Crime and Corruption Commission chair Alan MacSporran.
PCCC chair Jon Krause said Queensland needed an effective,impartial and independent watchdog on public sector corruption and major crime.
TheFitzgerald report,which was implemented “lock,stock and barrel” by then-premier Mike Ahern,recommended the Criminal Justice Commission,a predecessor to the CCC,have four “community appointees”,three of whom should have ability in community affairs and one with senior managerial experience.
Mr Krause said this recommendation was removed from the legislation over time.
“[This] has given rise to a contention that the CCC is,or could become,too reliant on legal practitioners in its senior ranks - a situation that goes against the Fitzgerald report,” he said.
In June 2020,four of the five commissioners of the CCC were qualified lawyers with considerable reputation and experience,with only one commissioner not holding a legal qualification.
Parliament Clerk Neil Laurie submitted the CCC was “now dominated by lawyers,a situation that was not contemplated by the Fitzgerald vision”.
The first recommendation of the PCCC’s report seeks to address those concerns by recommending at least two of the three ordinary commissioners have an interest and ability in community affairs,public administration or organisational leadership.