Andrew Leigh (Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

It is a pleasure to move this bill today, expanding the reach of the ACT Integrity Commission. The ACT Integrity Commission passed the ACT Legislative Assembly in November 2018. It reflects the Barr government's strong commitment to tackling integrity issues within the ACT government.

Labor stands for integrity and transparency. We have zero tolerance for corruption. In the ACT, as in the rest of Australia, the public has a right to trust that their public officials can stand up to justified scrutiny. This was a bill which passed the ACT assembly with support from the ACT Liberals and the ACT Greens. It is vital that the ACT Integrity Commission has the same coverage of bodies in jurisdictions such as Victoria. In Victoria, the integrity commission covers the police but, as a result of the way in which policing services are delivered in the ACT, this is not possible within the scope of the ACT (Self-Government) Act as it presently stands.

This bill makes a simple change. It amends the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act so the ACT Integrity Commission is able to cover the police. This ensures that policing services provided in the ACT have the appropriate integrity oversight which territorians would expect to exist. The current body which deals with law enforcement integrity, the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, would continue to play a role. We anticipate the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity and the ACT Integrity Commission would form a comprehensive memorandum of understanding on matters such as jurisdictional overlap. They're not prosecutorial bodies. They make findings of corruption and refer matters to their respective jurisdictions' prosecution services, which then make a decision as to whether to prosecute. So it is perfectly appropriate to have those two bodies providing oversight of the ACT's policing services.

This bill is being moved at a time when the Morrison government is on the go-slow on matters of integrity. Labor announced, under the leadership of Bill Shorten, that we would put in place a national integrity commission. We made that announcement in January 2018. It was airily dismissed by the Prime Minister as a 'fringe issue' at the time. Finally, after significant public pressure, the Morrison government announced in December 2018 that it would move to establish a Commonwealth integrity commission, and yet the Commonwealth has failed to bring forward legislation that would put in place a national integrity commission. The government talks a big game on integrity but has failed to take the necessary action to put in place a national integrity commission.

At the same time, when asked to support the ACT Integrity Commission in having the same powers as, say, the Victorian integrity commission, the Morrison government is again playing a blocking role. Canberrans support this parliament, and yet it is Canberrans who constantly find that this parliament stands in their way. The Liberals are preventing the ACT Integrity Commission from being able to do what integrity commissions in other areas are able to do.

It's not dissimilar from the case of the 1977 Andrews bill, which prevents the ACT from legislating on euthanasia in a way in which states are able to do. At a time when we see euthanasia laws having passed the Victorian parliament and being considered in other states, it is unconscionable that, more than two decades on, the Andrews bill still prevents the ACT Legislative Assembly from legislating on this issue. That's a view which is held not only by people on my side of the euthanasia debate but also by those who disagree with euthanasia but who believe that territory parliaments should have the same right to debate that question as state parliaments do.

In this case, the bar is not one which has been put in place after self-government. It is one that came with self-government and was not anticipated at the time. Labor believes that that bar should be removed—that it should be possible to have appropriate anticorruption oversight of the police through the ACT Integrity Commission. I commend the work of the Barr government, and I'll now cede the remainder of my time to my seconder in order to add to this important issue.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes. I rise to second this private member's bill, the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Amendment (Act Integrity Commission Powers) Bill 2020. As outlined by the mover, the member for Fenner, this bill provides the administrative arrangements to allow for the establishment of the full vision of the ACT Integrity Commission. I commend his advocacy on this issue.

Briefly, at the last election in the territory, all parties committed to an integrity commission. In November 2018, the ACT Legislative Assembly passed an act to establish the ACT Integrity Commission. That bill passed with the tripartisan support of the assembly after extensive consultation with stakeholders and two inquiries. The ACT's Integrity Commission Act 2018 covers the activity of public officials and of the private sector where there is a relationship between it and the public sector. However, the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 prevents the assembly from making laws for the provision of policing services in the territory. This prohibits bringing ACT Policing within the scope of the ACT Integrity Commission.

This bill would amend the exclusion imposed by section 23 of the self-government act in order to allow the assembly to make laws that facilitate the investigation of integrity and corruption in relation to the provision of police services in the ACT. Currently, the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, ACLEI, is required to provide relevant information and reports to the ACT Minister for Police and Emergency Services in certain situations. However, the ACT Integrity Commission does not have powers to instigate integrity activity relating to ACT Policing's activities provided through the purchase agreement. Further, public inquiries by ACLEI are initiated by the Commonwealth minister, creating a potential political obstacle to the ACT government's ability to initiate inquiries it sees as in the public interest.

Territorians expect proportionate oversight of the people tasked with maintaining peace and order within the territory and are rightly requesting the inclusion of ACT Policing officers in the scope of the ACT Integrity Commission. Like those just over the border in Queanbeyan, territorians deserve to see their police force covered by their integrity body—the same integrity body that oversees all other public officials in the ACT. By bringing ACT Policing matter within the scope of the integrity commission, this bill will enable the ACT government to regulate oversight mechanisms of all ACT public officials.

I spent a considerable time representing members of the Australian Federal Police and I'm very aware of members' concerns around doubling up on inquiries and potential issues around jurisdiction. To this end, as the member for Fenner has said, I'm encouraged and note that it is expected that the ACT Integrity Commission and ACLEI would settle a memorandum of understanding to ensure cases are not pursued twice and avoid unnecessary demarcation issues. I am of the view that allowing for ACT police to be covered by the ACT Integrity Commission will promote a higher level of transparency and a better relationship between Canberrans and their police force.

We on this side of the House stand for integrity and transparency in government, and have no tolerance for corruption. Labor will continue to call on the Morrison government to keep its election promise and establish a national integrity commission—one that is independent, fit for purpose and enjoys public confidence. In the ACT, as in the rest of Australia, the public has a right to trust that their public officials can stand up to justified scrutiny. That trust is not possible without mechanisms that can hold all public officers to account. The ACT Liberals and the ACT Greens both supported the ACT Labor government in setting up the ACT Integrity Commission. The federal Liberals now need to support the integrity powers Canberrans want, and it is up to their ACT colleagues to make sure they do.

Debate adjourned.