Premier Chris Minns under fire over conflict of interest and non-disclosure
Questions have arisen over the Premier's conduct and non-disclosure of his potential conflict of interest surrounding prison law changes and the influence of an immediate family member.
ICAC regulations require disclosure of conflicts of interest where immediate family members may influence and stand to benefit from the decision made by Cabinet members. The regulations also require self-recusal from cabinet deliberations where the conflict could influence the decision making process. Greens MP Sue Higginson has written to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) outlining concerns.
The cabinet deliberations in question concern the Minns Labor Government’s proposed laws in response to an investigation by the NSW Ombudsman that found Corrective Services had overseen years of maladministration and unlawful conduct of employees applying the incorrect burden of proof when applying disciplinary action against prisoners. The Premier’s new laws include provisions to make maladministrative and unlawful findings retrospectively lawful, meaning in certain circumstances Corrective Services staff will not have to resolve the unlawful findings identified by the Ombudsman.
Greens MP, Spokesperson for Justice and Solicitor Sue Higginson said:
“The Premier has a conflict of interest, which it appears he has not disclosed, constituting a breach of the Ministerial Code of Conduct and our integrity and corruption safeguards. We need to understand if his conflict has infected the Government’s significant change of direction on laws relating to Corrective Services NSW. The Premier is influencing laws that directly impact the work that his brother does, and whistleblowers within Corrective Services have signalled that the Premier’s brother is part of the drive to change the laws,”
“The disclosure requirements in the Independent Commission Against Corruption Regulations are critical to Cabinet deliberations to prevent decisions being infected with bias, and to ensure that significant changes to the law are not being influenced by close relationships. Disclosure is not a token gesture, it is a substantive aspect of accountability in decision making,”
“The change to prison laws would retrospectively absolve maladministration and unlawful behaviour in prisons that has been revealed in a damning Ombudsman investigation and are being driven by the Public Services Association (PSA) leadership. The Premier’s brother has been both an industrial officer and now lawyer for the PSA directly dealing with issues of prison misconduct,”
“The laws have been developed directly between the Premier’s Office and the PSA leadership, despite the Minister for Corrections having responsibility for these matters, the Premier has knowingly exercised his power despite or perhaps because of his conflict of interest,”
“Premier Chris Minns disclosed on 2GB radio his conflict of interest, he said “My brother is the union’s lawyer, so I know this issue back to front. He works on it every single day,” he told broadcaster Ben Fordham. “Around the Christmas table, and around the family table, he tells me … exactly what’s going on.”
“The Premier is pursuing outcomes that are contrary to the recommendations of the independent Ombudsman and inconsistent with human rights and the fair administration of justice. If these laws are passed they will increase the risk of Aboriginal deaths in custody,”
“The Premier must disclose and register his conflict of interest. The proposed laws and the significant changes they will make should now face objective scrutiny. They should be the subject of public inquiry so all relevant stakeholders and experts can be heard, not just the PSA leadership. These laws will impact significantly on people who are in prison and right now one third of the prison population are First Nations people,”
“I want to be clear, there are no aspersions being cast over the Premier’s brother, he’s doing his job. This is about the Premier of NSW and the integrity of our political system, we can’t have Premiers thinking and acting like they are above the law”.