Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Over the past 18 months, amidst a global pandemic, we have seen political leaders and public health officials across the country asking the public to do all kinds of things to obey COVID-19 rules and restrictions in order to keep our community safe. The Australian community has, largely, responded positively by listening to, respecting and complying with these requests.

The pandemic has many lessons for us on why governments at state and federal levels must effectively communicate with communities, and highlights why integrity matters in politics and in public life. It is a matter of trust and confidence. It is so important that the community has trust in elected officials and public servants. In the case of disaster or emergency, it can be the difference between life and death. We, as elected representatives, cannot take this trust for granted, and nor should we ever be above reproach. Generally, I believe there has been a good level of trust shown in governments through this global pandemic; however, we must continue to be accountable and transparent as elected representatives, as there is evidence across the world that there has been a decline in trust in public officials over time.

I've previously said on the record in this place that I believe establishing a robust federal integrity commission is essential to arresting that decline in public trust in institutions and restoring Australians' faith in our democratic system. At that time, draft legislation had been released for consultation and, as we've heard, there has been a significant amount of feedback received, with more than 330 written submissions and 46 consultations, meetings and roundtables occurring throughout this consultation period. It is essential for the functioning of Australia's government that we are methodical, consultative and thorough in our approach to developing this legislation, and the government is considering the feedback received through that consultation process to refine the draft legislation before it is introduced to parliament.

I have been researching and consulting very widely on this matter, including with the Centre for Public Integrity, as part of my own commitment to ensuring that we, as a government, get this right. I've also had ongoing discussions with the member for Indi, and I thank her for her ongoing commitment to the establishment of an integrity commission. After all, once established, this will be an agency that will be essential to ensuring the integrity of our public sector, our government and our elected officials. As such, we must have a powerful integrity commission that promotes and educates about principles of integrity and good governance, and that incorporates procedural fairness. I recently met with the new Attorney-General, where I expressed this very view, and also stressed that the establishment of such a commission is needed as a matter of importance. I thank Minister Cash for her positive engagement with me on this matter.

It is my hope that the government and the member for Indi, who has done commendable work in this space, can continue to work together and find the common ground so that the final legislation put before the members of this House is one that will assist in restoring declining public confidence. This is significant legislation that we must get right, and I believe that the establishment of a solid integrity commission is one that requires a bipartisan approach. Anything less is, in my view, counterintuitive to enhancing trust and confidence. Indeed, it is very unfortunate to see and hear the politically charged exchanges in this place today on this issue, because, in my view, that will be the greatest impediment to actually advancing this important issue. I sincerely hope there is a willingness by all sides to put the politics aside and work together on this in the interest of all Australians. I'd like to point out that, as a country, Australia has a solid anticorruption reputation and is consistently ranked by Transparency International as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, including in the most recent Corruption Perceptions Index, where we're ranked equal eleventh with Canada, the UK and Austria.

While anticorruption should of course be a focus of any final legislation, there should also be a focus on actively promoting integrity. Our government has committed to delivering on its promise of an integrity commission, and to doing the work to get it right. I personally feel very strongly that we need to deliver on this commitment, and I'll be working very closely with the government to ensure that this happens, and happens as quickly as possible. Thank you.

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