Anti-corruption unit for NSW public sector

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced she will establish a specialist unit aimed at increasing accountability and transparency within state politics.

Politicians will have to publish who they meet with and details of their overseas travel under new NSW anti-corruption measures.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she will establish a specialist unit under the Director of Public Prosecutions aimed at increasing accountability and transparency within the state's public sector.

"These tough new measures will raise the standards expected of politicians and those who seek to influence them - and help rebuild trust in NSW politics," Ms Berejiklian said in a statement on Saturday.

The Public Sector Prosecutions unit will focus on confiscation orders under proceeds of crime legislation to freeze and seize the assets of public officials, including politicians, who break the law.

It will also work to expedite complex criminal prosecutions, including those stemming from ICAC investigations, which relate to misconduct in public office.

All MPs will also be required to publish their diary and overseas travel information, while third-party lobbyists who represent a foreign state or controlled entity will need to disclose these links on a public register or potentially be blocked from meeting with government officials.

"The NSW community has a right to know who their politicians are meeting with and why," Ms Berejiklian said.

The measures aim to ensure MPs "never forget that they have been elected by the community and always remain accountable to the community", she said.

NSW opposition leader Michael Daley says the measures don't go far enough and a Labor government would extend the scrutiny to political advisors, senior public servants and local councillors and planning panels.

Mr Daley also accused the premier of weakening ICAC's powers through budget cuts and restructures.

"The Premier is paying lip service to the issue of integrity. I will restore ICAC to its former strength and I support any measures that raise the conduct of politicians in public life," he said.


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Source: AAP



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