Investigation into dealings involving Awabakal Local Aboriginal Land Council Land (Operation Skyline)
- Findings
- 4
- Recommendations
- 15
- Published responses
- 7
- Report length
- 184 pages
Findings 4
Allegations are not findings. A commission's finding or opinion of corrupt conduct or misconduct is not a finding that a person is guilty of a criminal offence, and the commissions say so in their reports.
corrupt conduct
FindingThe Commission found that Mr Green engaged in corrupt conduct by knowingly participating in a dishonest scheme with Mr Petroulias, Ms Dates and Ms Bakis that involved him acting contrary to his public official duties as an ALALC board member and deputy chairperson in relation to the purported sale and/or development of properties owned by the ALALC as a means to wrongfully confer a benefit on himself and others.
corrupt conduct
FindingThe Commission found that Ms Dates engaged in corrupt conduct by knowingly exercising her public official functions as an ALALC board member and chairperson of the ALALC board partially in connection with the Sunshine and Advantage transactions to favour the interests of Mr Petroulias, Mr Green and Ms Bakis and to the detriment of the ALALC.
corrupt conduct
FindingThe Commission found that Mr Petroulias engaged in corrupt conduct by knowingly instigating and participating in a dishonest scheme with Mr Green, Ms Dates and Ms Bakis that involved Mr Green and Ms Dates acting contrary to their public official duties and involving the purported sale and/or development of properties owned by the ALALC as a means to wrongfully confer a benefit on himself, Mr Green and Ms Bakis.
corrupt conduct
FindingThe Commission found that Ms Bakis engaged in corrupt conduct by knowingly participating in a dishonest scheme with Mr Petroulias, Mr Green and Ms Dates that involved Mr Green and Ms Dates acting contrary to their public official duties and involved the purported sale and/ or development of properties owned by the ALALC as a means to wrongfully confer a benefit on herself, Mr Petroulias and Mr Green.
Recommendations 15
Recommendation 1
That the Awabakal Local Aboriginal Land Council (ALALC) includes the following provisions about board meetings in its Model Rules: The ALALC provides reasonable notice for all board meetings. This requires at least seven (7) days clear notice to all board members in the method approved by the board. If the board wishes to call an extraordinary meeting at shorter notice, a two thirds majority of board members must agree to the proposed date and time for the meeting, and the ALALC must maintain a record of how and when it contacted, or attempted to contact, board members.
Recommendation 2
That the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs reviews the funding of the Office of the Registrar of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (“the ALR Act) to ensure: that the registrar has the capacity to undertake the full range of investigative and enforcement options available in relation to misconduct by board members and LALC staff that the registrar has sufficient resources to fulfil its role in building capacity in LALCs.
Recommendation 3
That the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, the NSW Aboriginal Land Council (“the NSWALC”) and the registrar of the ALR Act discuss and implement legislative or policy measures that protect chief executive officers (CEOs) from arbitrary dismissal or without due process. Among other things, this discussion should consider requiring councils to provide reasons for dismissing a CEO and creating powers for the registrar or other entity to, in certain circumstances, approve or otherwise intervene in the proposed dismissal of a CEO.
Recommendation 4
That the ALALC devises an outline of the skill mix required of board members, including an ability to understand financial reports and contracts.
Recommendation 5
That persons interested in standing, or intending to stand, for a position on the board of the ALALC be required to attend an information meeting prior to board elections where: roles, legal duties and responsibilities of a board member are explained at the information meeting examples of matters that can arise, and the legislation, policies and procedures board members must follow when determining a course of action, are discussed.
Recommendation 6
That the ALALC prepares a checklist of legal duties and responsibilities which can guide board members during meetings. The checklist can be sourced from the ALR Act, the Regulation, the Mandatory Governance Training manuals, and ALALC internal policies and procedures.
Recommendation 7
That the ALALC implements an electronic document and records management system with version and permission controls, allowing it to manage and monitor the creation, alteration and deletion of records.
Recommendation 8
That the typed minutes of ALALC meetings: accurately reflect the discussions held, including board members’ views for or against proposals and motions
Recommendation 9
That the ALALC audio-records all board meetings and saves the recordings into its electronic document and records management system.
Recommendation 10
That the ALALC keeps a register of contracts for all transactions, including commercial, rental and employment contracts, and the engagement of consultants. This register should: be saved into the ALALC’s electronic records management system have version and permission controls to enable the ALALC to determine who has accessed or made changes to it be updated as new contracts are executed be maintained at the ALALC, and made available to the ALALC’s legal advisor be viewed and verified by the Eastern Zone office periodically during the Risk Assessment System process archive contracts that are no longer operational.
Recommendation 11
That the ALALC, in conjunction with the NSWALC, develops a due diligence checklist and procedure that is followed when developers and other interested parties propose a land dealing. Among other things, the checklist may require parties with an interest in ALALC land to: put a brief outline of their proposal in writing identify all relevant personnel a company name an Australian Business Number or Australian Company Number licences and qualifications held by the proponents relevant industry experience acquaint themselves with the land dealing provisions in the ALR Act.
Recommendation 12
That the ALALC considers conducting open-source checks on websites including the Australian Business Register, Australian Securities and Investments Commission and NSW Office of Fair Trading to verify information provided by parties involved in land dealings.
Recommendation 13
That the NSWALC and the registrar consider whether the corruption prevention recommendations made in this report should be applied to other LALCs and whether the NSWALC and the registrar should collaborate to develop an education program that addresses the findings and recommendations in this report.
Recommendation 14
That the NSWALC extends the questions concerning “Property” in the Risk Assessment System to include “Is the LALC in discussion(s) with any third parties about potential land dealings in which any agreement(s) would be conditional on the LALC obtaining necessary approval under the ALR Act?”
Recommendation 15
That the ALR Act be amended to require LALCs to notify the NSWALC, in writing, when specific proposals of land dealings, that would require approvals under section 42G of the ALR Act, come before the board of the LALC for its consideration. The minutes of the meetings at which the land dealing proposal is discussed will record who is responsible for notifying the NSWALC of the proposal.
Published responses 7
12 month report - Awabakal Local Aboriginal Land Council (ALALC)
12 month report - Registrar of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act
12 month report - NSW Aboriginal Land Council
Action plan - Awabakal Local Aboriginal Land Council (ALALC)
Action plan - Registrar of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act
Action plan - NSW Aboriginal Land Council
Action plan - The Hon. Ben Franklin MLC
Coverage
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