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| NEWS > 04 January 2008 |
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Karolina Obrycka — the 24-year-ol... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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Courier Mail - Australia
04 January 2008
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Crime and Misconduct Commissio
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Staff lift lid on Crime and Mi
THE Crime and Misconduct Commission is cutting corners on important investigations because of overwork and understaffing, the corruption watchdog's employees claim in a damning report.
The independent study – obtained by The Courier-Mail under Freedom of Information laws – slammed the culture of the group responsible for keeping the State Government honest while fighting major crime such as pedophilia and drug-trafficking.
Staff were found to be suffering low levels of trust, were angry at pay levels and claimed some promotions were questionable and contradicted the morality of a group that fights corruption.
Management has also been accused of consistently ignoring bullying complaints, while overtime pay was stripped because managers had incorrectly approved it.
"We don't have enough staff . . . and we are often required to rush or cut corners," a staff member said in the report.
"(We are) way overloaded with work, (receive) no recognition of continuous hard work (and) no encouragement from managers."
The release of the 2007 Organisational Climate Survey, completed in August, comes two months after the CMC refused to release it to The Courier-Mail.
CMC chairman Robert Needham, who recently criticised some Queensland Police for cutting corners when gathering evidence, was unavailable to comment yesterday.
But the report is particularly harsh on management. The authors – Callan Consulting Group, a regular government consultancy – found staff commitment levels were "low compared to other public sector organisations".
Comments from the more than 200 staff surveyed included:
• "The treatment of some staff could be regarded as bullying."
• "The Commission has showed no real concern about these issues or the staff concerned – although these issues were frequently brought to their attention – and has demonstrated a consistent unwillingness to address this issue."
• "Senior staff intimidate staff on a regular basis. Staff are unable to maintain a home life, as due to a lack of staff there are constant shift changes and PDOs are accrued."
• "The concerns about large amounts of overtime include some staff being rostered to work up to 10 or 12 days in a row only to find the extra pay deemed ineligible."
• "HR deletes the excess time (and), despite the fact that team management has approved the excess time, HR overrides it and punishes staff for working hard," another staff member said.
Staff retention is highlighted as a major problem, with one employee complaining that limited advancement opportunities were being hampered by questionable decisions from management.
"As an anti-corruption watchdog which needs to set a strong moral example, the Senior Management Group needs to take a more pro-active stance in demonstrating this (when giving promotions)," the staff member was quoted in the report.
One of the worst areas was Witness Protection and Operations Support, where the 43 staff recorded the lowest levels of job satisfaction while distress and workloads were highest.
The CMC was set up as the Criminal Justice Commission after the corruption of the Bjelke-Petersen government was uncovered. It became the CMC in 2002, with its recent high-profile cases including the jailing of former minister Merri Rose for blackmail and the ongoing case of coal king Ken Talbot's allegedly corrupt payments to former minister Gordon Nuttall.
Acting Opposition Leader Mark McArdle yesterday said he was concerned about the success of future investigations and operations such as witness protection given the complaints uncovered.
"What these people do is so important to our state, so all of Queensland should be distressed by this," he said.
"The report shows a culture well below par and raises questions as to whether or not the CMC can do its duties properly.
"If a person is unhappy in what they are doing, we need to be careful that unhappiness doesn't cause another problem by putting people at risk who they are trying to protect."
CMC boss Robert Needham an 'invisible man'
THE man in charge of the state's corruption watchdog is described by his own staff as an invisible man.
The assessment of Crime and Misconduct Commission chairman Robert Needham's appearances around the Brisbane CBD office comes as his leadership team was slammed as being unable to inspire and poor role models.
A report found three key themes on Mr Needham's relationships with his staff, saying he was approachable and positive but that sightings of him were few and far between.
"(He) does not regularly visit the work units to speak or interact with staff," staff said in the report. "He needs to increase his visibility."
Staff said, however, that Mr Needham was "fearless in pursuing corruption" and was unconcerned about the politics of his position.
Mr Needham was unavailable to comment.
The report raised serious concerns about part-time commissioners Douglas Drummond, QC, Dr David Gow and Ann Gummow.
"I don't even know what they are supposed to do," staff said.
The only positive feedback was for former commissioner Julie Cork, who quit last month.
The report urged management to build profiles but one staffer had a better idea.
"A quarterly morning or afternoon tea with the different sections of the CMC so the 'little people' know what the 'big people' look like and what they do."
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