Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's budget delivers a trillion dollars of debt and rort after rort after rort. Is that why on page 154 of Budget Paper No. 4 there is no allocation of staff to a national anti-corruption commission in this year or the next?

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

ETCHER (—) (): I thank the shadow Attorney-General for his question and for his many distinguished years of service as the shadow Attorney-General. The shadow Attorney-General asks questions about the Commonwealth Integrity Commission, a policy framework on which we've done detailed, thorough and rigorous work, a nationwide consultative process with 333 written submissions and 46 consultations, and we've got very detailed legislation ready to introduce. I repeat the point that we stand ready to introduce this legislation just as soon as the Labor Party indicates that it wants to work with us to achieve this important public policy reform. We stand ready to do that, but unfortunately we have not seen the cooperation across the aisle that we would like to see.

Let me address the shadow Attorney-General's anxiety, because I know he is very worried about employment opportunities for wig-wearing silks. He's troubled that they have a limited number of employment opportunities. Let me assure the House that our government has committed $172.1 million over four years from 2022-23, including capital expenditure, to establish the Commonwealth Integrity Commission. So I do encourage him to perhaps go and get himself a new wig, and then there may even be an opportunity for him there sometime in the future!