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Brereton denies ‘widespread’ disquiet about Nacc
Sarah Basford Canales
The Nacc commissioner, Paul Brereton, does not accept there is “widespread” disquiet about the federal integrity body after the fallout of its decision not to investigate robodebt referrals.
Under questioning by Greens senator David Shoebridge, and Liberal MP Keith Wolahan, Brereton accepted there was some public distrust but it was not widespread. The Nacc commissioner said:
I’m, frankly, not as pessimistic about the current position of public trust as some are. I agree that there are some sectors and segments which do not have trust in the commission … I think they are probably segments that may never have really been inclined to trust the commission but there are certainly some that do not have trust in the commission.
Brereton said public support from the Nacc parliamentary committee and federal politicians “would go a long way to reinforcing public trust, I think”.
Shoebridge asked whether Brereton accepted there was “widespread disquiet about how the Nacc has handled the robodebt referral”. Brereton said:
I accept that there is disquiet in some areas. I’m not prepared to accept that it’s widespread.
Key events
Man dies in helicopter crash
A man has died after a helicopter crash in the south of NSW.
NSW police said in a statement that just before 12pm emergency services were called to One Tree, about 40km west of Hay, following reports of a helicopter crash.
A man believed to be aged in his 40s who was a passenger in the helicopter was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics but died at the scene.
He is yet to be formally identified.
The pilot – a 39-year-old man – was treated for minor injuries before being taken to a Melbourne hospital in a stable condition.
Police said:
A crime scene has been established by officers attached to Murrumbidgee Police District and an investigation into the cause of the crash will be undertaken by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).
A report will be prepared for the information of the coroner.
Sarah Basford Canales
Inspector received unprecedented number of complaints about Nacc’s robodebt decision
The Nacc inspector, Gail Furness SC, says it was “not a difficult decision” to investigate the Nacc’s decision not to dismiss robodebt referrals.
At a parliamentary inquiry on Friday afternoon, the watchdog’s watchdog says she never received, or heard of others receiving, so many complaints about the same matter in her time.
Furness says:
My jurisdiction as set out in the act was the conflict of interest, which was raised by a number of people, and the terms of the media release, they particularly generated my concern, given the nature of my jurisdiction. In my experience of complaints, which goes back some time, I don’t think I’ve ever received, or heard of that number of complaints being received, about the same matter in a way that they were not automatically generated, so it was not a difficult decision.
Sarah Basford Canales
Some current Nacc investigations could cross ‘exceptional circumstances’ bar, Brereton says
The Nacc’s appearance has now wrapped up and the inspector, Gail Furness, is now fronting politicians at its inquiry.
But before we bring you that, let’s revisit a notable non-robodebt-related detail revealed.
The Nacc has held a number of private hearings since it opened its doors in July 2023. The hearings have been as a result of seven investigations featuring 26 people.
The Nacc can hold public hearings if there are “exceptional circumstances” – a bar criticised for being too high by transparency advocates and many crossbenchers.
The commissioner, Paul Brereton, says “none of them have crossed the exceptional circumstances line” but there were “a couple of investigations on foot at the moment that could potentially get there”.
Brereton says public hearings can occur if there is a “high level of confidence” that corrupt conduct can be found.
I think the prominence of the person of interest and their position will be a relevant consideration, because if the investigation involves someone in a high public office, that might make the circumstances exceptional.
Circling back to our earlier post, Nationals senator Matt Canavan has said he is “uncomfortable” with the responsibility being given to the eSafety Commissioner through the social media age limit bill.
In a post to X, he wrote:
I am also uncomfortable with the eSafety Commissioner having this responsibility. Whatever you think of [Julie Inman Grant] the fact is she has not established widespread trust and support for her role.
She has too often veered into opining about what she thinks the world should look like. Such discretionary, political rhetoric reduces trust in public officials who should simply and dispassionately apply the law.
The eSafety Commissioner was contacted for a response. Her team pointed to a statement she issued yesterday on the legislation, which welcomed its introduction:
While the final contents and passage of the legislation remains a matter for Parliament, should it become law, eSafety looks forward to working closely with government, industry and the Australian community to ensure its effective implementation.
Emily Wind
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today – and throughout the week! Nino Bucci will be here to take you through the rest of our rolling coverage. Take care, and enjoy your weekend.
Brereton apologises for misleading public in media statement
Sarah Basford Canales
The Nacc commissioner, Paul Brereton, has apologised for misleading the public in a media statement suggesting the public service commission could sanction five of the six robodebt referrals it declined to investigate.
To recap, the Nacc’s watchdog, the inspector of the Nacc, found its media statement was “misleading” because it claimed the Australian Public Service Commission “had remedial powers and could impose a sanction in relation to the persons referred”. The inspectors report said:
In fact, it could not because five of the referred persons were no longer public servants and the sixth never was a public servant and the APSC could only impose a sanction on current public servants.
