Page content

Holding to account: Confronting mass human rights violations and grand corruption in the Pacific and central Asia.

Linked Researchers: Professor Kristian Lasslett

Dr Lasslett has pioneered a world leading investigative research methodology for forensically scrutinising state and corporate conduct essential to the perpetration of grand corruption, and state-corporate criminality.

This ground-breaking methodology has produced some of the first forensic data-sets in criminology that uncover and document serious human rights violations in the extractive industry and real-property markets.

The exceptional and highly unique reservoir of ‘insider data’ acquired by Dr Lasslett, and the global esteem they have attracted has created the essential foundation for confronting some of the most powerful institutional actors in the South Pacific region. This was achieved through strategic collaborations with civil society, the media, public officials, members of the judiciary and documentary filmmakers.

Associated Publications: State Crime on the Margins of Empire, The Crimes of Urbanisation.

Impact

Dr Lasslett’s research into state, and state-corporate crime has precipitated major changes in government policy. These include:

  • the return of land to indigenous owners
  • corporate decisions effecting 250,000 people
  • major reforms in anti-corruption oversight
  • new civil society campaigns and NGO policies
  • improvements in corporate social responsibility
  • the removal of a senior state official from office
  • a precedent setting Supreme Court decision
  • significant improvements in journalistic practice, which collectively have substantively enhanced human rights protection, corporate accountability, public integrity and health and well-being in the Pacific region

Key resources

Examples of Dr Lasslett's research impact include:

  • Collaborative advocacy campaigns in partnership with international civil society including the Not On My Watch Campaign .
  • Citation of research in parliament, examples include research on Australian state crime, corruption in Papua New Guinea (see here) and committee reporting (see here).
  • Citation of research in NSW Supreme Court and Papua New GuineaNational Court proceedings.
  • Correspondence with senior political leaders.
  • Improved reporting on human rights and corruption.
  • New cultural artefacts, in the form of documentary-film. See The Opposition .