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

The ever-growing list of scandals involving the Morrison government shows why Australia urgently needs a powerful and independent national integrity commission. Unfortunately that list of scandals also shows Australians why the Prime Minister and his colleagues continue to do all they can to delay establishing such a body. While the government did eventually announce, begrudgingly and belatedly, a proposed model for an integrity body, it was rightly and universally derided by integrity experts, lawyers and academics across Australia. That was about three years ago. Where is that legislation? Where is even draft legislation? The Morrison government's proposed corruption body is worse than worthless; it is a sham, a political ploy, another marketing announcement and smokescreen from this government, behind which corruption in politics would be allowed to continue unchecked: scandals such as the industrial-scale and blatantly unlawful diversion of taxpayers' money into the Liberal Party's re-election campaign, in the sports rorts affair; the use of a forged document by the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction; the dubious dealings of the Minister for Home Affairs in relation to the au pairs; the refusal of Senator Cash to cooperate with an AFP investigation into an unlawful tip-off from within her own office; the member for Fadden's innumerable conflicts of interest and run-ins with basic standards of integrity—and that's not close to a full list.

The sheer number of corruption matters arising from within this government is disturbing enough, but even more disturbing has been this government's pathetic response, because in every case the Prime Minister has reacted by doing everything within his power, and some things outside his power, to cover that corruption up. Now we have a new corruption scandal that extends all the way to the Assistant Treasurer and to the member for Menzies.

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