Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I wanted to speak to these particular amendments because I think they send a very important message to the Australian community about the visibility of how this National Anti-Corruption Commission is going to be established and about how its integrity in the longer term will be protected and sustained. I would argue in this House that actually one of the key measures of success of the National Anti-Corruption Commission will be its longevity and sustainability. We know all too well from the experiences of the last 15 years here in this place how easy it is, with a change of government, for bodies to be set up with the best of intentions and then to subsequently be gutted and become powerless in the face of a new power in politics.

I think the amendments the member for Indi has moved are infinitely reasonable. These are not things that require us as a parliament to go out of our way. They do not induce any level of discomfort for us. What they ask us to do is to ensure that all of us as parliamentarians remain transparent to the communities that we've been sent here to represent. I would also reflect on the fact that amendments very similar to this were recently introduced into the climate bills for exactly the same reason. Our democracy only becomes stronger when the people who send us here are given a very clear line of sight on the discussions we're having, the advice we're taking and what we are doing once we receive that advice. I commend the member for Indi for these amendments and support them very strongly.

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