NSW: RailCorp rotten to the core: corruption watchdog

AAP General News (Australia)
12-15-2008
NSW: RailCorp rotten to the core: corruption watchdog

By Belinda Cranston

SYDNEY, Dec 15 AAP - The NSW government will request criminal charges be laid against
former RailCorp employees following a damning report by the state's corruption watchdog.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found "an extraordinary extent
of public-sector corruption" within RailCorp.

"Corrupt employees appeared to be confident that they would not be caught or if they
were that not much would happen to them," ICAC Commissioner Jerrold Cripps QC said.

The report, Mr Cripps' eighth and final one on bribery and fraud at RailCorp, makes
40 recommendations to address widespread corruption and calls for major reforms.

The investigation found contracts worth almost $19 million were improperly awarded
to companies owned by RailCorp employees, their families and/or friends in return for
more than $2.5 million in corrupt payments.

NSW Transport Minister David Campbell said he would work with RailCorp chief executive
Rob Mason to implement all the recommendations.

"This is an opportunity for the government to say that corruption in the public sector,
whether in RailCorp or anywhere else, is unacceptable and will not be tolerated," he said.

The ICAC investigation made a total of 96 corrupt conduct findings against 31 people,
and Mr Cripps believes a further 33 people should be prosecuted for 663 offences.

Mr Campbell said he would write to the NSW Director of Public Prosecution to request
criminal charges be laid against those people ICAC had identified as corrupt.

He said RailCorp had already acted on about 120 of 130 recommendations made in previous
reports and would call on NSW's auditor general to help implement some reforms.

"RailCorp has commenced some changes to its purchasing and procurement processes," he said.

"I'll be asking the auditor general to give further advice on that."

He said improved training, new procedures and continous auditing would ensure RailCorp
would not "go back to what is being uncovered by ICAC".

A shake-up of RailCorp was underway "as a consequence of the government's decision
to reduce senior executive service by 20 per cent," Mr Campbell said.

He said the ICAC report would be used as part of that process.

Premier Nathan Rees said he expected all the recommendations would be followed.

"I think Commissioner Cripps is on to something that a lot of people already suspected,"

Mr Rees told reporters.

"If Mr Cripps has recommendations, then I'm all ears. The rot has to stop."

Opposition transport spokeswoman Gladys Berejiklian said the Labor government had failed
to act on previous recommendations handed down by ICAC.

"Clearly they have the stomach for this type of activity because they've swept it under
the carpet and they have failed to act and the taxpayers and commuters of NSW are the
ones paying for it," she said.

In October, Mr Rees announced RailCorp would be abolished and rail services would be
brought back under direct government control.

The RailCorp name would be retained, he said, and the RailCorp board would have an advisory role.

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