The Victorian government has confirmed the appointment of integrity specialist Victoria Elliott as the state’s chief corruption fighter.
She begins a five year term as Commissioner of the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) on December 16, replacing Stephen Farrow, who has been acting in the role since the departure of Robert Redlich last December.
Ms Elliott has more than 25 years experience in managing legal investigations, compliance and integrity frameworks.
She was admitted as a barrister and solicitor at the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia in 2005, and has been serving as a Deputy Public Interest Monitor (PIM) since 2016 where she was instrumental in implementing the PIM witness protection and police detention monitoring role.
The Public Interest Monitor was established to public interest by reviewing applications by law enforcement and integrity agencies for the use of telephone intercepts and other covert and coercive powers.
Prior to that she was a managing lawyer at IBAC and worked at the Office of Police Integrity, leading the agency’s first public hearings.
Attorney General Jaclyn Symes said Ms Elliott’s extensive legal experience and unique knowledge of the integrity sector made her the right candidate for the job, although it’s understood she does not have a high profile in legal circles.
The appointment was subject to consideration by Parliament’s Integrity and Oversight Committee.
So… No Magistrate was willing to be party to the accountability train wreck in Victoria.
And an Integrity oversight body that resorted to breaching their own constitution in filling the position….things that make you go hmm