It certainly looks like Scotty has reneged on setting up a federal ICAC, despite promising he would.
budget cuts to the Australian National Audit Office suggest he is going in the other direction.
this would seem to be confirmed by the number of govt contracts awarded without contest. The $444 million awarded to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation was a strong sign, as was paying Jobseeker to companies that did nothing more than boost executive level bonuses, without any call for repayment.
on a more minor note Scotty’s personal disbursement last year of $4 million in taxpayer funds to someone he was too scared to identify shows the sort of character he really is. And most recently Scotty’s refusal for more than 3 months to identify the recipient or use of a mere $200k confirms that he regards taxpayer funds as being for his personal use.
the hitherto unforeseen hundreds and hundreds of redacted entries in this year’s federal budget papers are a telling sign the govt has plenty to hide.
A federal ICAC will come, hopefully after Labor wins the next general election. It will sure have its work cut out given the retrospectivity of its operations. Bring it on.
