Report on the Investigation of Alleged Public Sector Misconduct in Connection with the Activities of Lobbyists and Other Persons
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CORRUPTION AND CRIME COMMISSION REPORT ON THE INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGED PUBLIC SECTOR MISCONDUCT IN CONNECTION WITH THE ACTIVITIES OF LOBBYISTS AND OTHER PERSONS A MINISTERIAL DECISION IN RELATION TO APPLICATIONS FOR A MINING TENEMENT AT YEELIRRIE 16 November 2009 ISBN: 978 0 9805051 0 8 © 2009 Copyright in this work is held by the Corruption and Crime Commission. Division 3 of the Copyright Act 1968 (Commonwealth) recognises that limited further use of this material can occur for the purposes of “fair dealing”, for example, study, research or criticism. Should you wish to make use of this material other than as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 please write to the Corruption and Crime Commission at the postal address below. This report and further information about the Corruption and Crime Commission can be found on the Commission Website at www.ccc.wa.gov.au. Corruption and Crime Commission Postal Address PO Box 7667 Cloisters Square PERTH WA 6850 Telephone (08) 9215 4888 1800 809 000 (Toll Free for callers outside the Perth metropolitan area.) Facsimile (08) 9215 4884 Email [email protected] Office Hours 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday CORRUPTION AND CRIME COMMISSION Mr Malcolm Peacock Mr Peter John McHugh Clerk of the Legislative Council Clerk of the Legislative Assembly Parliament House Parliament House Harvest Terrace Harvest Terrace PERTH WA 6000 PERTH WA 6000 Dear Mr Peacock Dear Mr McHugh As neither House of Parliament is presently sitting, in accordance with section 93 of the Corruption and Crime Commission Act 2003 (“the CCC Act”), the Commission hereby transmits to you a copy of the Corruption and Crime Commission Report on the Investigation of Alleged Public Sector Misconduct in Connection with the Activities of Lobbyists and Other Persons: A Ministerial Decision in Relation to Applications for a Mining Tenement at Yeelirrie. The Commission notes that under section 93(3) of the CCC Act a copy of a report transmitted to a Clerk of a House is to be regarded as having been laid before that House. Yours faithfully The Hon. LW Roberts-Smith, RFD, QC COMMISSIONER 16 November 2009 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ALP Australian Labor Party ASIC Australian Securities and Investments Commission ASX Australian Stock Exchange BHPB (or BHP) BHP Billiton “the CCC Act” Corruption and Crime Commission Act 2003 “the Commission” Corruption and Crime Commission DoIR Department of Industry and Resources EISC Economics and Industry Standing Committee, Legislative Assembly, Parliament of Western Australia ELA Exploration Licence Application (or Application for Exploration Licence) “Metraloop” Metraloop Nominees Pty Ltd “Mindax” Mindax Limited PMA Precious Metals Australia Ltd “the PSM Act” Public Sector Management Act 1994 “the State Agreement” Uranium (Yeelirrie) Agreement Act 1978 “the TI Act” Commonwealth Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 “Use It or Lose It” “Use It or Lose It” Pty Ltd “Victory Street” Victory Street Pty Ltd WMC Western Mining Corporation Ltd v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .................................................................. v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................... ix Executive Summary: Endnotes ................................................................................ xvii CHAPTER ONE FOREWORD .................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Allegation ........................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Scope and Purpose ........................................................................................ 1 1.4 Jurisdiction of the Commission .................................................................... 2 1.5 Definitions .......................................................................................................... 2 1.5.1 Public Officer .................................................................................. 2 1.5.2 Misconduct ...................................................................................... 3 1.6 Reporting by the Commission ...................................................................... 4 1.7 Telecommunications Interception Material .............................................. 5 1.8 Privacy Considerations .................................................................................. 5 1.9 Opinions of Misconduct: Standard of Proof ............................................. 5 CHAPTER TWO BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................ 9 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 9 2.2 Entities Involved ............................................................................................... 14 2.2.1 Hon. John James Mansell Bowler MLA .................................. 14 2.2.2 Hon. Alan John Carpenter MLA ................................................ 15 2.2.3 Department of Industry and Resources (DoIR)..................... 16 2.2.4 Warden’s Court .............................................................................. 16 2.2.5 Mr Simon John Corrigan ............................................................. 17 2.2.6 Mr Timothy John Walster ............................................................ 17 2.2.7 Yeelirrie ............................................................................................ 17 2.2.8 Precious Metals Australia Ltd (PMA)........................................ 17 2.2.9 Mr Roderick James Hollas Smith ............................................. 18 2.2.10 Earl of Warwick .............................................................................. 18 2.2.11 Victory Street Pty Ltd (“Victory Street”) .................................. 18 2.2.12 “Use It or Lose It” Pty Ltd ............................................................ 18 2.2.13 Western Mining Corporation Ltd (WMC) ................................ 18 2.2.14 BHP Billiton (BHPB) ..................................................................... 19 2.2.15 Metraloop Nominees Pty Ltd (“Metraloop”) ........................... 19 2.2.16 Mr Peter Michael Clough ............................................................ 19 2.2.17 Mr Brian Thomas Burke .............................................................. 19 2.2.18 Mr Julian Fletcher Grill ................................................................. 19 vii CHAPTER THREE COMMISSION INVESTIGATION ............................................................................ 21 3.1 Chronology of Events ..................................................................................... 21 3.2 Course of Events ............................................................................................. 22 3.2.1 Information Provided by Mr Corrigan ...................................... 54 CHAPTER FOUR COMMISSION HEARINGS ....................................................................................... 57 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 57 4.2 Mr Bowler ........................................................................................................... 57 4.3 Mr Corrigan ........................................................................................................ 67 4.4 Mr Grill ................................................................................................................. 67 CHAPTER FIVE COMMISSION ASSESSMENTS AND OPINIONS ............................................. 69 ENDNOTES ................................................................................................................... 89 viii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY [1] This is a report on a Corruption and Crime Commission (“the Commission”) investigation into the circumstances surrounding the exercise of a Ministerial discretion under section 111A of the Mining Act 1978 in relation to uranium mining tenements at Yeelirrie. [2] Yeelirrie is a uranium deposit in Western Australia, located about 500 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie, held by BHP Billiton (BHPB) under the Uranium (Yeelirrie) Agreement Act 1978 (“the State Agreement”). In 2005 Precious Metals Australia Ltd (PMA) made a decision to try and acquire the tenements held by BHPB. To assist in these endeavours, in October 2005, the Managing Director of PMA, Mr Roderick James Hollas Smith, retained the services of Mr Brian Thomas Burke and Mr Julian Fletcher Grill as lobbyists and consultants. [3] The strategy to acquire the uranium tenements involved a number of steps. On 11 August 2005 and 24 October 2005 BHPB had lodged applications with the Warden’s Court seeking exemption from the requirement to work the ground placed upon it by the Mining Act 1978 in respect to the Yeelirrie tenements. On 8 November 2005 PMA signed plaints alleging that BHPB were not complying with regulation 50 of the Mining Regulations 1925 and seeking forfeiture of the tenements. These plaints were lodged with the Meekatharra Warden on 9 November 2005 and the Leonora Warden on 10 November 2005. [4] On 17 November 2005 PMA sought to lodge objections to the BHPB exemption applications. However, as the date for lodging those objections had