’ve got to be joking”, was his immediate response. Asked why, he added: “Well it would either run at a loss or some public servant would get his fingers caught in the till.”
The Corruption and Crime Commission was launched in 2004 with draconian powers to root out public sector corruption and questionable behaviour, especially linked with money.
It gained early prominence with highly publicised public hearings involving former premier Brian Burke as well as several ministers in Alan Carpenter’s Labor government (2006-08), who subsequently lost their jobs.
Some public servants have obviously become complacent as to what is acceptable practice.
The government’s clear message is that those days are over.
Veteran MPs must decide
The endorsement contests for two safe Liberal Party seats will begin in earnest following the final report of the commissioners who conducted a redistribution of boundaries for the 59 Legislative Assembly electorates.
They have made the opposition’s formidable task of regaining power even harder.
Veteran South Perth MP John McGrath will retire at the March 2021 state election, and there is widespread interest in his blue ribbon seat.
Likely Liberal contenders include Nathan Morton, who lost his Forrestfield seat in 2017, and barrister Glenn Cridland, who is also a senior officer in the defence reserve and a South Perth councillor.
Mr McGrath ruffled feathers by stating it was about time the Liberals produced a premier from “south of the river”. That’s code for saying his successor must have leadership credentials.
Should former party leader Mike Nahan also quit, a strong field will seek endorsement for Riverton when nominations for 14 Liberal seats close on December 6.
Labor has yet to open nominations but most interest will centre on former minister Margaret Quirk’s intentions, now her seat of Girrawheen has been abolished.
And the party would face an uphill battle to retain two regional seats should veteran MPs, Speaker Peter Watson (Albany) and Sport and Recreation Minister Mick Murray (Collie-Preston), call time.
However, another Labor veteran, Attorney General John Quigley (Butler), will seek a further term.