Customs reform board
to overhaul agency

A new reform board has been established as part of the major changes to Customs and Border Protection.
   Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Justice, Jason Clare said the new Customs Reform Board would report directly to him, overseeing the implementation of reform and providing advice and recommendations about further action.
   “The Customs Reform Board will be made up of three distinguished Australians with expertise in law enforcement, corruption resistance and best practice business systems,” Mr Clare said.
Historic Canberra photos on show
   He said the former Royal Commissioner of the NSW Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service, James Wood would serve on the Board along with the former Commissioner of the NSW Police Force, Ken Moroney and the former Chairman of Australia Post, David Mortimer.
   Mr Clare said a number of reforms were already underway including the introduction of integrity testing of law enforcement officers suspected of corruption.
   “These are covert operations designed to test if someone is corrupt,” he said.
   “It can involve offering a bribe, leaving money at the scene of a crime or putting false information on a database to see if it is passed on.
   “It is a psychological weapon - designed to put fear into the mind of the corrupt.”
   Mr Clare said the Chief Executive of Customs and Border Protection had also been given the power to authorise random drug and alcohol testing on all staff as well as the power to terminate officers for serious misconduct.
   “The CEO of Customs now has the same powers as the Australian Federal Police Commissioner to make a declaration terminating the employment of an officer for serious misconduct,” he said.
   “This is just the start.
   “There are more reforms to come.”
   Mr Clare said he was working on major structural and cultural reforms which would be announced this year.
Edition 344, 15 January 2013
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