The Integrity Commission has cleared the public servants and property agents involved in the controversial rural land buy-up on Canberra's western fringe of corrupt conduct.
The now-defunct Land Development Agency bought nine rural property leases west of Canberra between 2014 and 2017, spending more than $43 million on the deals that covered 3378 hectares.
The commission concluded the actions of the agency and its staff did "not demonstrate dishonesty, partiality, breach of public trust, fraud or obtaining personal advantage, which are the hallmarks of corrupt conduct".
The Auditor-General in 2018 found many of the deals failed a number of the agency's tests for land acquisitions and an arrangement with real estate firm Colliers International lacked "transparency and accountability" and was at risk of potential conflicts of interest.
The Integrity Commission concluded the processes of the Land Development Agency "left much to be desired in terms of appropriate documentation of key elements of the transactions and not always appearing to comply with the government's own procurement framework", the agency's actions did not raise a reasonable suspicion of corrupt conduct.
"The Auditor-General and [the standing committee on public accounts] have identified many areas that suggest inadequate attention to detail and good practice by the LDA, including by its board and senior officers, and perhaps even a failure to ensure that the primacy of cabinet's deliberative processes was observed," the commission's report said.
"Those matters may well have been instrumental in inducing the dissolution of the LDA, but in the commission's view, taken at the highest, they do not demonstrate dishonesty, partiality, breach of public trust, fraud or obtaining personal advantage, which are the hallmarks of corrupt conduct."
The Integrity Commission also found no issue with the sale of the Fairvale property, off Cotter Road, which was found by the Auditor-General to be "irregular".
The Land Development Agency supported a subdivision of the block, which allowed real estate company director Steven Flannery, who valued the property for its original owner, to buy part of the land.
The commission agreed with the evidence to the Legislative Assembly that the approaches to the original owner by Colliers, acting on behalf of the Land Development Agency, and Mr Flannery were "in large part coincidental".
The commission found the government's policy against subdividing rural land did not appear to be undermined by the arrangement at Fairvale, because the land was not intended to be retained for residential use.
In one deal, the audit found, the Land Development Agency paid $7 million for a property despite it being valued at $3 million.
The properties were: Lands End (bought for $3 million), Milapuru ($7 million), part of Fairvale ($3.1 million), Huntly ($10 million), Wintergarden ($4 million), Winslade ($7.5 million), Pine Ridge ($4.6 million), The Vines (about $2.2 million) and Wagtail Park (about $1.68 million).
The buy-up of rural land followed a March 2014 planning day held by the Land Development Agency attended by Colliers International ACT chief executive Paul Powderly and a colleague. In September 2014, Colliers provided an unsolicited letter proposing the agency consider buying five rural leases.
The ninth Assembly's public accounts committee was concerned the Land Development Agency relied "unreservedly" on advice from Colliers.
The Integrity Commission said it might have been prudent for the agency to seek additional advice, it was a judgement call the agency was qualified and required to make.
"It was far from essential that it should obtain any additional advice and certainly not suggestive of a lack of probity, let alone corrupt conduct," the commission's report said.
In a special report tabled in the Legislative Assembly, the Integrity Commission said the issues had already been appropriately dealt with and there was no justification for the commission to investigate the handling of the land sales further.
The commission said no one identified in its report was subject to any adverse comment or opinion.
Nicole Lawder, a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly, and Vicki Dunne, a former Liberal Assembly member, made a corruption complaint to the commission in August 2020 following an inquiry by the Assembly's standing committee on public accounts.
The inquiry made six recommendations and eight findings, including that the Land Development Agency did not adhere to established planning policies and bought rural properties without explicit authorisation of cabinet.
The Integrity Commission has also previously cleared the Land Development Agency's involvement in the ACT's purchase of a block at Glebe Park. The findings were made in the commission's first report, released in February 2022.
The commission found there was no reasonable suspicion of corrupt conduct by either Chief Minister Andrew Barr or officials in the 2015 purchase of the land adjacent to Glebe Park for $4.2 million. The government bought the land for four times the amount of one valuation.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr was also in 2022 cleared by the commission over a highly controversial Dickson land swap deal the government made with a union-linked club.
The ACT Integrity Commission said previous criticisms of that transaction made by the Auditor-General and a Legislative Assembly committee were not justified, and there was no evidence of corruption, but criticised the government's inappropriate lack of documentation.