At his appearance at a parliamentary inquiry this afternoon, Brereton said the Nacc didn’t have the “disciplinary powers” the APSC had but conceded he hadn’t considered they could not be used against the referrals.
Unfortunately, in stating that in the context of this case, that gave the impression that it could imply sanctions in the present case when it couldn’t, because by then, all the public servants had left the APS. It was not our intention, it was not my intention, to convey that impression, but I accept that that was the effect, as we said in our submissions to the inspector. That was unintentional, and we are sorry for it.
The Greens senator, David Shoebridge, said Brereton must have already known the public servants had left their jobs and could therefore not be sanctioned when the statement was released.
Brereton rejected the assertion, calling it “offensive” and “false”. He said:
I do not believe that I knew that all of them had left, although I certainly knew that most of them had. I did not, at the time of approving that release, turn my mind to that factor.
Cait Kelly
Australians with low vision, blindness face poor product descriptions online, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT says
More than 500,000 Australians who live with low vision or blindness have to deal with poor product descriptions when they shop online, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT says.
Ahead of Black Friday and the Christmas season, the organisation is calling for online brands to offer more inclusive product descriptions.
It is launching a free pop-up shop in Sydney on 28 November where people can take home a vintage pre-loved item – but each item will be hidden in packaging, and come with only a brief product description.
The organisation’s assistive technology specialist, Abby Jayasuriya, says:
So many e-commerce brands aren’t even aware of the small changes they could make to product descriptions that would have a significant difference to the community. A description might say ‘red jumper’, but that could be any material or style – the details get missed and that’s what creates a difficult shopping experience for those who only have the descriptions to go by.
We’re raising awareness so e-commerce brands can start to make progress towards improving their online accessibility, because every person has the right to access the products they need and want online.
The Bureau of Meteorology has shared a severe weather update about the heatwave blanketing the south-east:
Henry Belot
Gambling harm expert says major reforms to pokies cannot wait until 2028
Associate professor Charles Livingstone, an expert in poker machines and gambling harm at Monash University, has criticised the draft recommendations of an independent panel into NSW gaming reform.
As mentioned earlier, a leaked copy of recommendations by the panel’s executive committee calls for a “centralised account-based gaming system” to be launched in 2027, before becoming mandatory for all venues in 2028.
This new system would be linked to a statewide self-exclusion register and facial recognition technology. It should also collect data “to enable automated risk monitoring” of transactions.
Livingstone says reforms to pokies cannot wait until 2028:
They’re kicking the can down the road. Why 2028? That’s after the next New South Wales election. So a new government may well decide to start again, or do something different.
While the report says the new system should “not permit anonymous play”, the committee recommended the government “consider reduced identity verification processes for casual players and players from outside NSW”. Livingstone says this would provide people “with a licence to get around the system”.
It’s hard to see how this is anything other than another big win for clubs and the gambling lobby, to be honest.
Sarah Basford Canales
Corrupt conduct ‘stamp’ on robodebt referrals would not advance public interest, says Nacc
The National Anti-Corruption Commissioner, Paul Brereton, is still fronting parliamentarians on the issue of the anti-corruption body’s decision not to investigate robodebt referrals.
The committee’s deputy chair, Helen Haines, has asked why the Nacc said it could not provide compensation to victims or make a criminal finding as part of its decision-making.
Brereton says he didn’t see “anything particularly unusual” about considering the body’s lack of remedies in its decision not to investigate the referrals of potential corrupt conduct.
Haines asked if there was public interest in making corrupt conduct findings, even when there may not be a remedy. Brereton says:
The public interest lies in exposing corrupt conduct. But if you’re exposing conduct that has already been exposed, that’s where I don’t think you’re adding much value.
And we’ve never said that there is no value in it, but when you look at … balancing all the considerations, the value in simply adding a stamp of corrupt conduct to the conduct that had been found by the robodebt royal commission did not advance a public interest, or would not advance a public interest. That was our thinking, or my thinking, anyway.
Catie McLeod
More from the ACCC inquiry into the supermarket sector
The counsel assisting the ACCC inquiry, Naomi Sharp SC, appeared to grow frustrated with Coles senior executives at one point during this morning’s hearing.
Sharp pressed the executives to confirm that even though Coles makes a “commitment” to take a certain volume of produce from a grower, there is nothing legally binding the supermarket to do so and it doesn’t always happen.
The ACCC’s inquiry previously heard from fruit and vegetable suppliers who said they would prefer to have firmer commitments from Coles on how much produce it would actually purchase, to avoid losing money and wasting stock.
As she questioned the supermarket giant’s chief commercial officer, Anna Croft, on the topic this morning, Sharp said:
Can I just be very clear on this point – when you say commitment, what you really need is [a] non-binding forecast?
Croft replied:
We endeavor to deliver our forecast with all of our suppliers, and where we would not deliver that, we would seek to understand [why] that is.
Mick Keogh, who is one of the ACCC’s deputy chairs and is leading its supermarkets inquiry, then said:
I don’t think you’ve answered the question. The question was quite specific about the nature of the contractual obligation.
