tag:theconversation.com,2011:/es/topics/ofarrell-resignation-9967/articlesO'Farrell resignation – The Conversation2014-04-22T04:10:34Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/257772014-04-22T04:10:34Z2014-04-22T04:10:34ZO'Farrell resignation: red wine, political blood and cultural memory<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46754/original/w8jnrhhb-1398084737.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ritzy red wine has come to represent political influence-peddling in the resignation of NSW premier Barry O'Farrell.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Julian Smith</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Political scandals, the perennial product of the grinding gears of greed and governance, proliferate in the age of digital media, the 24-hours news cycle and <a href="https://theconversation.com/history-repeats-how-ofarrell-and-greiner-fell-foul-of-icac-25701">anti-corruption bodies with wide powers</a>.</p>
<p>Constant tonal inspiration is drawn from the tracking of the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2002/05/31/AR2005111001227.html">1972 break-in</a> at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., all the way back to Richard Nixon’s White House. Many investigative current affairs programs and fictional political dramas framed a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-mark-felt-became-deep-throat/2012/06/04/gJQAlpARIV_story.html">“Deep Throat”</a> in the sinister concrete gloom of a multi-storey car park in homage to the 1976 film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074119/">All the President’s Men</a>.</p>
<p>Few tyro journalists of the last 40 years have not fantasised about posing the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/baker.html">famous Watergate question</a> in the US Senate:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>What did [fill in the accused] know and when did they know it?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Scandals involving politicians (as well as sportspeople and others) routinely attract the suffix <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scandals_with_%22-gate%22_suffix">“-gate”</a>.</p>
<p>“Gate” has often been attached to an object, deceptively innocent in its connotations, that only serves to highlight the egregious nature of corruption and deceit. Sometimes “affair” works better, as was the case with the 1982 <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/1982/0427/042740.html">colour TV affair</a> involving Fraser government ministers Michael MacKellar and John Moore and the alliterative 1984 <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-02-17/yes-minister-no-minister-sacked-minister/334722">Paddington Bear affair</a> concerning Hawke government minister Mick Young. All three men lost their ministerial positions in these “affairs”.</p>
<p>All this is essential cultural background to interpreting <a href="http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/2224860/barry-ofarrell-resigns-grange-gate-costs-premier-his-job/?cs=300">“Grangegate”</a>, the boilerplate description of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/barry-ofarrell-quits-as-nsw-premier-over-icac-memory-fail-25700">sudden resignation</a> of New South Wales premier Barry O’Farrell last week over the unacknowledged receipt of a A$3000 bottle of Penfolds 1959 Bin 46 Grange Hermitage from a lobbyist. Divining the significance of the wine has somehow <a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/penfolds-grange-the-real-winner-of-barry-ofarrells-resignation/story-fnki1jcy-1226886835464">become entwined</a> with the political ramifications of the scandal itself.</p>
<p>There is an obvious – if rather worrying – reason for this heavy focus on the expensively fermented grape. There have been so many high-profile political scandals it is hard to keep track. Many people – not least those in a news media dedicated to the quick, relentless turnover of news stories – have resorted to mnemonic triggers to aid recall and to distinguish one scandal from another.</p>
<p>Forging collective cultural memory while being deluged by information relies on highlighting a single detail to symbolise the whole sorry business of political exposure. In communication theory this is known as metonymy – the use of a part to signify the whole. </p>
<p>In O'Farrell’s case, ritzy red wine stands for political influence-peddling and duchessing.</p>
<p>Many people, though, will never grasp the whole because they have not followed the story closely. And with the passage of time, many more will know next to nothing about it. But the metonym – which in the digital world has mutated into the <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-memes-20789">meme</a> – can live on, another of the “gate” and “affair” curios to be interrogated and mocked.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46760/original/xpc84f4q-1398126406.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46760/original/xpc84f4q-1398126406.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46760/original/xpc84f4q-1398126406.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46760/original/xpc84f4q-1398126406.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46760/original/xpc84f4q-1398126406.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46760/original/xpc84f4q-1398126406.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46760/original/xpc84f4q-1398126406.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Watergate, the original ‘-gate’ political scandal, ended the presidency of Richard Nixon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ollie Atkins</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What, then, is the meaning of the “Grange” in “Grangegate”? Only recently on his <a href="https://theconversation.com/abbotts-asia-trip-comes-off-for-now-25377">trade trip to Asia</a>, prime minister Tony Abbott was <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/04/12/pm-opens-doors-military-co-operation-china">recommending Penfolds wines</a> to Chinese president Xi Jinping. Grange has become a byword for New World <a href="http://www.penfolds.com/en/Age-Check.aspx?u=%2fen%2fWines%2fIcon-Luxury-Range%2fGrange.aspx">vinous opulence</a>, both as a present exchanged among the affluent and as a commodity traded on the international premium wine market.</p>
