The General Problem: An All-pervasive `allegations' of Corruption?

2. The General Problem: An All-pervasive `allegations' of Corruption?

Allegations of corruption, deceit, kick-backs, illegitimate pay-offs,tax evasion, collusive tendering/anti-competitive practices, political bribery, as well as official indifference to the violenceand/or death of taxi drivers, (via avoidable traffic accidents and assaults), have reached such a scale within the current N.S.W. taxi industry that, by comparison, recent public inquiries into thea dministration of the coal industry safety and the containment of tow-truck operator violence/kick-backs, etc. appear innocuous or ofmarginal concern. Of course allegations will remain just that. The truth of the matter can only emerge through the testimony of witnesses and presentation of documents. The refusal of Executive Government to allow such an inquiry through the Stay Safe Committee leaves no option except a full ICAC investigation.

The Submission:

The enclosed documentation consists of a series of extracts from government reports, correspondence/replies from various N.S.W. State Government ministries/departmental heads responding to a range of enquires from certain advocates of taxi industry reform, press coverage of contentious issues related to the N.S.W. taxi industry, Hansard transcripts, reproduction of official notices distributed to taxi drivers and minutes/summaries of certain meetings. Read a ssingle documents each will appear to be a minor glitch in the system. Read as a totality they represent a deeper and far more sinister problem.

All of this documentation has been compiled and circulated over the past decade (1988-1998). Although the issues submitted for your investigation and deliberation here are contemporary, many are endemic, and have a genesis pre-dating this decade long campaigning by your petitioner. Regardless of the time frame, a pattern of systematic maladministration and corruption of public officialdom isself-evident. The term maladministration here refers to more than simple political expediency by Executive Government or media stereotypes of a lazy and incompetent bureaucracy. It more closely resembles a `virus' within the body politic where good government andc ompetent public administration are forever beholden to a shadowyforce of vested interests. Hence the matter of corruption. Naturally this requires a greater burden of evidentiary proof. This is beyond my resources. It is not beyond those of ICAC. However, I can willingly supply, under oath, far more documentation than this original submission.

Source: Sydney Taxi Corruption