Queensland's anti-corruption watchdog backs calls from the state's Integrity Commissioner for increased independence and mechanisms to stop political interference.
The outgoing Integrity Commissioner, Dr Stepanov, also made a scathing submission to the parliamentary committee detailing a lack of resources and outdated software.she announced her resignation last monthShe said urgent funding was needed to replace the outdated software that maintains the lobbyist register, which Dr Stepanov described as "no longer viable".
She said the amount of advice she had provided in the past four and a half years had outstripped her four predecessors in the previous 17 years. "By comparison, over the course of 17 years from the establishment of the role of Integrity Commissioner, the four preceding Integrity Commissioners provided advice on ethics, integrity, and interest matters on a total of 573 occasions'' Dr Stepanov said.
"There remains some concern that the needs of mayors and councillors may not be fully met,'' she wrote.
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