Corruption and Crime Commissioner John McKechnie asks WA Ombudsman Chris Field to consider resigning

WA Ombudsman Chris Field arrives at the CCC for the final day of the public hearings.  (ABC News: David Weber )

The Corruption and Crime Commissioner has called on the WA Ombudsman to consider resigning, after a nine-day public examination of his role concluded on Friday.

The CCC had focused on Chris Field’s extensive overseas travel as a representative of an international ombudsman organisation, funded by WA taxpayers and totalling hundred of thousands of dollars.

Commissioner John McKechnie said Mr Field had given significant service to the state over many years.

“Perhaps it is now time to reflect whether your continuing in the role is in the best interests of the state or yourself,” he said.

“The last years have clearly taken a toll on you.

“I am in no way suggesting any course of action.

“[I] simply suggest, that in the light of all the circumstances, you take time to take some overdue leave and reflect on what course of action will best serve the state and you.”

Pub test failed, parliament test passed?

WA government members and officials had welcomed and praised Chris Field’s role as president of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) after he won the job in 2021.

According to its website, the institute is the “only global organisation for the cooperation of more than 200 independent ombudsman institutions from more than 100 countries”.

Everything changed after media reporting in October 2023, which highlighted his increasingly costly global role.

The CCC zeroed in on how the presidency related to his day job in Perth, and why his office paid for the sojourns.

The commission was told the IOI contributed 10,000 euros a year for Mr Field’s presidential travel but his office had covered a lot more.

The commission also heard Mr Field only spent 36 days in the WA Ombudsman’s office across 13 months.

If devoting so much time and effort outside of his state of responsibility as an independent investigator may not pass the ‘pub test’, it was apparently passing the parliament test.

Mr Field told the CCC on Friday, the public service was also informed.

“It was well known to all of these people what I was doing,” Mr Field said.

Counsel assisting put it to him that they may not have known that the WA Ombudsman’s office was picking up the bills.

“I do not accept that for a second,” he said.

Evidence had been presented by Mr Field’s lawyer, Christian Porter, that parliamentarians knew about his overseas trips, or could have known, as they were proudly displayed in annual reports, in travel reports, and on his LinkedIn page.

His 2022-23 annual report featured accounts of trips to New Zealand, Ukraine, Poland, Morocco, Pakistan, Austria, Slovenia and the UK.

Mr Field was asked by Mr Porter why he reported extensively to parliament.

His answer was that he wanted to be “utterly, completely and voluminously transparent”.

Commissioner McKechnie said on Wednesday “it may not be improper if someone believes it is proper”.

“We could hardly accuse him of covering it up,” he said in relation to Mr Field.

Ombudsman’s own staff concerned

There were, however, concerns within the Ombudsman’s office.

The CCC was shown an internal email from Assistant Ombudsman Kyle Heritage on January 25, 2023.

“The Ombudsman’s international engagements, while undoubtedly individually impressive, are not connected to the Ombudsman’s functions as set out in legislation and have an unquantified financial benefit to the state,” it read.

This sentence crystallised the point of the CCC inquiry.

Other evidence showed his chief of staff expressed concern about an OECD project he was lining up, telling Mr Field he’d “jumped the shark”.

But it seemed nobody in government tackled the issue of Mr Field’s dual roles until after coverage in the West Australian newspaper in October 2023.

Mr Field was soon told by Roger Cook’s chief of staff, Daniel Pastorelli, that the premier believed his presidency of the International Ombudsman Institute was “untenable”.

Mr Field told the CCC on Friday he himself “formed the view” around the time of the phone call that he would leave the presidency, and would pay for future trips out of his own pocket.

But then he reconsidered.

It was at a CCC public hearing in March that he finally revealed he had “recently” stood down as IOI president.

Before he became president, Mr Field had other IOI roles which involved global travel but there was no evidence of raised eyebrows in the Barnett or McGowan governments, or in opposition parties.

The Ombudsman said he had experienced no negative media coverage before October 2023, and saw his international role as being “profoundly in the public interest”.

“I felt it was my duty and I felt I was executing it well,” he said.

The CCC was shown evidence that at least some in the McGowan administration felt the same way and were prepared to say so.

After Mr Field was awarded a public service medal in the 2023 Australia Day Honours, Department of Premier and Cabinet Director General Emily Roper posted a tribute on LinkedIn.

“… our Ombudsman Chris Field PSM who is blazing a trail internationally to improve public administration and accountability across the globe,” the post said.

Sister state agreement

To be told that Premier Cook believed his IOI presidency was “untenable” represented a 180-degree shift for a man who had worked to get a ‘sister state’ agreement between WA and Styria, in Austria.

A date for then-premier Mark McGowan to sign an agreement with visiting dignitaries from Styria was set for July 17, 2023.

The CCC was shown communications suggesting there was enthusiasm for the Styria agreement within government.

Mr Field told the commission he felt “completely and totally supported”, but Mr McGowan’s resignation meant it was put on hold.

The Commissioner suggested to Mr Field that he might be considered to be on personal leave when travelling on “purely IOI business”.

While the Ombudsman didn’t think he should have to use his own money for overseas IOI trips, he would in the future.

“Public service is about selflessness and I’m happy to do so,” he told the CCC.

OECD project to be scrutinised

In his final report, the Commissioner’s likely to consider Mr Field’s plan to spend more than $200,000 on an OECD survey project which he’d discussed with Secretary General Mathias Cormann.

Mr Field maintained he’d told Mr Pastorelli and Public Sector Commissioner Sharyn O’Neill about the project before October last year, but CCC counsel Kirsten Nelson said both have denied that.

Treasurer Rita Saffioti ultimately stepped in to prevent the payment.

At the close of the hearings, Commissioner McKechnie pointed out that the CCC started its investigation prior to the October coverage.