CCC chair resigns
Queensland's Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) head has resigned.
CCC chair Alan MacSporran has advised the state’s Attorney-General that he will resign from the position effective this Friday.
The resignation comes after a parliamentary committee last year called for a commission of inquiry into the CCC’s structure, saying it breached its duty to remain independent and impartial.
“Many people have urged me to continue in this important role, despite the recent finding contained in the report of the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee (PCCC),” he said in a statement.
“However, I find myself in a position where, despite a career spanning in excess of 40 years, where my honesty and integrity have never been questioned, it is clear to me that the relationship between myself and the PCCC has broken down irretrievably.
“This saddens me deeply.”
The PCCC recommendation came after a review of the CCC's decision to charge eight Logan City councillors with fraud in 2019.
The fraud charges prompted the dismissal of the entire council, but were discontinued in a Brisbane court almost two years later.
The PCCC also found that the CCC’s discretion to charge the councillors was not carried out correctly, “because all material considerations and evidence were not taken into account and weighed”.
The report found that Mr MacSporran failed to ensure the watchdog acted at all times independently and impartially.
This week, Mr MacSporran said he came to the decision to resign following decades of experience in the criminal justice system.
“In my long career, I have never, ever, let extraneous irrelevant considerations enter my thinking about a decision relating to the proper exercising of powers in proceedings as a Queen's Counsel criminal barrister or as CCC Chairperson,” he said.
“Investigating corruption and major crime is inherently complex.
“Those who are the subject of allegations and subsequent investigations can be persons with a high public profile. They frequently hold positions of power and the consequences of charges, let alone conviction, can be particularly grave.
“I understand this, as do all CCC officers. However, the Queensland community rightly expects the CCC to do its statutory job, and that ultimately involves making very complex, tough and independent decisions as an investigative agency.
“As Chairperson, I was willing to make, and support my staff making, those independent decisions.”
Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) president and Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson welcomed the resignation.
“This is the appropriate – albeit overdue – course of action for Mr McSporran to take and is an important first step on the road to rebuilding public confidence in the CCC,” Mr Jamieson said.
“We look forward to the state government's response to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Commission's report, tabled in December, which we hope will be supported and implemented in full.”
Former councillors who claim to be “victims” of the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) say the resignation does not go far enough.
Sacked Logan City councillor Russell Lutton said: “What they have done to us, and others, is bordering on corruption … we are victims”.
“You need a commission that is corruption-free itself, not a commission that acts on whims or lack of evidence,” he said.
Former Logan City councillor Trevina Schwarz said: “The damage and torture that has been done to innocent people should never ever happen in this day and age, ever.”
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has been keen to note that she did not ask Mr MacSporran to step aside, despite the pressure for her to do so.
She also said the state should have “absolute confidence” in the CCC.