Catie McLeod
Coles owns 17 sites it has not launched development applications for
Circling back to the ACCC supermarkets inquiry, during this session, Coles executives have also revealed the company owns more than a dozen sites it has not launched development applications for.
As part of its inquiry, the competition watchdog is examining allegations that Coles and Woolworths engage in “land-banking” by buying sites to block competitors from moving into the same location.
Earlier this morning at the hearing, the Coles property manager Fiona Mackenzie, said the company was yet to submit development applications to build on 17 of 42 of the company’s freehold sites across the country.
Greens say leaked classified document on pokies reform ‘a huge concern’
Henry Belot
The NSW Greens party says a leaked classified document recommending anonymous gambling on poker machines continue until 2028 is “a huge concern”.
A draft report by the independent panel for gaming reform’s executive committee has recommended a “centralised account-based gaming system” be launched in 2027, before becoming mandatory for all venues in 2028.
This new system would be linked to a statewide self-exclusion register and facial recognition technology. It should also collect data “to enable automated risk monitoring” of transactions.
Cate Faehrmann, who leads the NSW Greens’ gambling portfolio, says the government cannot afford to wait until 2028 for a mandatory system.
At this rate, it doesn’t seem as though there is going to be anything resembling cashless gambling in NSW in this term of government.
Given NSW has more than 87,000 poker machines, it will be incredibly disappointing if the report doesn’t offer recommendations as to how to reduce this number.
If an account-based system means that people are identified and need a card or digital wallet to play, which isn’t linked to their bank accounts and sets play and daily limits, then that sounds promising.
The executive committee’s recommendations have been shared with a broader panel of stakeholders and are now being debated.
The NSW government has notreceived a final copy of the report and says it won’t speculate on what it will recommend.
Coles chief says supermarket sells shoppers ‘de-identified’ data to suppliers
Catie McLeod
The Coles chief customer officer, Amanda Mcvay, has said the supermarket giant sells shoppers’ “de-identified” data to the suppliers of the products it stocks on its shelves.
Mcvay and other senior Coles executives are giving evidence for the second day in a row to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s inquiry into the supermarket sector.
Under questioning by the counsel assisting the inquiry, Naomi Sharp SC, Mcvay said Coles shared customers’ email addresses with its marketing platform Coles 360.
Mcvay said Coles also shared “purchase behaviour” data that had been “aggregated and anonymized” with its internal “customer research and insight” platform Synergy, which it then sold to suppliers. She said:
Those suppliers I spoke of … [there is an] opportunity for them to purchase the access to the customer behaviour data within their categories, so that they can continue to learn and improve and to understand how their items are performing.
Brereton ‘accepts’ but doesn’t agree with watchdog’s ‘apprehended bias’ finding
Sarah Basford Canales
The Nacc commissioner, Paul Brereton, says he accepts the inspector’s finding of “apprehended bias” against him in the robodebt referral decision but does not agree with it.
The anti-corruption body’s top investigator is being quizzed by parliamentarians in an inquiry into its inaugural annual report but the focus has centred on the controversial decision.
The Greens senator David Shoebridge asked whether he agreed with the conclusion by retired judge Alan Robertson SC that Brereton’s involvement meant the Nacc’s decision was “affected by apprehended bias”. Brereton said:
I have said repeatedly that I accept it, though I do not agree with it.
Shoebridge pressed him to explain why. Brereton responded:
First of all, because minds differ … as to whether circumstances give rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias. I don’t think these circumstances did so, but others have a different view. And I accept that that different view is open, and I therefore accept the commission has accepted the decision.
NSW parliament passes reforms to state’s biodiversity offsets scheme
Lisa Cox
The New South Wales parliament has passed the “biggest reforms to the biodiversity offsets scheme since its inception” after inquiries triggered by a 2021 Guardian Australia investigation.
The legislation, promised by the Minns government before the 2023 election, introduces changes aimed at reversing the decline of the state’s biodiversity and improving the integrity of the offsets scheme.
The Blue Mountains MP, Trish Doyle, introducing the bill to the lower house, said:
This bill represents the biggest reform to the biodiversity offset scheme since its inception. It is a significant first step in implementing our commitments to fix the biodiversity offset scheme and set nature in NSW on a path to recovery.
Biodiversity offsets are used by developers to compensate for clearing of endangered habitat by protecting and restoring equivalent ecosystems elsewhere. A series of reports by Guardian Australia in 2021 revealed major problems with the NSW scheme.
The legislation introduces several new requirements including that the scheme transition from one that had required no net loss of biodiversity to one that delivers a net positive for nature. The bill passed with support from the Coalition but was opposed by the Greens who said it would not be sufficient to change the “business as usual” scenario of offsets facilitating further environmental decline.
MPs who spoke in favour of the bill, including several independents, said it was just a step in what needed to be a longer reform process to address the state’s biodiversity crisis.
The bill passed the upper house yesterday evening.