John Roderick McKechnie (born 1 November 1950) is the Commissioner of the

Corruption and Crime Commission The Corruption and Crime Commission is an independent anti-corruption integrity agency established on 1 January 2004 to improve the integrity of the Western Australian public sector and investigate allegations of misconduct against public off ...

of Western Australia. He is a former Justice of the

Supreme Court of Western Australia The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters (although it usually only hears matters involving sums of or more ...

, the highest ranking court in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, and formerly served as the State's first Director of Public Prosecutions. He attended Scotch College from 1963 until 1967, then graduated in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

from the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

in 1972. He then took articles with Jackson McDonald & Co, before joining the Crown Law Department. He became a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1989, and then in December 1991 was appointed by the

Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia is the States and territories of Australia, Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government or the Western Australian Governmen ...

as the state's first Director of Public Prosecutions. During his eight-year term in this role, the department processed on average 2,500 prosecutions per year. On 2 March 1999, he was sworn in as a justice of the

. He retired from the Supreme Court on 22 April 2015 to take up an appointment as the Commissioner of the

Corruption and Crime Commissioner

On 28 April 2015, McKechnie was first appointed as the Commissioner of the Corruption and Crime Commission for a five-year term. During his tenure, the Corruption and Crime Commission found that a State Parliamentarian had misused an electoral allowance. McKechnie was involved in controversy following the expiration of his term as Commissioner on 25 April 2020, when his reappointment to the position was blocked by a bipartisan Parliamentary joint standing committee. In June 2021, the

Western Australian Parliament The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Western Australia, which constitutes the legislative branch of the state's political system. The parliament consists of the King (represented by the gov ...

passed legislation reappointing McKechnie as Commissioner without requiring the agreement of the joint standing committee, to take effect on 28 June 2021. McKechnie was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the

2024 Australia Day Honours The 2024 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2024 by the Governor General of Australia, David Hurley. The Australi ...

for "distinguished service to the law, to the judiciary, and to the community of Western Australia".

Corruption and Crime Commissioner

References

Further reading

See also