PwC tax scandal shows why broad anti-corruption body needed: Home Affairs boss

PwC tax scandal shows why broad anti-corruption body needed: Home Affairs boss

One of the nation’s most powerful public servants says the PwC tax leak scandal shows why the new National Anti-Corruption Commission is badly needed, as the Department of Home Affairs closely scrutinises its relationship with the troubled consulting giant.


Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo declared he was “not confident” in PwC following revelations of its breach of confidential tax information and he was “taking a very close view of any new contracting that we do” with the firm.



Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs Mike Pezzullo.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen


“As far as I’m concerned, the advent of the NACC could not have come too soon,” Pezzullo told a Senate estimates hearing on Monday.


“We have to throw the anti-corruption [and] integrity net much more widely to get into the full supply chain of people who deal with the Commonwealth ... This is a salutary example, albeit from some years ago, as to why you need that broader anti-corruption framework.”



The Home Affairs Department also revealed that Australian Border Force had followed the Department of Defence by suspending the use of a fleet of Chinese-made drones following security concerns.


It was revealed earlier this year Border Force had purchased 41 drones made by Chinese company Da Jiang Innovations, a company banned by the Pentagon last year because of concerns about the firm’s military links and cybersecurity vulnerabilities.


The Department of Finance revealed earlier this year that surveillance cameras and intercom systems made by Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua were being ripped out from the neighbourhood offices of almost 100 federal politicians over security concerns.


PwC’s sprawling array of federal government contracts will come under intense scrutiny at Senate estimates hearings this week after revelations the fi ..

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