Where evil stalks undisturbed !

" Power corrupts - and absolute power corrupts absolutely ".

Those are words that those setting up the New South Wales Crime Commission would have been wise to ponder. They were seduced by the enormity of terrorism, the power of the Middle Eastern crime gangs operating in this country, and the ever present, world encompassing drug trade into creating a super crime commission without any form of oversight.

The warning signs have been present for some time. Phone taps have by-passed the usual authorisation and ordinary cops questioning this action have been threatened with arrest. All requests for information have been refused on security grounds.

Finally - the pressure from within boiled over. The chief investigator of the NSW Crime Commission, Mark Standen was arrested for master minding the import of material destined for the drug trade which would have returned a profit of twenty-four million dollars.

Further revelations disclosed a huge gambling debt of over a million dollars - and a mistress who happened to work for ICAC, the very investigative body that uncovered the criminal activity within the Crime Commission.

All the ingredients to corrupt a top crime investigator were present, but went unnoticed until luck entered the equation. It seems likely that the deeper the investigation digs - the more corruption will see the light of day - and much of this will have a bearing on past criminal cases investigated - and prosecuted - by the Commission.

It is now a case of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted - but at least we should be in a position to learn from this debacle.

Nomatter how grim the threat from terrorism or organised crime no super agency should be created without the checks and balances necessary to ensure that it's activities remain within the law.

No law should be rushed through the parliament - as a matter of urgency - to validate action by a crime body that is questionable under the provisions that guard citizen's rights.

What happened in trying to create a crime fighter immune to the law highlights the need for a " Bill of Rights " to be added to the constitution to protect the ordinary citizen from the actions of illegal use of the law.

In this instance the law was out of control - because there was no body to ensure that it was acting legally - and that must never happen again !