November 1 will mark one year since former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian last took the stand during the NSW corruption watchdog’s inquiry into her actions as state leader.
With two weeks to go until that anniversary, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has neither delivered a report into the matter nor given any clear indication of when the investigation, known as Operation Keppel, will wrap up.
But there are possible signs the commission could report its findings soon.
Assistant commissioner Ruth McColl, who is overseeing ICAC’s probe, is approaching the end of a six-month extension of her tenure. A spokesperson for the notoriously secretive anti-corruption body revealed in July it would keep McColl on until the end of October 2022.
Berejiklian was appointed in February to a plum executive role at Optus, where she has the title of managing director, enterprise, business and institutional.
On Monday, the ICAC confirmed to Crikey that McColl was busy preparing the report and that there were no plans to extend her term.
“The Operation Keppel report is under preparation by assistant commissioner McColl,” a spokesperson said.
“The commission is conscious of its obligations under section 74(7) of the ICAC Act to furnish investigation reports as soon as possible after it has concluded its involvement in a matter.
“The Hon Ruth McColl AO SC has been appointed as an assistant commissioner on a part-time basis until October 31 2022.
“There are no plans at this stage to seek an extension to the term of her appointment.”
McColl is not known to be involved in any other matters before ICAC, meaning the length of her tenure is a possible indicator of how long Operation Keppel will stretch.
If the Operation Keppel report really is imminent, it will drop right in the middle of a lively debate in Canberra over how long corruption investigations should take. Proponents of imposing time limits on federal anti-corruption investigations include Ian Temby KC, the first ICAC commissioner.
He recently argued in The Sydney Morning Herald that investigations by the proposed federal ICAC counterpart, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), should be required to report within a year after public hearings in order to limit reputational harm to witnesses.
Others have argued corruption investigations should be allowed to take as much time as needed.
The people of that view include the Law Society of NSW, which said in a recent submission to a state inquiry into anti-corruption legislation that ICAC needs to be allowed to pursue any leads uncovered during the course of its work, even if it adds “further complexity and … delay”.
Operation Keppel, which was originally established to examine the conduct of NSW’s former member for Wagga Wagga Daryl Maguire, held its first public hearings in September 2020. Evidence in subsequent hearings revealed ICAC investigators had been monitoring Maguire’s activities since at least 2018.
The first time Berejiklian took the stand at ICAC, in October 2020, it was as a witness, but her bombshell testimony that she had been in a secret relationship with Maguire for several years eventually led investigators to train their eyes on her conduct as well.
When ICAC announced on October 1 2021 it would expand its investigation to look into allegations that Berejiklian breached the public’s trust in the course of her relationship with Maguire, it prompted her to resign as premier.
In her second round of public testimony, Berejiklian denied allegations she failed to report (or actively encouraged) allegedly corrupt behaviour by Maguire.
She also denied she had a conflict of interest when she advanced funding requests from Maguire while she was treasurer and premier.
