Former Labor attorney-general and federal court judge Robert McClelland has been named as the new head of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
Attorney-general Michelle Rowland’s office said it had recommended that the governor-general appoint Deputy Chief Justice McClelland as the new commissioner of the NACC and Christopher Savundra as his deputy (ABC).
“Deputy chief Justice McClelland and Mr Savundra’s expertise will be an asset to the commission, and I have confidence in their ability to contribute to its important work to enhance integrity across the Commonwealth public sector” (The Guardian).
McClelland is currently deputy chief justice of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and was previously the nation’s first law officer under the Rudd government from 2007 to 2011 (ABC).
Savundra is currently the executive director of enforcement and compliance at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (The Guardian).
The appointments follow the resignation in May of the inaugural NACC commissioner, Paul Brereton, after sustained scrutiny over his handling of conflicts of interest and his links to the defence force (TSP).