Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill 2022. Before I begin my remarks, I want to respond to the previous speaker, the member for Fisher. I understand that he raised concerns around mental health non-disclosure amendments. I can say to the member that the government has made clear that the non-disclosure won't apply to those people who are seeking mental health support from psychiatrists or psychologists. That was made clear by the government, as was another non-disclosure consideration around people with a disability so that, if those people need to speak to a support worker, for example, that is a consideration of the commission at the time. I appreciate the concern raised, but hopefully that alleviates the member for Fisher's concerns with regard to that.

Usually in this place, when rising to speak on a bill, it is customary for members to say how pleased they are to rise on a bill, but the truth is that it is with mixed feelings that I rise today on the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill because of the way in which we have got here, the necessity of this bill and the fact that, even though I was proudly a member of the previous parliament, the 46th Parliament, we didn't get it done in that parliament.

Our institutions in this country matter. We need to make sure that Australians feel empowered by what happens in this place as well as by the standards by which our politics is practised here and around the country. And Australians need to feel empowered by our institutions—for feel that they are acting in their national interest and feel a sense of pride that our institutions are helping to create a society and a community that is worthy of the Australian people.

Leading into the last election we heard from the Australian people that the expectations of the people we are fortunate and privileged to represent were not being met by this place on matters of anticorruption and integrity in government. In this place, under the previous government, the Australian people made it abundantly clear that the standard by which they wanted to see politics practised in this country was not being met by the Morrison government. The Morrison government made a commitment to introduce a National Anti-Corruption Commission bill, but they didn't introduce it into the parliament. An exposure draft was put on the Prime Minister's website, but the Prime Minister didn't stand in this place holding a piece of legislation and moving it in this place in order to try to bring forward a national anticorruption body.

I'm not here today to run through the list of political scandals of the previous government, because that's not what this bill is about. This bill isn't about the Morrison government; it's about the Australian people. It's about making sure the Australian people feel a sense of empowerment and pride in the institutions of our democracy and that we in this place are holding ourselves to a higher account. The problem is not that there were things that happened in government; of course there were. The problem was that the previous government promised to the Australian people that they were going to bring in an anticorruption commission and an integrity commission. They went to all the effort of releasing an exposure draft, but they didn't actually bring it to this place. You don't get points as a government for putting things on a website. You get points for doing the job you are privileged and elected to do. That changes right now with this bill.

How this bill is formed and the aspects of this bill are really important. I want to go through some of the details of the bill and how they align with the commitments made by the then Labor opposition and now Labor government, and I want to take this moment to congratulate the Attorney-General and his team. He has helped steer this historic bill into this place and is going to, once it is passed—and I do believe it will pass—be able to say that he, at this time, gave the Australian people a great reform, an important reform, a national anticorruption commission. It is a great Labor reform and one that will last longer than hopefully all our political careers and one that the Attorney-General can be extremely proud of.

The bill delivers on our commitment to introduce legislation for a powerful, transparent and independent National Anti-Corruption Commission by the end of this year. We are doing it and it is still 2022, and the bill is here before us. The commission will have full powers to investigate and report on corruption in the Commonwealth public sector, including ministers, MPs, their staff, statutory office holders, staff of government entities, and contractors. Most importantly, this bill will be independent of government.

In this place it's important that we hold ourselves to higher account than ordinary Australian workplaces, and any MP who is feeling squirmish about the fact that we are bringing in a National Anti-Corruption Commission should really take a long, hard look at themselves as to whether or not they belong in this place. A national anticorruption commission should make members of parliament feel pride and feel like they are part of a reform that is going to lift the standards of politics in this country. If you are in this caper for any reason other than to serve your community, you are in it for the wrong reasons. This National Anti-Corruption Commission will ensure the politics practice in this country is of an extremely high standard.

Another important aspect of the National Anti-Corruption Commission is it will be able to receive referrals or allegations from any source and commence investigations of its own initiative. Being independent means being independent. It means being able to investigate matters in which it sees a potential for serious or systemic corruption. Being independent means it is not for the government or the cabinet to dictate what can and cannot be investigated. We saw patterns of investigation closely controlled by the cabinet. We saw patterns of investigation where the Public Service was very closely linked to the political wing of government. Trust was eroded from the Australian people by the people running this parliament, and that cannot occur. This body must be independent.

The other important part of this bill is that the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Commission will be retrospective as well as prospective. The commissioner and deputy commissioners will have the same status and security of tenure as judges, and I'm confident the selections of commissioners will be ones where the Attorney-General and others will consult with those on the National Anti-Corruption Commission parliamentary oversight committee and ensure the people serving this body will be of the highest calibre and people who are worthy of the institution we are setting up in this country. The commission will be fully funded and free to determine its own budget.

The Australian people clearly demanded that integrity be lifted in politics. I think the key things brought in from the last election that I was speaking to people in my electorate on were about making sure the National Anti-Corruption Commission was independent and that it had the power to look at previous matters, along with the fact it could decide what it was going to investigate without influence from government. They were the main criteria that people in my electorate wanted to ensure and see as part of this National Anti-Corruption Commission, and all of them are in this bill. I am proud of that, and I am proud of this bill.

Referring back to my other hat as chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, it is worth noting as part of my contribution to the debate on this bill that, as part of our routine inquiries into pieces of legislation and into government instruments, we received independent legal advice that raised concerns around the right to privacy and the right to a fair trial in relation to public hearings. Public hearings are not something that should be taken lightly; it is a serious tool of the commissioner to access, and it should be used in a way that is mindful of the human rights implications of such hearings. I absolutely believe that public hearings are an essential tool for the National Anti-Corruption Commission. I'm pleased the commissioner has the power to utilise public hearings when they deem it appropriate, as per the conditions. But it is not something to be dismissed. It is not something that we should be easily swayed by politically. This is a serious decision relating to the rights of Australians and the human rights implications of Australians. There absolutely need to be public hearings; I'm a firm believer of that. But it does raise human rights implications, and we are a country that doesn't make legislation hastily; we do it carefully and in a considered way. This is something that I think the parliament has the right balance on and something that I think we can be confident will protect the interests and the rights of Australians.

I'm proud of this bill. I'm proud of our Attorney-General. I'm proud that Australians can breathe a sigh of relief that the institutions that they elected us to are holding themselves to a higher account; that Australians can know that we, in this building, take the matter of integrity and public governance seriously; that corruption is not allowed in Australian politics; that we, in this place, are firm believers in Australian democracy and Australian democratic institutions. I say to any Australian, or any person in my electorate: have faith and believe, and help create good institutions in this country. It's what helps create a good society. If we do not empower and believe in our own institutions, then we have nothing.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission is an important institution that adds to the framework of our democracy. It's not good enough that we didn't have one. It's not good enough that all the states and territories had one. It's not good enough that there was one promised and never delivered. This is now a change to that long line of unsatisfactory outcomes. I'm proud of the Australian Labor Party, of the Albanese Labor government, which is delivering a national anti-corruption commission. It will leave our country in strong stead. It is an important reform not just for this parliament but for the Australian people, and I commend these bills to the House.

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