Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, I present the following reports: Examination of the annual report of the Integrity Commissioner 2018-19and Report on the visit to New Zealand and Vanuatu, December 2019.

Reports made parliamentary papers in accordance with standing order 39(e).

The committee thanks the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, ACLEI, for a comprehensive report and acknowledges its significant progress in managing its increasing workload, including through the discontinuation of older investigations.

To enhance the transparency of its investigations that are discontinued under section 42 of the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006, the committee has recommended that ACLEI consider how it can report on the reasons investigations have been discontinued in future annual reports. The committee is satisfied ACLEI performed strongly against its five performance criteria for 2018-19. ACLEI delivered positive investigative and operational results, including five prosecutions, all resulting in convictions. The committee also acknowledges ACLEI's work to integrate corruption prevention capabilities into investigations, allowing for timely advice to be provided to agencies about identified threats.

Finally, I thank the newly-appointed Integrity Commissioner, Ms Jaala Hinchcliffe, and the staff of ACLEI for their cooperation and engagement with the committee.

I also present the committee's report on its delegation visit to New Zealand and Vanuatu in December 2019. I had the pleasure of travelling as a member of the delegation, which provided an opportunity to consider issues relevant to the committee's ongoing inquiry into the integrity of Australia's border arrangements. The delegation also allowed the committee to better understand the integrity frameworks more broadly in New Zealand and Vanuatu and how they might be relevant for Australia.

Of particular interest to the delegation was looking into anti-corruption measures used by our border agencies in nearby jurisdictions with which Australia has a close association as our partners in addressing transnational crime and corruption. This was of particular importance as ACLEI has reported that a number of its investigations now involve international operations.

The delegation would like to thank the government and the parliament of Vanuatu for the welcome to their beautiful country and their openness to our discussions. The delegation would also like to thank the government and the parliament of New Zealand, who facilitated a range of productive and highly informative discussions with law enforcement, anti-corruption and integrity-monitoring agencies. Accordingly, I present both reports to the House. Thank you.

(Quorum formed)