Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Our democracy is not a given. It is something that must be nurtured and maintained, and that is why I'm standing to speak on the Ministers of State Amendment Bill 2022 today. The Albanese government is committed to our democracy, to accountability and to integrity. It is why we have established the National Anti-Corruption Commission, and it is why we are implementing the first six recommendations of the Bell inquiry.

The Bell inquiry was an extraordinary moment in and of itself. The fact that a former High Court justice needed to investigate a former Prime Minister swearing himself into secret portfolios without notifying his colleagues, this parliament and the Australian people beggars belief. At the time, the shadow minister for home affairs said that this behaviour was unacceptable and that she felt that the Australian people had been betrayed. I detect that not only the shadow minister for home affairs but other former ministers of the former government also felt that same betrayal. I wholeheartedly agree. Never in my political career—which also includes having come from Territory parliament into federal parliament—have I heard such blatant disrespect for our democracy, for our parliament and for the Australian people. It is why it is so important that we had the censure of the member for Cook last year. The censure sent a clear message: this type of behaviour has no place in our parliament and in our democracy.

It is widely known that faith in our democracy and our system of government is under strain. I hear it all the time when I am out in my electorate. That should send shivers down the spine of every member of this place. Many people, particularly in Lingiari, believe politicians and politics in general are not working in their interests. People see politics and politicians as self-serving and as a way to protect the interests of certain individuals. This is beyond alarming, and this parliament must respond.

I am proud to stand here today and speak on ways in which the Albanese government is strengthening integrity measures in government. This bill will implement reforms to provide greater transparency for the administration of our Commonwealth departments. It will ensure that there is clarity as to who is governing our departments of state and who is sworn in to administer departments. It will address the loopholes that the member for Cook so blatantly abused. Critically, this bill will also ensure that information on the governance of our country will be available for all Australians to find, as it should be. But, most importantly, this bill, as part of a broader suite of measures, will go some way in restoring people's sense of parliament as a trusted institution. None of us can do our jobs if our communities do not trust us, and so we must do all that we can do of what is needed to safeguard our democracy. I commend this bill.

See this speech in context