SES chief could be sacked after damning corruption inquiry report
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Version 0 of 1. NSW premier Mike Baird faces another casualty in the corruption scandal engulfing the state’s politics. Baird said on Wednesday that he was considering sacking state emergency service (SES) boss Murray Kear after a damning verdict on his conduct in office by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac). Icac said Kear acted corruptly by sacking a senior whistleblower and failing to investigate serious allegations raised about an SES deputy commissioner, and said Kear should be removed from office. Baird, who has staked his premiership on ridding the state of corruption, says he will consider the report. "It's clear in light of the report today, there needs to be cultural changes [within the SES]," he told reporters in Sydney. "There needs to be changes and we'll be responding shortly." Seven Liberal MPs have stood down in the course of two Icac inquiries, including premier Barry O'Farrell and police minister Mike Gallacher. The Icac report says Kear engaged in corrupt conduct by failing to properly investigate allegations against deputy commissioner Steven Pearce and by sacking deputy commissioner Tara McCarthy in 2013. McCarthy reportedly made allegations against Pearce regarding two SES contracts, the use of SES funds to purchase roof racks and electric brakes for Pearce's car, the obtaining of an SES vehicle for an SES manager and the potential falsification of diary entries The Icac report says McCarthy was sacked on May 14, 2013, without notice or explanation, and says she was escorted from her workplace after she had reported corruption to her superiors. Kear allegedly told her he had lost trust and confidence in her. The report notes that Kear and Pearce were both former SES officers and had known each other since at least 2006. Icac has recommended that Kear be investigated under the Public Interest Disclosures Act. The Public Service Association of NSW says it welcomes the Icac report. "If the Baird government wants to demonstrate its commitment to transparency, then deputy commissioner McCarthy should be immediately reinstated," the association’s general secretary, Anne Gardiner, said in a statement. "Misuse of these unfair contracts is clearly a recipe for corruption." |