The NSW corruption watchdog has defended its use of public inquiries in a scathing response to a government-ordered review.
ICAC Inspector David Levine's report to the premier has recommended, among other things, that the commission's proceedings be conducted behind closed doors so reputations are not "trashed".
In a statement ICAC said the recommendation contradicted two previous independent reviews, and quoted a previous review panel's statement that public inquiries "serve an important role in the disclosure of corrupt conduct".
The commission said some of Mr Levine's 15 other recommendations had already largely been addressed, and he'd failed to justify others.
"The Inspector did not undertake any consultation with the commission on any of the important issues canvassed in the report," ICAC's statement said.
The commission intends to make "a detailed response" to Premier Mike Baird, who called for the review into its powers following an aborted investigation into crown prosecutor Margaret Cunneen.
ICAC had accused the top silk of advising her son's girlfriend to fake chest pains in order to avoid a breath test after a car accident.
Mr Levine's report, handed down on Thursday, said private hearings wouldn't prevent corrupt conduct from being exposed but it would protect the reputations of the innocent.
"It will prevent the undeserved trashing of reputations and will still permit a proper focus and a fairly managed forensic process, without the distraction of the temptation for flamboyance or theatre," the inspector said in his report.
If public inquiries remain, ICAC should be required to outline how the public interest would be served by an investigation, Mr Levine said.
Share
