
Whenever there is systemic injustice there are calls to create another independent regulatory body to control it, but what is the point if the officials within the regulatory body are biased or bullies or too busy to do their job fairly?
The solution is not more regulatory bodies, there are already enough. The only way to ensure regulatory bodies do their job properly is to ensure the officials within are accountable for their decisions.
Cover ups are the norm
At present, when a regulatory body makes an unjust decision, there is virtually nothing the victim can do. They can lodge an appeal, but appeals are rarely handled impartially. Regulatory bodies use the same duplicitous cover up tactics as other government departments. Read more
Accountability for regulatory body officials
Regulatory body officials must be able to ensure that fair and proper investigations are carried out, if they are unable to do so then they should be moved on. Also, officials who dismiss complaints due to bias should face prosecution.
We need regulatory bodies with real power
There have been calls for increased protection for whistleblowers, fairer handling of police complaints, eliminating member bias and bullying from tribunals, and honest politicians, just to name a few. All of these issues could be resolved if existing regulatory bodies did their job properly.
Here are some examples:
Whistleblowers
It is a criminal offence to cause detriment to a whistleblower. It would only take 1 CEO and board to be charged for others to stop mistreating whistleblowers.
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Police Complaints
It is a criminal offence for senior officers to engage in malfeasance. It would only take 1 senior officer to be charged for covering up police misconduct to ensure future complaints were handled fairly.
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Tribunals
It would only take 1 tribunal member to be held accountable for bias or bullying to ensure fairer hearings.
Honest Politicians
Ministerial misconduct is a criminal offence, yet regulatory bodies often fail to take legal action. The officials within the regulatory body should be held accountable - if they cannot do their job they should be replaced or, if they acted with bias, they should be prosecuted.
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ICAC did not take out criminal charges against former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian after finding her seriously corrupt, even though the evidence included recorded conversations.
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ICAC did not take out criminal charges against former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian after she publicly admitted to pork barreling.
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SARA did not take out criminal charges after it found that Berejiklian’s office acted illegally by shredding documents related to pork barreling. The finding itself is astonishing because an office is inanimate, it cannot act. It was someone within Berejiklian's office who acted illegally - why weren't they charged?.
What is the point of creating more regulatory bodies?
There is no point creating more regulatory bodies that don’t do their job. The only way to ensure regulatory bodies do their job properly is to make the officials within accountable for their decisions.

There have been calls for increased protection for whistleblowers, fairer handling of police complaints, eliminating member bias and bullying from tribunals, and honest politicians, just to name a few. All of these issues could be resolved if existing regulatory bodies did their jobs properly.