Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Integrity, accountability and transparency: themes identified in the 2022 federal election campaign in my home electorate on the Central Coast, a significant part of my maiden speech to this parliament and themes that underpin my practice, my attitude and my behaviour both in and outside this chamber. A healthy democracy has, at its core, these notions: integrity, accountability, transparency. As your member for Robertson, I see it as the responsibility of every person in this place, in every seat, and in the other place, to ensure that we safeguard and protect it for future generations. This is why, when the opportunity presented itself to speak on this piece of legislation, I saw it as an opportunity to strengthen what we have here: a democracy that is the envy of the world.

The Ministers of State Amendment Bill 2022 will implement reforms to provide for greater transparency, to provide for greater accountability at the Commonwealth level for our system of government. I rise today to speak on a piece of legislation that will provide greater integrity and transparency surrounding the process of appointing elected officials into high office, especially to ensure that we have a system of government where there are checks and balances, and where one person, an individual, cannot again acquire powers without adequate and warranted accountability to the Australian people and adequate and warranted accountability to the Australian parliament. Access to information is absolutely vital. It is absolutely critical to this process. This bill will ensure that there are checks and balances. This bill will ensure that the Australian people will be able to access information relating to the composition of the Federal Executive Council, those appointed to administer certain departments of state and the high offices that ministers of state hold.

The reforms in this bill form part of a response to the report of the inquiry into the appointment of the former prime minister to administer multiple departments. This inquiry was led by former High Court Justice the Hon. Virginia Bell AC. What this piece of legislation demonstrates to the Australian public is our government's readiness to act promptly to restore peoples confidence in our system of government—confidence that was lost after 10 long years, a decade of Liberal Party rule—and to rebuild integrity in public systems, public sector institutions, processes and officials.

We all know where this started—the people of the Central Coast and around Australia, particularly those in this chamber and in the other place—and we all know why this bill is absolutely vital and absolutely necessary. In August 2022 media reports began detailing that the former prime minister and member for Cook had been appointed to administer multiple portfolios during 2020 and 2021—namely, the Department of Health; the Department of Finance; the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources; the Department of the Treasury; and the Department of Home Affairs—on top of his appointment to administer the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The government referred these matters to the Solicitor-General and Dr Stephen Donaghue KC. As was clear from his advice: 'The principles of responsible government are fundamentally undermined by the actions of the former government.' Following the Solicitor-General's advice, it was also clear that an appropriate and swift inquiry was needed, and action had to be taken. The actions of the former prime minister have been condemned, not just by the Australian public but by multiple former Liberal prime ministers.

And so it was on 26 August 2022 that the Prime Minister and the Attorney-General, the Hon. Mark Dreyfus KC MP, announced the appointment of former High Court justice the Hon. Virginia Bell AC to lead the inquiry into the appointment of the former Prime Minister to administer multiple departments. I need to state: the inquiry wasn't about politics. Instead, it was essentially a root cause analysis into why this occurred. It was an analysis into how this occurred. And, more importantly, it was an analysis into who knew about the events that transpired. It is important, it is vital and it is crucial that we have integrity and that we have accountability and transparency in our system of government and the processes within, because our parliamentary democracy relies upon these conventions and relies upon the Westminster traditions of checks and balances. As was made very clear by the Solicitor-General, it is impossible for the parliament to hold ministers to account for the administration of departments if it does not know which ministers are responsible for which departments.

The Ministers of State Amendment Bill 2022 forms one part of the government's response to Ms Bell's recommendations. Specifically, the bill will require the Official Secretary to the Governor-General to publish a notifiable instrument registered on the Federal Register of Legislation as soon as reasonably practicable advising that the Governor-General has chosen, summoned and sworn an executive councillor to the Federal Executive Council, appointed an officer to administer a department of state, or directed a minister of state to hold an office. It will also require such notification on the revocation of any of these positions. The notifiable instrument will include the name of the person, the department of state where appropriate, and the date on which they were sworn, appointed or directed. In the case of revocations, the notifiable instrument is to include the name of the person, the name of the former officer and the date that such membership, appointment or direction was revoked. The notifiable instrument may also comprise a copy of an instrument issued by the Governor-General.

This legislation highlights the Albanese Labor government's commitment to delivering on an election promise to restore trust and integrity within our federal parliament and within our community. The foundation of this restoration was the recent legislation of a powerful, transparent and independent National Anti-Corruption Commission. The measures in the bill will go some of the way to providing greater integrity and transparency around the process of appointing elected officials to high office; and especially to ensure that we have a system of government where there are checks and balances, a system of government where one person cannot again garner powers without adequate and warranted accountability to the Australian people and the Australian parliament. So I say again: integrity, accountability and transparency are vital in this place.

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