ICAC Commissioner John Hatzistergos has renewed his push for permanent powers to investigate illegally recorded private conversations, raising the issue in a meeting last week with NSW Liberal Leader Kellie Sloane.
ICAC was granted temporary powers in 2023 during “Operation Rosny” into fugitive developer Jean Nassif, but those powers expire on June 30.
The Minns government has since introduced fresh legislation to make them permanent, including provisions allowing police and ICAC to use hidden body-worn camera footage and to protect individuals who hand over illegal recordings, provided they were not involved in making them.
The Coalition and Greens previously voted down similar legislation, with Liberal Susan Carter stating: “In a free society, surely we should be able to assert limits on surveillance and protect our privacy.”
While Sloane would not comment on her meeting with Hatzistergos, her spokeswoman said the bill remains “too wide” but the Coalition is open to negotiating reforms that give ICAC “appropriate powers to tackle and eliminate corruption in NSW.”
Source: The Daily Telegraph.
