South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill and Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis have been cleared of wrongdoing over a controversial land deal in Adelaide.
But the state's Independent Commissioner Against Corruption has found two Renewal SA officials engaged in conduct that amounted to maladministration over the Gillman land deal.
In a report released Wednesday, Commissioner Bruce Lander also found Mr Koutsantonis used profanities during meetings with public servants as he pushed hard for the deal.
Mr Lander's report ruled that the conduct of the premier and his chief financial officer did not amount to maladministration.
Both had been scrutinised over the sale of 400 hectares of land to a private consortium without it going to tender, and at a sale price many considered to be well under the market rate.
Mr Lander said Mr Weatherill had minimal involvement in the deal.
And he said while Mr Koutsantonis was strongly in favour of the proposed sale, he had not acted to intimidate public officers involved in the deal.
But Mr Lander did find Renewal SA - formerly the Urban Renewal Authority - and two of its officials engaged in conduct that resulted in a substantial mismanagement of public resources.
He said they should have advised the treasurer to consider an open tender process and that a proper valuation should have been obtained.
"These were serious failures," Mr Lander said.
"Failures that should not have been made by executives in an agency whose core function was to manage transactions of this kind."
The report also revealed the treasurer swore several times and said "c**t" in the presence of Renewal SA public servants.
"Two witnesses said Minister Koutsantonis used the `c' word during these meetings," Mr Lander said.
The premier said he was disappointed by the findings of foul language and that Mr Koutsantonis's conduct was "unprofessional".
"I've asked him to make a public apology," Mr Weatherill said.
"This behaviour falls well short of the standards that I expect for him as a minister."
Mr Koutsantonis apologised for what he called "conversational swearing".
"I must acknowledge that the use of conversational swearing within meetings may be misinterpreted - and for that I sincerely apologise," he told reporters on Wednesday.
But the treasurer denied uttering the "c" word, standing by the sworn evidence he gave during the investigation.
State opposition leader Stephen Marshall said Mr Koutsantonis's actions were unbecoming of a government minister and called for an explanation.
"The public sector and South Australians generally need more than an apology from Mr Koutsantonis," Mr Marshall said.
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