Inaugural Transport Portfolio Integrity Forum

In November last year more than 800 employees came together for the inaugural Transport Portfolio Integrity Forum demonstrating our commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity and accountability.

In his opening address, Peter Woronzow highlighted the leading role that the we have in supporting the state’s economic recovery from COVID-19 and how our projects account for almost half of the State’s Asset Investment Program. Whilst critical to assisting in revitalising the State’s economy, increased funding also means increased responsibility and scrutiny.

Peter also encouraged everyone to speak up if something doesn’t seem right and reiterated that each agency has processes and systems in place to support staff and contractors who raise any integrity related concerns. He said that ‘Integrity is everyone’s responsibility and any concerns reported will be investigated and an appropriate response taken if something is not right’.

We also heard from the Commonwealth Bank’s Information Security Team who presented an insightful and sobering session called ‘Business Email Compromise – Hacking the human, not the machine’. It was a good reminder to everyone about the potential risks of weak personal online security. The presentation demonstrated how easily weak passwords can be hacked by harvesting personal information from a range of common social media platforms.

The final presentation, from the Corruption and Crime Commission, highlighted the need for good corporate governance and some of the integrity related ‘red flags’ everyone can look out for at both an individual and organisational level.

The forum concluded with a Q&A panel with Peter, the Managing Directors from each agency and the various presenters taking questions from the audience.

Overall, the forum reminded everyone that it is essential we operate within our governance and integrity frameworks and remain vigilant to ensure good systems, processes and controls are understood, adhered to and maintained. The forum was one part of a larger body of work aimed at strengthening and embedding integrity into all aspects of our work and culture.