Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] The community has been calling for a strong and independent federal integrity body for years, and it's devastating that the one proposed by the federal government falls so short of what's so desperately needed. Indeed, I am so concerned by what's on the table that I would go so far as to say that the government's proposal will do nothing to promote integrity within government and, instead, foster corruption and facilitate its cover-up.

There is simply no denying that secrecy breeds corruption and that for any federal integrity agency to be effective it's vital that hearings are public, for all of the public sector. However, the government's proposal prevents public hearings into allegations of corruption involving most of the public sector—effectively creating a two-tiered system, one in which law enforcement officers are subject to public scrutiny but the majority, including politicians, are not. Surely there must be a common set of rules and procedures for all public officials, and this must include public hearings.

Moreover, the definition of corruption in the government's proposal is way too narrow. The integrity agency would be unable to investigate and pursue matters unless there is reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed, and this would mean that certain forms of corruption, such as undisclosed conflicts of interest, may quite simply go unchecked. Clearly, this is wrong. The scope of any integrity agency must extend beyond criminal offences to a range of corrupt and unethical behaviour, including donation-fuelled favouritism, cronyism and the rorting of parliamentary entitlement. The threshold in the government's proposal requiring a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed is way too high and would, effectively, paralyse the federal integrity agency as it would be restrained from investigating a matter which, on face value, may not meet the threshold. The proposed agency also fails to recognise that in most circumstances criminal conduct will only be revealed through a thorough investigation.

Furthermore, the government's integrity agency will also be prevented from launching its own investigations and, instead, can only act upon referrals from other agencies, including the Attorney-General, ministers, designated office holders and parliamentarians in certain circumstances. Public service whistleblowers and members of the public will be unable to make complaints regarding the public sector directly to the agency, which is obviously concerning, because corruption and wrongdoing are often facilitated by those in high-ranking positions.

All we have to do is look at the evidence to see the importance of direct referrals from the community: sports rorts, car parks, the Leppington triangle, the Jam Land scandal and the continual misuse of parliamentary entitlements, to name just a few. Moreover, history has shown us that high-ranking officials may disregard allegations brought to them, rather than pursue and investigate, a perfect example being the lack of effective action taken by high-ranking officials within the ADF in response to Major David McBride's internal reports about command failings and deliberate blindness to the conduct of the war in Afghanistan. Alarmingly, the government's proposal would also prevent and deter whistleblowers from making disclosures about suspected wrongdoings within the public sector. Indeed, whistleblowers would even risk prosecution for making unwarranted allegations despite current whistleblower protections.

Australia already has unacceptably low protections for whistleblowers, and we should be working towards strengthening them, not eroding them. Any federal integrity agency must be able to act on its own accord and act on information provided by whistleblowers and members of the public. Preventing it from doing so will not instil public confidence in the system and will greatly restrict its ability to investigate wrongdoings. The Australian public's trust in politicians and the parliamentary process is obviously at an all-time low. It's up to all of us in this place to turn that around, starting with rebuilding a culture of integrity and creating the physical mechanism to restore the community's confidence in its political representatives. To that end, the government must either support the Australian Federal Integrity Commission Bill 2020, introduced by the member for Indi, or the National Integrity Commission Bill 2018 (No. 2), introduced by Senator Larissa Waters. Alternatively, the government must listen to the community and completely overhaul its dodgy integrity agency proposal. To do anything less would just go and make a dreadful situation even worse.

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