Accountability Reform in Australia: The WA Inc Royal Commission in Context

Abstract

FOR much of the past decade, Western Australian politics has been dominated by a series of scandals, collectively known as WA Inc, over the conduct of government generally and the government's relations with business in particular (see O'Brien, 1991). Growing political pressure eventually resulted in the creation in January 1991 of the Royal Commission into Commercial Activities of Government and Other Matters, headed by three senior members of Western Australia's legal establishment. Commonly re ferred to as the WA Inc Royal Commission, this inquiry ran for some 20 months, took evidence from 541 witnesses, provided work for 130 legal representatives, and cost nearly $30.5 million. The Royal Commission's terms of reference fell into two parts. The first part required it to investigate whether there had been corruption, illegal conduct or improper conduct in a list of 15 matters spanning more than a decade and mainly involving decisions by ministers and state government instrumentalities affecting particular business inter ests. The most celebrated matter to be investigated was a sequence of increasingly desperate attempts to keep afloat Mr Laurie ConnelPs merchant bank Rothwells. The work on this part of the inquiry was completed with the presentation in October 1992 of a six volume re port, entitled Part I, plus a secret appendix containing the Commis sion's recommendations as to the legal proceedings which should follow from its findings. Few instances of illegal or corrupt conduct were discovered by the Royal Commission, but Part I of the Report detailed a number of findings of serious impropriety. The Commission ers concluded that ministers had often elevated personal or party ad vantage over their obligation to act in the public interest. The second part of the terms of refer ence encouraged the Royal Commission to reflect on the lessons of the first part of its inquiry and to report whether any 'changes in the law of the State, or in ad ministrative or decision making proce dures, are necessary or desirable in the