The need for an independent and powerful national anti-corruption commission
This inquiry has further highlighted the urgent need for a broad-based, independent and powerful national integrity commission to tackle corruption.
Despite the recent amendments to the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Regulations 2017 (see, for example, paragraph 2.34 of the committee's report), the jurisdiction of the Australian Commission on Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI) is far too narrow to address the scourge of corruption at the Commonwealth level—with no jurisdiction to investigate the vast majority of Commonwealth departments and agencies, let alone ministers and other members of Parliament.
In December 2018, the Hon Scott Morrison MP, Prime Minister announced that his government would establish a Commonwealth Integrity Commission. It has been almost three years since Mr Morrison made that announcement—and the government has not even introduced a bill into the Parliament.
Instead, on 2 November 2020, the government published an exposure draft of a bill to establish a new Integrity Commission. The proposed model includes two divisions.
One of those divisions would be responsible for investigating politicians and most Commonwealth public servants (the public sector division). The powers of the public sector division would be significantly weaker than those of ACLEI and it would operate entirely in secret. It would not be able to
self-initiate investigations into possible corruption—and, unlike ACLEI, it would not even be able to make findings of corruption.
The other division would be ACLEI, which would continue to operate as it currently operates—albeit with an expanded jurisdiction.
The Morrison Government's preferred model for a 'Commonwealth Integrity Commission' has been widely criticised by legal and anti-corruption experts. Several senior legal figures have even suggested that, because the public sector division could not hold public hearings and would be subject to numerous other legislated constraints, the government's model is designed to cover up corruption—not expose it.
As Labor members have noted in previous reports, the impact of corruption is profound. As well as eroding public trust in governments and institutions and costing the taxpayer money that could be used to improve people's lives, corruption can threaten the health, safety and security of all Australians.
It is incumbent on the government to take the threat of corruption seriously and to take serious action to combat it.
In December 2020, Labor members tabled Additional Comments to the committee's report on the Integrity of Australia’s Border Arrangements expressing similar sentiments and raising the same concerns we have set out above. We also made a point of putting on the public record our concerns about:
(a)
the lack of urgency shown by the current government when it comes to investigating or tackling corruption, including at Australia’s borders; and
(b)
the government’s proposed Commonwealth Integrity Commission, which appears to fall well short of what is needed to investigate and tackle corruption.
Almost eight months later, the government has made no progress in establishing a powerful and independent anti-corruption commission.
Senator Catryna Bilyk
Deputy Chair
Mr Tony Zappia MP
Member
Senator Tim Ayres
Member