South Australia's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is a notoriously secretive beast.
It was operating in stealth mode when it was set up by the Weatherill Labor Government and its powers were "decimated" when SA Best MP and former Today Tonight reporter Frank Pangallo won unanimous support for changes in 2021.
The ICAC has a mixed record on investigations leading to successful prosecutions, but two MPs and several public servants are currently before the courts on a range of charges including theft, deception, bribery and abuse of public office.
Commissioner Ann Vanstone vowed to press ahead at uncovering wrongdoing – one of her recent probes is examining government grant programs.
On Tuesday, she tabled a nine-page report dubbed 'Yes Minister' about the risks of corruption stemming from unsolicited proposals.
What sparked the probe?
The Commissioner investigated an allegation an unnamed senior government minister "used his position to arrange a government contract for a personal associate" worth $3 million a year.
Her report said a business owner went to the minister because he wanted South Australians who use a free government service to be forced to buy a membership at his company.
"In what would have resulted in an increase of more than 10,000 customers, this was plainly seen as an opportunity for the business to easily expand and significantly increase revenue," the report stated.
The proposal was scuttled by the relevant agency's chief executive, but the government later went into a deal with the business worth $50,000, despite questions over whether it was needed at all.
There was no finding of corruption, nor any evidence that the minister had promised the proposal would be accepted, but it raised the ICAC's ire.
"Aside from the inequity that favouritism of this kind fosters, the ultimate risk of inappropriately managed unsolicited proposals is that significant amounts of public funds could be misused," the report said.
Who is it?
We don't know. It is illegal to reveal a lot of information about ICAC matters without permission, thanks to the original act governing the anti-corruption body.
But Premier Peter Malinauskas told ABC Radio Adelaide's Stacey Lee, Nikolai Beilharz and David Bevan the person in question was not him and he did not believe it was any of his colleagues.
"I asked the ICAC directly if she could advise me whether it involves any of my government ministers – she declined to answer that question," he said.
Mr Malinauskas said he sought Crown law advice and asked all of his ministers, and they said "no".
Opposition leader David Speirs also told ABC Radio Adelaide it was not him, and he did not believe it was anyone on the shadow front bench who may have also served in the former Marshall Liberal government.
But he said he hadn't done a ring around.
"Given the advice the Premier has alluded to, it might be easier to do than I thought," Mr Speirs said.
"There are very strict, and some would say appropriate, rules around how ICAC investigations occur and as a consequence that does mean a lot of it happens behind closed doors to protect people's reputations."
Mr Speirs said he hadn't been privy to the Crown law advice and some of the ministers from the previous government had departed politics.
What should be done about it?
Premier Peter Malinauskas said in principle, ministers should be open to new ideas.
"I don't want my ministers sitting in ivory towers refusing to talk to people, and if they talk to someone they think has an idea worthy of consideration, then there needs to be a process for that to be examined," he said.
While he said he would sack a minister "if they had done something wrong", he went on to say "the ICAC does not find any specific wrongdoing here as best as I can read it".
Opposition leader David Speirs said although people "should be reasonably concerned" about the unsolicited proposal, the minister in question got the right advice.
"There might have been a feeling from the minister that I better elevate this to another place to have another set of eyes," he said.
He lamented the fact that the ICAC report did not make clear recommendations.
"It doesn't give us a lot to work with, and it does create a bit of a vacuum in which both politicians and journalists can speculate a lot, but not draw any clear conclusions," he said.
The ICAC did however make it abundantly clear that it expects ministers and public servants to follow processes properly.
"Ministers must be alive to the risk that those around them might attempt to influence them for personal or commercial gain," the report concludes.
