I have been advised today through notice in the Government Gazette that my appointment as the Acting Chairperson of the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) has been extended to cover the period on and from 23 November 2013 up to and including 22 May 2014.
I look forward to continuing to lead the CMC through a period of change.
While it is not CMC policy to discuss internal decision making processes, I believe it is in the public interest for me to clarify the origin and intention of my opinion piece that appeared in the Courier-Mail recently.
The comments I provided to the Courier-Mail were provided by me in my capacity as both Acting Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CMC.
It is my strong belief my dual roles permitted such a public statement to be made as I am responsible for the proper performance of the CMC’s functions. As such, I was not required to consult with the part-time commissioners because making public statements falls legitimately within my roles.
I did not consult with the part-time commissioners, senior management or the CMC’s media unit before sending my comments to the Courier-Mail. The reasons I provided comments to the Courier-Mail are outlined in my letter to the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee (PCMC) which was tabled in Parliament today. I also have addressed these issues at the PCMC Public Hearing on 1 November 2013.
The letters tabled in Parliament today by the PCMC outline a previous contact made to the CMC by staff in the Government Media Unit.
This contact occurred a week before I sent my comments to the Courier-Mail and did not influence me in any way to write the opinion piece. My letter to the PCMC tabled today outlines the reasons I did not mention this at the most recent PCMC Public Hearing.
As I mentioned in that hearing, I want to assure Queenslanders that I have not lost my independence and I am confident the CMC’s independence has not been lost nor has its objectivity on matters been compromised as a result of the opinion piece I wrote.
I will continue to work closely with the staff at the CMC who are very professional and do an excellent job fighting serious and organised crime and investigating official misconduct in the public sector.
Dr Ken Levy RFD
Acting CMC Chairperson
8 November 2013
