Troubled accounting and consultancy giant PwC has been referred to the new National Anti-Corruption Commission after revelations that staff at the firm leaked confidential government information to clients.
The firm is one of the first issues to be referred to the new independent agency, led by former NSW judge and war crimes investigator Paul Brereton, when it opened operations on Saturday.
Greens senator Barbara Pocock made a formal referral of the consulting firm to the commission over the weekend.
Greens senator Barbara Pocock made the formal referral to the NACC, which opened its doors on Saturday. Credit: Martin Ollman.
The PwC scandal has been high on the Greens’ list of issues the party says should be investigated by the national corruption watchdog, which has been set up to detect and investigate corrupt conduct in the Australian government sector with the power to compel witnesses. However, the NACC does not have to investigate a referral that has been made to it. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has stressed the independence of the agency, saying that while any Australian can refer any matter they believed may have constituted serious or systemic corruption, “only the commission can determine what matters it investigates”.
Senator Pocock said the watchdog would be able to shed further light on PwC’s use of confidential government information. The Australian Federal Police are investigating.
“The PwC tax leaks scandal has been airing in public for the past five months and so far we know too little about who was at fault, who benefited and what consequences there will be,” she said.
“While we welcome the AFP investigation to prosecute appropriate criminal charges, there are wider issues that need to be addressed to ensure that our systems of government are not open to corruption.”
Greens Senator Barbara Pocock. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
The senator shared details of her referral of PwC on Saturday, by posting a photo of her request on Twitter.
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