Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the amendments be agreed to.

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

Today has been a long time coming. Today is a win for honesty, for accountability, for integrity and for trust. Today the government and the parliament work to repay the trust of all those Australians who voted for a transparent, powerful, independent National Anti-Corruption Commission. Today we take an important step to rebuild trust in government, our public institutions and our democracy. Australian democracy is a great national achievement, but turmoil and tension around the world remind us, sometimes harshly, that democracy can never be taken for granted. It needs to be nourished, cared for, treated with respect and protected from the threat of extremism and polarisation and the corrosive influence of corruption and cynicism. The best way to make democracy stronger is to make government and the parliament work better. That is one of the compelling reasons we need a National Anti-Corruption Commission. It represents an end to rorting and waste. It represents dedication to real accountability and delivery. It shows that our government is doing what we always said it would do, and that is to hold itself to a higher standard.

I say to all honourable members that the way we have done this matters too. The parliament has worked together on this—government, crossbench, opposition. I particularly pay tribute to the member for Indi and the service that she has given in achieving this outcome, and I salute the constructive contributions of all who engaged with this bill, seeking to make it better. We're supporting some amendments that were made in the Senate to improve this legislation, which is the way that this parliament should operate. The cooperation has given us the stronger, better and more permanent body this legislation will create. It is a reminder of a bigger truth that the best way to restore people's trust in parliament is to demonstrate that parliament can function better and deliver for people—to show the power and value of this place to improve people's lives, to serve the national interest, to repay the sacred trust Australians have placed in all of us. This is a day that will change politics for the better, it will help us change our nation for the better and I commend the bill to the House.

Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a good day for democracy that has been a long time coming, and I for one am very happy to be here for it. I say that as someone who was the first person to introduce into this House a bill for the establishment of an anticorruption commission. I think back then, almost a decade ago, of the people who are here now it was the member for Clark and I who were its only cheerleaders. Over time others have come on board with the need to get integrity into politics and have a strong anticorruption watchdog with teeth, and I really welcome that.

In marking this historic moment I pay tribute to on my side of politics not only my predecessors Bob Brown and Christine Milne, who pushed for legislation for an anticorruption commission, but also Senator Larissa Waters and Senator David Shoebridge and to note that, in the teeth of fierce opposition from the coalition government last time, Senator Waters managed to get an anticorruption commission bill passed by the Senate, and it could have been voted on in the last parliament, were not for the fact that the then government continued to oppose it and fight it tooth and nail. I acknowledge the government for bringing this important bill in, and for bringing it in so quickly, so that we will have an anticorruption watchdog by Christmas. It was an election pledge and one that has been kept, and they deserve to be acknowledged for bringing that in, and for bringing it in a timely manner that means we can get it under way as soon as possible.

For the rest of the crossbench, I pay tribute to the former member for Indi Cathy McGowan and her work in continuing to pursue this in the face of fierce opposition, for continuing to pursue it because it was the right thing to do, and for helping us build up that model. I also pay tribute to the current member for Indi, Helen Haines, for continuing to work in the previous parliament with those of goodwill and those who wanted action to ensure that we ended up with the model that built on our bill, helped inform the bill that passed the Senate and helped inform the bill that we have here now. I place on record my acknowledgement of that work.

This is not only an historic moment of passing the bill—

A government member: No mention of the Attorney-General?

I mentioned the government, if the previous member was listening. It's always good to have comments from the government cheap seats who aren't listening to what's being said.

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

Order! The member will return to the amendments.

Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The amendments being considered here are good amendments. They are amendments the Greens put that will ensure there are significant additional powers given to the inspector of the commission to provide real-time auditing and monitoring of the NACC's workings, and to guard against potential overreach and maladministration. They're going to be especially important because, although we're passing a good bill, we did miss an opportunity to make it better. Those amendments are going to be especially important because, unfortunately, we don't have a situation—as they have in New Zealand, and as I understand they have in the ACT—where the government has to get the support of others in order to appoint the commissioner, not in a way that would give a recalcitrant opposition a veto but that would ensure that investigation of corruption by a government is not wholly in the hands of somebody appointed by the government. It would have been good if that amendment had got up because, when we're making bills and passing amendments, we have to think not just about this current government that obviously wants to establish a corruption commission—and I again thank them for that—but also about what happens in five or 10 years time. What happens when you have a party in power that has fought tooth and nail against the establishment of a corruption watchdog—do we want them to have unfettered power over who the commissioner is going to be? It's especially important in the context where there is a missed opportunity to ensure there are public hearings into politicians. It is disappointing that there won't be public hearings into politicians as a matter of course. That is something that should have been addressed, and I hope it is something that we can come back to and consider in the future.

I conclude by saying this is a very good day for democracy, and I hope that this NACC now gets its doors open for business as quickly as possible. When we look back over the last 10 years, there's a fair bit of work that it's going to have to do. To get this organisation up and running, there is going to be a long line of cases queueing up for investigation.

Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a historic day for our parliament and our nation. Ahead of the election on 21 May, the Australian Labor Party pledged that if the Australian people gave us the honour of governing this nation, we would repay their trust by returning integrity, honesty and accountability to government. Labor told Australians that if we were elected, we would legislate a National Anti-Corruption Commission this year. Today, that commitment is honoured in full. Labor said we would deliver a watchdog with teeth and without delay, and that is what we have done. The commission will be able to investigate serious or systemic corrupt conduct across the entire federal public sector. The commission will have the necessary powers to root out corruption when it occurs. And, importantly, the commission will work to prevent corruption from happening in the first place.

One of my first actions as Attorney-General was to set up a task force in the Attorney-General's Department, headed by a deputy secretary, to deliver on this important body of work. I know many staff from that task force are here today and are watching. I thank them for their work. This has been an important body of work. It is something that we on this side of the House have been committed to for a long time. We called on members of both places to engage constructively and to work together on this legislation, and they did. I'm proud that the bills that will pass the parliament include amendments that reflect our cooperation and our willingness to work with all sides of the parliament and stakeholders to make the National Anti-Corruption Commission the best it can be.

This legislation delivers the single-biggest integrity reform this parliament has seen in decades. When you change the government you change the country. The National Anti-Corruption Commission will change our country forever. The Albanese Labor government has delivered. The government supports these amendments.

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

I rise in support of these amendments and, indeed, in support of the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill 2022. I want to place on the record my very strong congratulations of the Attorney-General, the Prime Minister and the government on bringing this historic reform to our nation. Much has been said—and, indeed, I think I promised a week or so ago that I would not have anything more to say about this. The bill has gone backwards and forwards a little. That demonstrates though the willingness of the people in this place to engage in a debate on a matter of enormous national significance.

We've talked quite a bit this morning about trust and integrity. We've talked about the power of our democracy and the crucial role we have in protecting it. It is my deep and sincere hope that this National Anti-Corruption Commission forever places all of us on notice and restores trust to the Australian people in a way they have been longing for.

I'm very pleased to have been part of a parliament that has seen this historic day finally come to pass. There are many people whose hands are part of this, but, ultimately, this day does belong to the government; it belongs to the Attorney-General's Department, who crafted this work; it belongs to the people who participated with submissions; and it belongs to people past and present. I am very proud to have played some role in this. I'm very proud to sit on the crossbench that championed this throughout the election period as well. I'm very proud of the Australian people who saw integrity as the No. 1 issue that they needed to be concerned about. I congratulate the Attorney-General, the Prime Minister and the government on this day.

Question agreed to.