<p>Bottled wine is widely seen as a sophisticated commodity and its appreciation a marker of a cultured palate. For Shakespeare’s Iago in Othello:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Good wine is a good familiar creature, if it be well used.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But as a contemporary luxury good, its ill-use can – as O’Farrell painfully discovered – have dire consequences.</p>
<p>That the wine is red provides additional piquancy. In his essay Wine and Milk in the classic 1957 work <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mythologies-Roland-Barthes/dp/0374521506">Mythologies</a>, French cultural theorist Roland Barthes argues that wine:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In its red form, [it] has blood, that dense and vital fluid. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In NSW, it has drawn unexpected political blood before the Independent Commission Against Corruption.</p>
<p>Grangegate now takes its place among the litany of political “gates” and “affairs” in Australia connected to banal everyday objects, among which can be counted 1994’s <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/code-of-conduct-dishonoured-when-theres-no-breach/2007/03/05/1172943356203.html">“Sandwichgate”</a> involving Keating government minister Alan Griffiths.</p>
<p>More recently, 2009’s <a href="http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/utegate-explained-its-not-just-about-an-email/">“Utegate”</a> involving Kevin Rudd had a memorably folksy ring. That this sturdy workhorse vehicle, beloved by tradies, might be implicated in a political scandal caused some consternation in the ranks of Australia’s petit bourgeoisie. However, the ute in question in the end only dented the duco of then-opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull.</p>
<p>My intention here is not to trivialise the issue of political scandal, actual or alleged. Public probity and its policing is no laughing matter. But among the welter of allegations, denials, revelations and confessions across multiple institutional and social media platforms, the citizenry-at-large has considerable difficulty in discerning and – ironically in terms of O’Farrell’s woes – remembering what really matters.</p>
<p>Often, recall is reduced to a bizarre-sounding “gate” or “affair” rendered absurd by its association with the likes of a foodstuff, vehicle, soft toy, white good or beverage. In echoing the Porter in Macbeth, imbibing fortified media scandals and their catchy titles:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…provokes the desire, but [it] takes away the performance.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here, it detracts from understanding and analysing our political environment. Another bottle of red is not the antidote.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25777/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Rowe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Political scandals, the perennial product of the grinding gears of greed and governance, proliferate in the age of digital media, the 24-hours news cycle and anti-corruption bodies with wide powers. Constant…David Rowe, Professor of Cultural Research, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/257412014-04-17T05:17:06Z2014-04-17T05:17:06ZFrom O'Farrell to Baird: a new start for NSW politics?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46600/original/btwgvpkn-1397696689.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mike Baird is the man chosen by the Liberal Party to replace Barry O'Farrell as premier. Who is he, and what challenges does he now face?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Tracey Nearmy</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mike Baird has been elected unopposed as the new NSW Liberal Party leader, and will soon become the state’s 44th premier after the <a href="https://theconversation.com/barry-ofarrell-quits-as-nsw-premier-over-icac-memory-fail-25700">shock resignation</a> of Barry O'Farrell yesterday. But what are the prospects of continuing reform to a state so long afflicted by the taint of corruption? </p>
<p>O’Farrell’s downfall, or rather the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s (ICAC) <a href="https://theconversation.com/history-repeats-how-ofarrell-and-greiner-fell-foul-of-icac-25701">role in it</a>, has assured that the issues of electoral funding, the cross-over between party officials and lobbyists and the lack of transparency in government relationships with business will be elevated onto the urgent agenda for all political parties over the next 11 months before the next state election.</p>
<p>Politically, Baird will not be a great change from O’Farrell. His reputation is that of a cautious man with an engaging personality, wary of ideological passion, not committed to any faction while clearly on the moderate wing of the party. </p>
<p>Baird is a <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/who-is-mike-baird-20140417-36ssh.html#ixzz2z5vnhpts">religious and social conservative</a> – much like prime minister Tony Abbott – and although he is not likely to be a God botherer in public office, he will bring a strong personal sense of ethical standards to his job. This should make it easy for Baird to address the urgent issues driving unethical conduct in NSW politics.</p>
