Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Senate is considering an amendment to the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill to require a simple majority of the NACC oversight committee to approve the appointment of the NACC commissioner. Prime Minister, this is a good-faith and sensible amendment that will protect the independence of the NACC in the decades to come while preventing any opposition vetoing appointments. Why is this government afraid of supporting this amendment, which would guarantee that the NACC is a truly independent body?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question and for her work in ensuring that Australia will have a national anticorruption commission. The member, of course, introduced a private member's bill in the last term of parliament. We tried to get it debated because the government said it had a bill, but it never introduced it. We've introduced a bill. We had an inquiry that the member for Indi chaired. We adopted the recommendations of that inquiry—all of them. You have legislation and you then have an inquiry. If you adopt all the recommendations of the inquiry, of which the member for Indi was the chair, with respect, I think we have done exactly what you should expect the government to do—sorry, you were the deputy chair of that committee. We've done exactly what came through the process of that committee inquiry, which the deputy chair of the committee would be very conscious of.

What we haven't done is support amendments from various quarters in this chamber to this bill. We had a bill after we had extensive consultations, after we had a committee process, after we had recommendations and after we adopted all of them. I stand by our position. I sincerely hope the Senate adopts our position, which has been put forward. We'll consider amendments on their merits. I've had discussions with the Attorney-General and with some crossbench senators about amendments that we will support.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will pause. I call the member for Indi, on a point of order?

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, on relevance. I'm asking the Prime Minister to go to the actual point of the amendment in the Senate around oversight and the simple majority question. I'm just seeking an explanation.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister is in order and I give him the call. He's being relevant.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The simple explanation, as the deputy chair of the committee would recognise, is that this is something that isn't a recommendation of the committee that was put forward, unanimous recommendations to this House and to the Senate. So I think, with respect to the member for Indi, given you were supported for the high office of being the deputy chair of that committee, in recognition of your genuine support for that, it did not come through as a recommendation—

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, members on my left! The House will come to order. Members on my left will cease interjecting.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

from the process. We have supported proper processes in order to get a National Anti-Corruption Commission which the parliament should be proud of. I look forward to it being adopted.