Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I recently received an email from a constituent, Michael, from Meander Valley. Michael asked for an update on what the Labor government had been doing in our first few months in office—six months yesterday. He told me that the ALP was elected for two reasons—now, I believe we were elected for more than that, but this is Michael's story—one, because of our commitment to climate change and two, because of our promise to establish a National Integrity Commission. I was very pleased to be able to tell Michael that we are keeping our promises on both these matters.

The Albanese government's landmark climate change bills have passed the Senate, ensuring that Australia's emissions reduction target of 43 per cent and net zero by 2050 will be enshrined in legislation. I was also able to tell Michael that the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill 2022 and the associated bill before the House had been introduced to parliament, that the Albanese Labor government was delivering on its 2022 election commitment to legislate a powerful, transparent and independent National Anti-Corruption Commission by the end of the year. And it's important, because the member who spoke previously mentioned that he was concerned about the NACC being used for political attack. This will be an independent body. The commissioners will independently determine what gets assessed and what gets investigated—nothing to do with this chamber here.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to speak on these bills today. I've been calling for this National Anti-Corruption Commission since I was elected. I was thrilled when the now Attorney-General made this part of the Labor policy suite going into I think the 2019 election. It's remained a major part of our plank ever since. And here it is, in this chamber today being debated and on its way to becoming law of the land.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill 2022 will establish the commission as an independent agency and empower it to investigate and report on serious or systemic corruption in the Commonwealth public sector, refer evidence of criminal corrupt conduct for prosecution, and undertake education and prevention activities. The Attorney-General has been clear in his many consultations with members of all sides of the House that this is a serious body and it will do serious work. This legislation gives full effect to the design principles that were taken to the federal election—principles that were developed with eminent legal and integrity experts and endorsed at the election by the Australian people. As Michael said, it was one of the key planks of our election campaign, and here we are today making it law.

The principles enshrined in this legislation include: having a broad jurisdiction to investigate; operating independently of government; operating with oversight by a statutory parliamentary joint committee that is empowered to require the commission to provide information about its work; having retrospective powers to investigate allegations of serious or systemic corruption that occurred before or after its establishment; having the power to hold public hearings in exceptional circumstances and where it is in the public interest to do so; being empowered to make findings of fact, including findings of corrupt conduct, and refer findings that could constitute criminal conduct to the Australian Federal Police or the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions; and operating with procedural fairness, and its findings will be subject to judicial review. It is a serious body doing serious work with all the safeguards you would expect of such a body.

This legislation also draws on the best elements of state and territory anticorruption laws. We know that corruption has many corrosive effects on society, including to undermine democracy and the rule of law. I will read a passage from the Independent Commission Against Corruption in New South Wales about why exposing and preventing corruption is important:

Undetected and unchecked corruption in the public sector can cause serious damage including:

The ICAC also notes that the World Economic Forum has estimated that the cost of corruption globally is about US$2.6 trillion a year. The impacts of corruption disproportionately affect the most vulnerable people in society. Widespread corruption deters investment, weakens economic growth and undermines the rule of law.

I note recent comment from the Law Council of Australia that it has never been more critical to take decisive action in Australia to continuously strengthen our systems of integrity and independent oversight, especially given how the administrative and executive powers of the Commonwealth, along with national security and law enforcement powers, have expanded in recent years. The NACC will have the power to investigate ministers, parliamentarians and their staff, statutory office holders, employees of all government entities, and government contractors. It will have discretion to commence inquiries on its own initiative or in response to a referral from anyone, and it will be able to investigate criminal and non-criminal corrupt conduct and conduct occurring before or after its establishment.

The definition of 'corrupt conduct' is central to the commission's jurisdiction. It is consistent with key elements of existing definitions at the state and territory level and encompasses conduct by a public official that involves an abuse of office, breach of public trust, misuse of information or corruption of any kind. Further, the commissioner will have a full suite of powers like those of a royal commission and will be able to undertake an investigation into a corruption issue if they are of the opinion that it could involve serious or systemic corrupt conduct. The commissioner will be able to hold public hearings in exceptional circumstances, if satisfied it is in the public interest to do so. At the end of an investigation, the commissioner will be required to prepare a report setting out their findings and their recommendations, and reporting at the end of investigations will provide transparency and support the commission's prevention and education function. The legislation also provides strong protections for whistleblowers and exemptions for journalists to protect the identity of sources.

Importantly, the government has committed $262 million over the forwards for the establishment and ongoing operation of the commission. This funding will ensure that the commission has the staff, the capabilities and the capacity to properly consider referrals and allegations, conduct timely investigations and undertake corruption prevention and education activities.

As someone who has had the privilege of being a member of the government for six months—I've been here for six years—I'm so proud of this government, this Prime Minister and this Attorney-General for delivering on our commitments to the Australian people. This legislation is particularly important, and I have been a strong supporter, as I say, of a national integrity and anti-corruption commission since before it was even my party's policy. A federal anti-corruption commission is long overdue. Australians deserve a robust system of accountability. As I was able to tell Michael, and indeed the many Lyons constituents I speak to daily, the introduction of this bill shows that this government is delivering on our promise to tackle corruption and restore trust and integrity to federal politics. The Albanese government is committed to integrity, honesty and accountability in government, and this legislation is a cornerstone of this government's agenda to restore public trust and strengthen standards of integrity in our federal government.

I commend the bill to the House.

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