Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister confirm his model of an anticorruption commission cannot ever hold public hearings for politicians, will only undertake investigations the government wants and won't even be able to make findings of corruption?

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the shadow minister for her question and the opportunity passed to me by the Prime Minister to respond to it. I would note, of course, that the exposure draft has been in the public domain for many, many months. We've always been ready to engage with the opposition on the details and to answer these kinds of questions. There are 349 pages of legislation because our Commonwealth Integrity Commission model is for a serious—

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The interjections on my left are far too high. I will start ejecting members if they continue to loudly interject. The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It might be easier to do it straightaway. A point of order on direct relevance: the question asks about three specific aspects of the model that the government has put forward. I respect that what's happened so far has been a preamble about the model generally, but the question only goes to those three aspects and asks whether or not that can be confirmed.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will return to the dispatch box. The question asked does have three subsets within it. They are fairly broad but I will invite the minister to return to the question.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As we've consistently explained, the government's model for the Commonwealth Integrity Commission will have the same powers as a royal commission to investigate criminal corruption in the public sector. But what we've also sought to do is make sure that it appropriately provides procedural fairness to individuals who are under investigation for corrupt conduct and that there are appropriate safeguards against vexatious, baseless, politically motivated and time-wasting referrals, such as the nine failed referrals to the Australian Federal Police by the shadow Attorney-General. The fact is that the Labor Party and the shadow Attorney-General have form in this area, in using these matters for entirely political purposes. We are serious about combating corrupt—

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Under standing order 91 on your previous ruling, where you referred to the fact that there were in fact those three areas, the minister is now referring to none of them.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business has already used the point of order of relevance once. I know that you are referring to 91 but, in my view, you are effectively trying to relitigate relevance twice. I'm happy to hear from you again. I've been listening very carefully to the minister. I'm not going to give credence to the second argument about relevance, because the minister has been talking about the ability to deal with corruption, which was one of the three; and about procedural fairness, which certainly would go to the second part of the question. I'm not going to give the Manager of Opposition Business an opportunity to relitigate the relevance issue. I'm happy to hear from you on another point.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm not seeking to relitigate. Under standing 91, I can't object to how you previously ruled on the issue of relevance. But I can go with exactly what you said could only be referred to and point out that he is now departing from that ruling. The list you just went through made no mention of the Labor Party, and what he's talking about now is the Labor Party. That's what he's talking about.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

But then that comes back to relevance, doesn't it? The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The minister has the call.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What I'm talking about are the serious policy considerations which have informed our detailed and well-developed model. We want to engage in this matter seriously, but I think there are good grounds for suspicion that those on the other side are motivated by political considerations. This is after all the party of Eddie Obeid, Joe Tripodi, Ian Macdonald, Craig Thomson, Adem Somyurek and Sam Dastyari, and they're pontificating about virtue in public life. The Australian people know what you're up to—

Honour able members interjecting—

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat. Members on my right! Members on my left! I get it's the last day. I understand it's the last day. Manager of Opposition Business?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, the minister was deliberately defying your ruling. You called him to order; he just kept going. I appreciate that you want the interjections on this side to stop, but, if a minister's going to behave in that way, the disorder follows.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat.