Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Hansard source

As they should, as my colleague the member for Ballarat reminds me. We expect the Prime Minister's statements of ministerial standards to set a very high standard of conduct. That's why this Statement of Ministerial Standards is actually pretty much the same as the statement of ministerial conduct or the code of ministerial conduct adopted by Prime Minister Rudd, the standards of ministerial conduct adopted by Prime Minister Gillard, and, I might say, the standards of ministerial conduct adopted by Prime Minister Abbott. This is pretty much the same, and it's to the credit of the current Prime Minister that he has actually followed the high standards adopted by his predecessors. But let's just go to the third point made by the Prime Minister in his foreword to his own statement. He says:

In addition to those requirements, it is vital that Ministers and Assistant Ministers conduct themselves in a manner that will ensure public confidence—

public confidence—

in them and in the government.

Again I would ask: does anyone in this House—does anyone in Australia—think that the Deputy Prime Minister is currently conducting himself, or that he has conducted himself, in a manner that ensures public confidence in them and in the government? I would suggest not. If I can go directly to some of principles in the Statement of Ministerial Standards itself, this is what it starts with at principle 1.2:

In recognition that public office is a public trust, therefore, the people of Australia are entitled to expect that, as a matter of principle, Ministers will act with due regard for integrity, fairness, accountability, responsibility, and the public interest, as required by these Standards.

These are very high-flown words, setting a very high standard. But it is one that this Deputy Prime Minister has woefully failed. If I read on, further down in principle 1.3, we see that the Prime Minister's Statement of Ministerial Standards requires that ministers, by their conduct, ensure:

Then, a bit further down, ministers have to ensure:

The Deputy Prime Minister has dismally failed to uphold the principles of these standards—and that's before I even get to the actual wording of the requirement in these standards as it relates to gifts, which is what this motion relates to.

These standards set an actual standard of conduct. They are directed not merely to some pettifogging lawyer's interpretation, as we've heard from the Prime Minister in this House; they are directed to ensuring that people can look at ministers' conduct, can look at the Prime Minister's conduct and can look at the Deputy Prime Minister's conduct and see that they are performing in their office, that they are conducting themselves in their office, as we and as the people of Australia would expect them to. That means disclosing honestly; it means paying attention to the principles that underlie these standards and upholding them.

So what do we read about gifts in this Statement of Ministerial Standards? At principle 2.21:

Ministers are required to exercise the functions of their public office unaffected by considerations of personal advantage or disadvantage.

Then—and it's very good to see the Deputy Prime Minister has arrived—it says:

Ministers, in their official capacity, may therefore accept customary official gifts, hospitality, tokens of appreciation, and similar formal gestures in accordance with the relevant guidelines—

and here we get to it—

but are required not to seek or encourage any form of gift in their personal capacity.

What do we know from Mr Greg Maguire, the wealthy New England businessman and National Party donor, who has commented in the paper about his interactions with the Deputy Prime Minister? We know that the Deputy Prime Minister rang him up and asked him for a place to stay. That's what Mr Greg—

See this speech in context