Crossbench politicians are questioning whether the head of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) can continue in his role after he failed to recuse himself and declare a conflict of interest.

Gail Furness, the NACC’s inspector, found in a report that NACC commissioner, retired judge and army Major General Paul Brereton, did not recuse himself in a case involving a conflict of interest related to someone referred over the Robodebt scandal.

Now, independent crossbenchers and integrity advocates are calling for serious examination of Brereton’s position, with one senator saying him continuing in the role is “untenable”.

Allegra Spender, the independent MP for Wentworth, said “it is difficult to see how the commissioner can continue”.

“Whilst there was no finding of bias, the NACC must be beyond reproach,” she said in a statement to The New Daily.

“The public needs to have complete confidence that the NACC’s decisions are free from bias and this is not the case when it comes to Robodebt.”

David Pocock, the independent senator for the ACT, said the integrity of the NACC commissioner needs to be beyond reproach and that it is now in doubt.

“Given the need to ensure that there is trust in the NACC, given these findings, I think his position is untenable,” he told the ABC.

“It’s one thing to say I have a conflict of interest, but to sit in those meetings and be involved in those discussions to the point of being involved in how you are framing the media release, that really doesn’t seem to cut it.”

Although a new independent review into the Robodebt referrals will occur, Brereton, in a statement, said that “our system requires that we accept such findings, even when we don’t entirely agree with them”.

“Mistakes are always regrettable, but the most important thing is that they are put right,” he said.

“This mistake will be rectified by having the decision reconsidered by an independent eminent person.”

Crossbench push

Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison spearheaded the Robodebt scandal, which implemented an automated process to calculate debts owed by welfare recipients.

Labelled “cruel and crude” by a royal commission, the scheme ultimately led to people receiving debts they did not owe which was linked to several suicides.

Scott Morrison and several senior bureaucrats were heavily criticised for their conduct in the royal commission’s final report. Photo: Robodebt Royal Commission

Independent crossbenchers campaigned for the NACC, but expressed dismay when the Liberal-National Party and the Albanese government teamed up to ensure there would be no public hearings without “extraordinary circumstances”.

Zali Steggall, the MP for Warringah, told The New Daily that she is “cautious” about calling for Brereton to step down and instead blamed the legislation passed by the Albanese government with the Coalition’s support.

“The commissioner is bound to apply the provisions of the act as they have been drafted by Parliament, so I feel the fault ultimately falls on the government in preferring to do a deal with the Coalition,” she said.

“I note that the inspector did not find any actual conflict of interest, but just the failure to properly or fully recuse himself giving rise to an apprehended bias.”

NACC’s future

Steggall said that it was the perfect time to bring forward a review of the NACC.

“There is a general dissatisfaction and disappointment from the public that after pushing for so long for there to be a national anti-corruption commission, only for the government to essentially water it down,” she said.

“I’m looking into and investigating what amendments are required.”

In her report, Furness said she had received more than 1200 complaints about the NACC’s decision not to investigate the referrals.

Pocock highlighted other issues with the NACC legislation, including a lack of public hearings and moves by the Albanese government and the opposition to not include pork barrelling in the anti-corruption watchdog’s remit.

“I moved an amendment in the Senate to explicitly say that the NACC can and should and can investigate pork barrelling if it meets the serious and systemic threshold of corruption,” he said.

“Both the major parties voted against that and now we are seeing the NACC say that we don’t actually think that is corruption.”