Editorial: Independent corruption watchdog is as important as ever

West Australian

a day ago

The role of corruption fighter is not for the faint hearted.
By its very nature, the job of being an anti-corruption warrior means being prepared to take on powerful characters.
Of course that means the holder of the office may also encounter push back.
And it may also mean the office is caught up in political cross-fire.
WA's soon to depart Corruption and Crime Commissioner John McKechnie has been no stranger to controversy.
WA's first director of public prosecutions, Mr McKechnie went on to spend more than 15 years on the bench of the State's Supreme Court before his appointment as the corruption watchdog chief.
He has served as the State's Corruption and Crime Commissioner since 2015 and will retire at the end of this month.
Mr McKechnie has seen more cases, tried more cases, heard more cases and written up more cases that possibly any other jurist in the State.
Having been the State's DPP for seven years up until 1999, he had overseen prosecutions of the most sensitive kind. Two premiers — Brian Burke and Ray O'Connor — and a deputy premier, David Parker, came under his prosecutorial gaze.
As did the Rothwells and horse-race fixing charges laid against Laurie Connell.
In his time as a judge of the Supreme Court, then Justice McKechnie sentenced some of the worst offenders, including child killer Dante Arthurs.
Under Mr McKechnie's leadership, the CCC uncovered several high-profile public servants accused of corruption, including former Housing Authority boss Paul Whyte, who pleaded guilty to stealing more than $27 million from the Department of Communities.
He also led investigations into MPs misusing electoral allowances, five contractors given deals with the North Metropolitan Health Service in exchange for kickbacks for public servants and, more recently, the overseas travel of former ombudsman Chris Field.
However, under his leadership the commission also drew criticism from the parliamentary inspector Matthew Zilko, who found it had falsely implied former Japanese trade commissioner Craig Peacock had committed tax evasion.
Mr McKechnie was also at the centre of a political storm and came under fierce attack from the Liberal Opposition in the lead up to his 2021 reappointment under the McGowan Labor government.
Now the spotlight turns onto who will replace Mr McKechnie.
It is said that there can be a tendency for the wheels to fall off when governments are in office for a long time.
The State Labor Government is now entering its third term, again with a huge majority.
Power and hubris can be a powerful combination if left unchecked.
In The West Australian today Mr McKechnie warns that the WA public service was losing its independence.
His message is clear.
The need for a strong and independent corruption watchdog is as important as ever.