Publication Date: Aug 2021
RRP: $19.95
ISBN: 9781922464552
Format: Paperback
Size: 111mm x 175mm
Category: In the National Interest

Easy Lies & Influence

Fiona McLeod

Also available as an ebook from your favourite retailer.


In Australia, corruption spends public funds in pursuit of power, rewards favour, and strips support from worthy programs. It silences journalists and those charged with upholding standards of integrity by depriving them of funding. Grift and stacking are commonplace as those chasing influence infiltrate the structures of power. Corruption rewards loyalty through appointments to office and by preferencing those within the favoured network ahead of others of equal or greater talent. It conceals itself through unfit-for-purpose access to information laws and processes, vague budget commitments, the assertion of unchecked executive discretion, a quick media cycle and overburdened parliamentary committees. It undermines trust in government at a time when trust is vital to keeping us safe. Corruption allows mistrust to fester, offers nourishment to conspiracy theories, and engenders civil unrest. In Easy Lies & Influence, Fiona McLeod, a practising Senior Counsel and Chair of the Accountability Round Table, tells us what corruption can do, and why it’s imperative that we address it. After all, if citizens can’t see a way of bolstering the pillars of democracy—trust, truth, integrity and accountability—what chance is there of restoring decency and the prioritisation of community interests in public office?


Fiona McLeod

Fiona McLeod AO SC practises as a Senior Counsel and is recognised as a leader of the profession for having helmed the peak national legal bodies, including the Law Council of Australia. She is the Chair of the Accountability Round...
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