CCC shows contempt for Parliament

CCC covertly attempts to interfere in Parliamentary Process

The Corrution and Crime Commission has demonstrated little understanding of the role of politicians and the interaction of MP’s with the public - both with interest groups and individuals, in its 5 year and $150 million dollar history.

It now appears they have little understanding of the concept of parliamentary privilege or the role of Officers of the Parliament.

In what is clearly contempt of the Western Australian Parliament, the CCC has tried to gag an Officer of the Parliament, the Parliamentary Inspector Malcolm McCusker QC.

Our doddering chief rooster Corruption Commiioner Major General Len Roberts Smith doesn't seem to realise that it is a contempt of parliament to assault, threaten, insult, interfere with, obstruct or resist any officer of Parliament while in the execution of his duty.

The clumsy attempt by the Corruption Commissioner Len Roberts Smith to covertly stop the presentation of a report to Parliament critical of the CCC, by its Parliamentary Inspector, is a clear breach of Parliamentary privilege.

The action was revealed by the insightful writer of CCC Exposed.

The CCC secretly sought a writ of prohibition from the Supreme Court to delay and hopefully suppress the report. That sneaky action deserves the most severe censure by Parliament. The CCC's unscrupulous operatives did this "in Chambers"; in a way that Malcolm McCusker QC could not be heard or could not respond to their grubby tactic!

The amateurish and foolish attempt to finesse Parliament was summarily thrown out by Chief Justice Wayne Martin QC in a scathing judgment which can be read here.

It is a pity the late Laurence Marquet was not Clerk of the Parliament, because the doddering CCC Commissioner Major General Len Roberts Smith would undoubtedly found himself before the Privilege Committee of the Parliament with a stern please explain.

As an Officer of the Parliament it would have been a breach of privilege by Mr McCusker to present any report containing information he knew to be false or fabricated – so if the CCC really believed that it had a case, it could have been addressed by requesting the privileges committee of the Parliament to investigate.

The real motive of the CCC was to hide their incompetence, which was again exposed by the Parliamentary Inspector.

The CCC has compounded one incompetent folly with another.