<p>However, addressing those issues is fraught with peril for the Liberal Party. ICAC continues its scrutiny of politicians, and a number of Liberal MPs are in the firing line. One can also be sure that every member of the NSW parliament – no matter what party they belong to – will have spent some time yesterday reviewing which persons and organisations gave money or gifts to help in the last election. </p>
<p>In the three years since its <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/state-election-2011/well-govern-for-all-20110326-1cbbf.html">crushing defeat</a> at the polls, the Labor Party has accomplished very little in cleaning up its scandal-ridden behaviour, and it has not even had the complication of office to impede reform. Yet one does not have to be an admirer of opposition leader John Robertson to appreciate that <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/wine-scandal-gives-labor-faintest-sniff-after-whitewash-20140416-36sbt.html">his call</a> for dialogue between the major parties in seeking a way forward to rid the state of corruption is a positive one.</p>
<p>Already <a href="http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2014/4/17/politics/baird-set-take-nsw-top-job">old divisions</a> in the NSW Liberal Party are <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/premier-never-matched-great-expectations-20140416-36se3.html">re-asserting themselves</a>. O’Farrell had not even had time to call the governor to advise of his resignation before elements on the right of the party have expressed their disappointment with O’Farrell’s three year reign. </p>
<p>Too timid? Afraid to take on the tough issues? Or not prepared to pursue an agenda of economic and social reform demanded by the radical right? </p>
<p>The party’s right faction also <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-liberals-right-wing-outraged-at-baird-berejiklian-deal-20140417-36tih.html">reportedly expressed opposition</a> to a deal struck between Baird and new deputy Gladys Berejiklian – both of the party’s left – not to run against each other in the leadership ballot.</p>
<p>These critics have been relatively quiet for three years because O’Farrell’s mandate was so strong. But now? What mandate does Baird have that will put them back in their cages?</p>
<p>What about the Labor Party? There are some signs of new thinking – <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/balmain-voters-have-their-say-in-labors-community-preselection-20140413-36lb8.html">preselection</a> of some candidates by a popular vote of local residents, the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-06/obeid-and-macdonald-expelled-from-labor-party/4736322">expulsion of former ministers</a> caught up in ICAC’s web – but there has been no attempt to weaken the stranglehold on policy and management in the party by major trade unions and the Administrative Committee. </p>
<p>Robertson is not only overcautious and lacking in any charisma, but his path to parliamentary leadership began from his position at the <a href="http://www.nswalp.com/people/electorate-search/john-robertson-mlc/">head of Unions NSW</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46614/original/kms9bzzf-1397705982.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46614/original/kms9bzzf-1397705982.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46614/original/kms9bzzf-1397705982.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46614/original/kms9bzzf-1397705982.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46614/original/kms9bzzf-1397705982.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46614/original/kms9bzzf-1397705982.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46614/original/kms9bzzf-1397705982.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46614/original/kms9bzzf-1397705982.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">NSW opposition leader John Robertson’s lack of charisma may harm his electoral chances.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dean Lewins</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is customary for commentators to suggest that the Labor defeat in 2011 was so devastating that it could not possibly win an election in 2015. But there have been enough examples of wild swings of support in Australian politics over the last few years – including the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-19/barry-collier-stuns-ofarrell-govt-in-miranda-by-election/5033622">Miranda byelection swing</a> to the ALP in 2013 – to suggest that a savage defeat is not by itself a disqualification from electoral revival. </p>
<p>Given the problems in the Coalition, Labor could win next year if it completely reformed itself and renewed its leadership with good policy and personnel. But that is extremely unlikely in the time span available.</p>
<p>What is likely in the next 11 months is that both the Liberals and Labor will struggle to win back the support of a disillusioned electorate. The focus of the media will be on the government, as it should be, so that Baird’s positive contributions will be undercut by constant reminders of ethical frailty in all sections of his party. </p>
<p>What choice is there for the electorate? The Greens in NSW are not in a strong position to challenge for a much greater share of the vote. Perhaps there will be a revival for independent candidates who have made life very difficult for the National Party in the past and who might well annoy the other two major parties. </p>
