Fire Brigades managers corrupt: watchdog

Two NSW Fire Brigades managers engaged in corrupt conduct by pursuing dishonest schemes that enabled them to receive $2.4 million in payments, the Independent Commission Against Corruption has found.

Under the schemes, which ran between 2005 and 2007, companies controlled by Christian Sanhueza received $6.07 million from the NSW Fire Brigades for upgrades, repairs and maintenance of fire stations.

After paying subcontractors, Mr Sanhueza received at least $1.4 million and his associate, Clive Taylor $1.01 million, ICAC found.

As a result of its inquiry, ICAC said it had found "systemic weakness" in the NSW Fire Brigades and made 14 "corruption prevention recommendations" to minimise or prevent similar corrupt conduct and improper work practices from recurring.

Earlier, ICAC referred the receipt of the corrupt proceeds to the NSW Crime Commission, which obtained restraining orders against Mr Sanhueza and Mr Taylor.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court has "made a proceeds assessment order" against Mr Sanhueza for $950,000 and has sought to forfeit assets of Mr Taylor - a farm at Merriwa, two flat-screen television sets and a laptop computer, ICAC said.

The NSW Fire Brigades had no effective method of costing a capital works project, ICAC noted in its report, released earlier today.

"The budget allocation process offered the corrupt project managers their opportunity," ICAC said.

Reports ICAC also made corruption findings against Fire Brigades contractor Rasem Guirguis, who gave both men gifts of televisions and laptop computers for awarding him work.

Another man, Soliman Hanna, was found to have acted corruptly by giving Mr Sanhueza and Mr Taylor $1000 each for awarding him work.

Patricia Xuereb, another Fire Brigades employee, was found to have improperly provided confidential information to Mr Sanhueza.

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Something is rotten in the state of NSW

IN 1998 the lid was lifted on the corrupt world of NSW railways, revealing that supplying prostitutes could win you a contract, fake medical certificates signed by a dead doctor would get you a day off work, and you could claim overtime while playing golf.

Ten years later it seems little has changed in RailCorp and the stench of corruption is slowly engulfing the NSW public sector.

In past 12 months the Independent Commission Against Corruption has held inquiries into three State Government agencies - the Roads and Traffic Authority, RailCorp and the Department of Housing; the NSW Fire Brigades has joined the list this week.

The commission has begun investigating claims that the former brigade project managers Christian Sanhueza and Clive Taylor awarded $6 million in contracts between 2005 and 2007, using fake tenders to give contracts to shelf companies controlled by Mr Sanhueza.

Contracts were then sub-contracted to cheaper building firms, allegedly netting the pair almost $2.5 million.

Ken Phillips, the director of the work reform unit at the Institute of Public Affairs, said the NSW public service was "rotten to the core".

"The governments in Victoria, South Australia and Queensland are pretty clean governments but NSW has never got over the rum rebellion," Mr Phillips said.

"NSW is very tribal and you have a mates culture in NSW that does not belong in any other state, which leads to an acceptance of sanctified corruption."

The fire brigade allegations are the latest to tarnish the public service and follow ICAC uncovering $22 million in fraudulent RailCorp contracts being awarded, including $3 million in kickbacks to rail staff, in one of the biggest investigations in the commission's history.

The inquiry, the seventh corruption investigation of the NSW railways since 1992, also revealed a welding manager defrauded RailCorp of $4.28 million and a contracts officer helped herself to $650,000. They were among eight people recommended for prosecution.

RailCorp was also under the corruption spotlight last year when it was discovered that an engineer, Said Marcos, awarded air-conditioning contracts to his mates, landing himself at least $710,000. But the problems are not confined to the railways.

In January this year, the commission investigated a state housing official, Douglas Norris, who took bribes to let people jump the public housing waiting list.

He also allowed homes to be used by drug dealers. It emerged that Mr Norris operated a bribes-for-accommodation scheme with alleged drug dealers and other housing tenants who acted as middlemen. Tenants paid between $500 and $700 for a bedsit or between $1500 and $1700 for a two- or three-bedroom flat.

And last year a Roads and Traffic Authority registry manager, Paul McPherson, was investigated by the commission after he provided at least 100 motorists the answers to their L-plate licence tests and gave advance warning of the route of their driving tests. False email records were also created to allow migrant New Zealanders to obtain NSW drivers' licences as part of the scam.

At least 12 public servants or contractors are facing criminal charges for their roles in various corrupt activities, and so widespread is the problem in RailCorp that the massive bureaucracy is struggling to implement the internal reforms required to fix its problems.

In a parliamentary inquiry into ICAC last month, the commissioner, Jerrold Cripps, said RailCorp had "flooded" the commission with work yet the Government was often extremely slow or had failed to implement the recommendations handed down by the commission.

"The perception is that we keep exposing it and nothing happens," Mr Cripps told the inquiry.