Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a short contribution on the report that was just tabled. This is an incredibly damning report, with three very strong recommendations made as part of an interim report of the Senate inquiry into Australia's faunal extinction crisis. What it finds is that the current ministerial standards are failing to stop conflicts of interest, they're failing to ensure integrity and they're certainly failing to deliver good outcomes for the environment. The chair of that particular inquiry, my colleague Senator Rice, will speak briefly on that particular aspect.

What this interim majority report recommended is that the Prime Minister finally do something to restore public confidence in government integrity, which we know is at all-time lows, by actually enforcing the disclosure obligations about the personal and pecuniary interests of ministers—and not just any ministers but including Minister Taylor, that embattled and frequently mentioned minister. It also recommends that all ministers be reminded that they're not meant to be there to abuse public office for private gain. I'm incredulous that it takes a Senate inquiry report to recommend that ministers be told not to put their own private greed ahead of their jobs to act in the national public interest as ministers of the Crown.

The inquiry also recommends that the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet review the conduct of Minister Taylor and the now Treasurer, Minister Frydenberg. That is a very serious rebuke of both of those senior ministers. I hope that the government takes those recommendations on board, because it should not have to be coping with any more scandals. The public already has enough reason to have absolutely no confidence in this government or, frankly, in this institution of democracy.

The other recommendations go to the need for the Department of the Environment and Energy to be audited, in particular for the extremely long time that the compliance investigation into this matter has taken. It's still on foot. There still have been no consequences for Minister Taylor, and there has been no decent explanation as to why the compliance investigation has taken so very long—longer than any other comparable compliance investigation. The department has also been rebuked for its failure to take appropriate notes in relevant ministerial meetings. One of the final recommendations is that the Public Service Commission undertake a review of note-taking procedures.

What we have seen from this government is ministers putting their private interests ahead of the public interest; abusing public servants; seeking to interfere in compliance matters and in investigations; and apparently issuing instructions that minutes be not taken. It is about time that we saw some integrity restored to this institution. That is why the Greens have moved for a parliamentary code of conduct. It's not enough that the prime ministerial standards exist if they are not enforced and are clearly being flouted on regular occasions. It's exactly why we need a federal anti-corruption body, but it will probably be an awfully long time before we see this government introduce such a body.