<p>A firm – if much reduced – victory for the Coalition is the most likely outcome next year. That prediction, in itself, is likely to affect how seriously Baird tackles the underlying issues from O'Farrell’s departure. If he is likely to win anyway, why should he try too hard for reforms that will be difficult for business, lobbyists and the ideological right of his party to accept?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25741/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Hogan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mike Baird has been elected unopposed as the new NSW Liberal Party leader, and will soon become the state’s 44th premier after the shock resignation of Barry O'Farrell yesterday. But what are the prospects…Michael Hogan, Associate Professor and Honorary Associate, Department of Government and International Relations, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/257012014-04-16T05:50:21Z2014-04-16T05:50:21ZHistory repeats: how O'Farrell and Greiner fell foul of ICAC<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46537/original/jx4pww4q-1397626379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">NSW premier Barry O'Farrell has fallen victim to the state's ICAC, resigning his post earlier today over a 'memory fail' in the evidence he gave before it.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Himbrechts</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today, the New South Wales Independent Commission into Corruption (ICAC) claimed its biggest political scalp in two decades. Liberal state premier Barry O’Farrell <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/04/16/nsw-premier-barry-o-farrell-announces-resignation">resigned</a> after what he has described as a <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/barry-ofarrell-resigns-after-being-caught-out-over-bottle-of-wine-20140416-36qpg.html">“massive memory fail”</a> in relation to accepting a A$3000 bottle of wine from Nick Di Girolamo, the then-chief executive of the company at the centre of the ICAC investigation, Australia Water Holdings (AWH).</p>
<p>O’Farrell had previously contended in evidence before ICAC that he did not remember receiving the wine. His resignation adds to the raft of misconduct allegations already faced by some members of the NSW Labor Party. After all, how many times in living memory has a premier resigned because of questionable conduct? </p>
<p>Well, twice, if you’re in New South Wales. Before O'Farrell’s demise there was the case of Nick Greiner. In 1989, Greiner championed the establishment of ICAC, only to himself fall victim to it in 1992. At the time of his resignation, Greiner argued it wasn’t corruption, it was <a href="http://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/dmdocuments/pub2_22i1.pdf">“politics”</a>. </p>
<p>The two cases share a number of similarities. The <a href="http://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/dmdocuments/pub2_22i1.pdf">allegations</a> levelled at Greiner were that he misused his position as Liberal Party leader to secure independent MP Terry Metherell’s resignation from state parliament to achieve political advantage. This fits in nicely with the <a href="http://www.apec.org.au/docs/06ASCC_HCMC/06_9_1_Balboa.pdf">commonly accepted definition</a> of corruption: a misuse of public office for private gain or personal advantage.</p>
<p>It is alleged that AWH lobbied O’Farrell to facilitate the rolling out of water infrastructure with AWH and state-owned Sydney Water Holdings. Lobbying exists within the grey area of corruption. At the very least it creates significant corruption risk.</p>
<p>However, what tipped the balance in O’Farrell’s case was his failure to declare the wine. By not declaring it, the message he sent was that he did not want people to know about it: that it was a personal advantage.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46545/original/h5fmw94b-1397628776.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46545/original/h5fmw94b-1397628776.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46545/original/h5fmw94b-1397628776.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46545/original/h5fmw94b-1397628776.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46545/original/h5fmw94b-1397628776.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46545/original/h5fmw94b-1397628776.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46545/original/h5fmw94b-1397628776.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46545/original/h5fmw94b-1397628776.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ‘thankyou note’ which ended the premiership of Barry O'Farrell.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/ICAC</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Both of these acts rely on individuals achieving gain (be it in the form of Shiraz or political advantage), yet both point to a corrupted political culture. And the increase in public awareness of ICAC’s scope and of the acts that constitute corruption under law means those involved in the AWH case currently before the ICAC (O’Farrell included) have no excuse.</p>
<p>The NSW ICAC is not only the longest running independent anti-corruption organisation in Australia, it is also widely considered to be successful, both in <a href="http://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/component/docman/doc_download/4164-community-attitudes-survey-report-on-2012-survey-july-2013">NSW</a> and <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/ibac-admits-it-cannot-do-its-job-20140415-36pv9.html">in Victoria</a>. It has teeth, and it isn’t afraid to bite. Coupled with a comparatively high level of investigations and prosecutions, the powers awarded to the NSW ICAC make it a thorough and well-oiled organisation.</p>
<p>The NSW ICAC relies on the public to <a href="http://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/">report</a> cases of corruption. These allegations, should they prove to be viable or substantiated, are then heard in open hearings. This ensures that the public is engaged with the ICAC which, in turn, promotes awareness of the organisation.</p>
<p>The New South Wales ICAC does not have the ability to charge or sentence individuals who appear before it. Rather, it reviews evidence, makes findings, and then passes it all on to the state Director of Public Prosecutions, who can lay charges over corrupt activity.</p>
