The Commission is not to make a finding, form an opinion or formulate a recommendation which section 74B or 74BA prevents the Commission from including in a report, but section 9(5) and this section are the only restrictions imposed by this Act on the Commission's powers under subsection (3).
25 Section 74 concerns the making of reports by the Commission to Parliament:
74 Reports on referred matters etc
(1) The Commission may prepare reports in relation to any matter that has been or is the subject of an investigation.
(2) The Commission shall prepare reports in relation to a matter referred to the Commission by both Houses of Parliament, as directed by those Houses.
(3) The Commission shall prepare reports in relation to matters as to which the Commission has conducted a public inquiry, unless the Houses of Parliament have given different directions under subsection (2).
(4) The Commission shall furnish reports prepared under this section to the Presiding Officer of each House of Parliament.
(5), (6) (Repealed)
(7) A report required under this section shall be furnished as soon as possible after the Commission has concluded its involvement in the matter.
(8) The Commission may defer making a report under this section if it is satisfied that it is desirable to do so in the public interest, except as regards a matter referred to the Commission by both Houses of Parliament.
(9) (Repealed)
26 A report under s 74 is not to include findings or opinions that a person has committed a criminal or disciplinary offence (see s 74B). Section 74BA(1) provides:
The Commission is not authorised to include in a report under section 74 a finding or opinion that any conduct of a specified person is corrupt conduct unless the conduct is serious corrupt conduct.
The NSW Ministerial Code
27 Following a preamble, which does not form part of the Code but to which regard may be had in the interpretation of its provisions (Code, s 12(1)), s 1(2) provides that the Code applies "to all current and future Ministers and Governments".
28 Section 4 of the Code requires compliance with the Schedule to the Code (the Schedule), and provides that a "substantial breach" of the Schedule, if done knowingly, is a "substantial breach" of the Code. Part 3 of the Schedule, headed "Conflicts of interest", addresses among other topics the duty to disclose conflicts of interest (cl 10), the form of disclosure (cl 11), and the obligation of a Minister to abstain from decision-making in the face of a conflict of interest (cl 12).
29 Sections 6 and 7 of the Code provide:
6 Duty to act honestly and in the public interest
A Minister, in the exercise or performance of their official functions, must not act dishonestly, must act only in what they consider to be the public interest, and must not act improperly for their private benefit or for the private benefit of any other person.
7 Conflicts of interest
(1) A Minister must not knowingly conceal a conflict of interest from the Premier.
(2) A Minister must not, without the written approval of the Premier, make or participate in the making of any decision or take any other action in relation to a matter in which the Minister is aware they have a conflict of interest.
