Ombudsman Chris Field resigns after CCC finds he set up ‘sham’ process to justify international travel

One of the State’s most senior bureaucrats resigned on Tuesday after a damning corruption report which stated he engaged in “serious misconduct” and set up a “sham” process to approve taxpayer-funded international travel. Chris Field, who as WA ombudsman for 17 years was tasked with independent oversight of government, billed the people of WA $172,000 for his overseas jaunts in the space of a year. Most of that spending was related to his role as president of the International Ombudsman Institute. On Tuesday, a Corruption and Crime Commission report said Mr Field approved his own overseas trips, despite government policy stating that all such travel be approved by a minister. The CCC said Mr Field — who was appointed to the role in 2007 but had been on leave since the conclusion of public hearings in May — either “unilaterally decided” to travel overseas or was invited to overseas events in his role as IOI president. He would decide that a video link appearance was not possible and, after then concluding in-person attendance was required, instructed his assistant to prepare a business case for travel. “Of course, the business case always supported the decision he had already made,” the report said. “Mr Field approved the travel first and the business case later.” The inquiry stated the business case was then signed “by another less senior officer”, who had no power to veto the decision. “Thus the creation of the business case had no purpose other than to serve as a record of apparent regularity,” the probe said. The CCC reported that Mr Field also approved travel for public servants travelling with him, including senior assistant ombudsman Rebecca Poole. The probe said her “unswerving loyalty” to Mr Field may have blinded her, but that she had not engaged in serious misconduct. The CCC said Mr Field breached procurement rules when he signed an agreement with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for €129,640 (about $252,000) to survey the role of ombudsmen in society. The agreement required payment in 30 days, but Treasurer Rita Saffioti intervened — demanding an explanation and ordered no action be taken on the invoice. She did not accept Mr Field’s explanation and stopped the invoice from being paid. The CCC said he prepared a document to justify the agreement, which included false claims such as stating the rules had been followed throughout. The report also said he used public money to provide gifts to IOI members. One example was a gift to the Slovenian ombudsman of an engraved opal and silver medallion from Perth Mint. Even after his spending sparked public controversy, after reports in The West Australian of the lavish outlay, Mr Field accepted travel and accommodation from the Kingdom of Bahrain while he was on annual leave. He later praised the regime’s prison system in international media, which the CCC said was a “return” for the Middle Eastern country’s “investment”. The CCC said Mr Field did not try to hide his overseas travel and it did not find he had a “corrupt intention” in relation to it. After the findings were released, Mr Field, who has already stepped down from his role at the IOI, said he was resigning, but claimed he had been denied “procedural fairness” and would seek a review. “There has been no finding of serious misconduct by the commission in regard to my travel, which was the essential and original basis for the conduct of the public examinations,” he said. Premier Roger Cook said the findings were “stark and clear” and “it doesn’t get much more damning” than a finding of serious misconduct. The report said Mr Field made “wild, speculative and baseless” claims about Ms Saffioti’s role in the process. She said on Tuesday: “He should have been concentrating more on trying to defend his actions than launching some sort of political attack on myself.” Opposition Leader Shane Love said it was clear Mr Field had “lost the credibility required for his role”.