<p>Some <a href="http://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/documents/doc_download/2213-new-york-police-department-preventing-crime-and-corruption">academics</a> talk about the 20 year life cycle of corruption; that two decades will pass between corruption taking root and corruption scandals being played out. The NSW experience more or less supports this theory. </p>
<p>What needs to be understood, however, is that this 20 year cycle is not a naturally occurring phenomenon. It is about the time it takes for corruption charges to be proved, corrupt cultures disabled and disentangled, and for observers to leave the workforce. As the living memory of institutional corruption lessens, corrupt cultures slowly start to rebuild, and the cycle starts anew.</p>
<p>For the past 20 years, the NSW ICAC has targeted these factors, with <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newsstoryid=3836">varying levels of community support</a>. What is needed is ongoing internal monitoring, and a renewed emphasis on educating office holders as to what is acceptable conduct. You can never entirely get rid of corruption, but you can manage it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25701/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Olivia Monaghan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Today, the New South Wales Independent Commission into Corruption (ICAC) claimed its biggest political scalp in two decades. Liberal state premier Barry O’Farrell resigned after what he has described as…Olivia Monaghan, PhD Student in the School of Social and Political Sciences, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/257052014-04-16T05:01:39Z2014-04-16T05:01:39ZO’Farrell fell short of basic standards in business and public life<p>It is tragic that New South Wales has lost an able and dedicated Premier apparently over a bottle of wine, even if it is a $3000 bottle of 1959 Penfolds Grange. Many will be sad to see Barry O’Farrell go. He is one of the most skilled politicians in the recent history of a state not well endowed with people of his capability and determination.</p>
<p>But what this ICAC revelation demonstrates once more is the tawdry state of the NSW government and Parliament. Single-handedly Geoffrey Watson SC, the counsel assisting the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), is apparently clearing out an Augean Stables of greed, graft, bribery, and deceit.</p>
<p>In the catalogue of alleged influence peddling, misdemeanours, fraud and theft revealed in successive ICAC hearings concerning Australia Water Holdings, this bottle of wine incident might appear fairly trivial. Especially when you consider the corrupt coal licences at Doyles Creek, Mount Penny and Glendon Brook, all allegedly revolving around the financial interests of Eddie Obeid. </p>
<p>Nor should O’Farrell be pilloried for forgetting that he received the gift, if we grant him the benefit of a considerable doubt and assume he’s telling the truth. Premier O’Farrell has put himself forward as a defender of honesty, integrity and fair-dealing in the NSW Government. He even took the brave step of cancelling the mining licences awarded in dubious circumstances. But in accepting that bottle of wine he broke a fundamental rule in public or business life: do not accept gifts or favours in any circumstances (other than as a substitute for a fee for a service, such as a conference speech).</p>
<p>It was a career-ending mistake to accept an expensive bottle of wine from AWH chief executive Nick Di Girolamo, a man whose company stood to receive extraordinary benefits from a badly drafted contract with Sydney Water that allegedly allowed him to rort NSW taxpayers at will. To make matters worse at the time AWH was also bidding for a potentially lucrative new Public Private Partnership deal.</p>
<p>In many leading businesses there is a simple rule not to accept gifts of any kind from anyone in the course of business. It’s really not worth the hassle of imputations of potential corruption. In other companies and organisations small gifts may be allowed (less than $100) and anything larger must be handed over to the company, or handed back to the giver. Once Alan Greenspan, the Chair of the US Federal Reserve was asked to give the annual address at Enron. He was offered a cheque for US$30,000 and a gold statue after the speech. He left both on the Enron board table when he walked out.</p>
<p>In public life gifts have to be recorded, and large gifts handed over. In NSW parliament gifts over $500 have to be declared on the register of pecuniary interests. According to <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/icac-grills-premier-barry-ofarrell-over-missing-3000-bottle-of-grange/story-fni0xqrc-1226885756117">a report in The Daily Telegraph</a> no such declaration was made. </p>
<p>The alternative to strict adherence to such rules is that those with the deepest pockets and worst intentions can exert undue influence over decision makers. These systems of graft are often prevalent in developing economies, and undermine and divert economic growth and development. But as the ICAC inquiries have shockingly revealed, they can also occur right here and now.</p>
<p>Australian government and Australian business has to set higher standards. Barry O’Farrell has done the right thing in resigning.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25705/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Clarke does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It is tragic that New South Wales has lost an able and dedicated Premier apparently over a bottle of wine, even if it is a $3000 bottle of 1959 Penfolds Grange. Many will be sad to see Barry O’Farrell…Thomas Clarke, Professor, Centre for Corporate Governance , University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.