Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

Labor will be supporting the suspension of standing orders this morning, and we certainly support the motion being moved by Senator Patrick, should the suspension get up. We have been calling for an anti-corruption commission for some time. The government promised a national anti-corruption commission 1,154 days ago. Then today we hear from the Leader of the Government in the Senate all the reasons we're not in a position to debate a government bill.

The reality is: over 1,154 days ago this was a promise, a promise by the Prime Minister. It was a promise by a Prime Minister under pressure because of the scandals, the failings and the lack of integrity in his government and the lack of trust and public trust in his government. He had to politically manage a situation at the time, so he promised an anti-corruption commission, he promised he would bring in legislation and then the government spent three years ensuring that they don't deliver on that promise. This has been a conscious decision by the government, because a government without integrity doesn't want an integrity commission. That is a fundamental problem for a government without integrity, for a government with ministerial scandal after ministerial scandal, where, after you do a bit of time on the backbench, on the bleachers, you get forgiven and brought back in. All of the sins that were committed and the standards of ministerial accountability that used to exist in every other government of both political colours, which have been kicked to the curb, have been rewritten under this government. You can be rehabilitated. Everyone's guaranteed a spot in the cabinet room, regardless of what offence they commit. That's the standard this government has set. So why on Earth would they want to bring in an integrity commission, when they fundamentally have a massive problem with integrity? They don't want scrutiny.

And when they did work out their draft bill, it was a model that had no teeth, that set a lower standard for ministers and politicians—what a surprise!—and was universally rejected by every organisation and every expert who understands anything about anticorruption commissions. That was a big achievement! And I think it was a conscious decision by the government. They wanted to ensure that they had a work plan for the past 1,154 days that ultimately didn't deliver an anticorruption commission in this country, and they have systematically and comprehensively gone about their business making sure that never happens—and they've achieved it. I think in every sitting week for the past year or so, when someone in this place has brought forward a motion and had the numbers on a bill that had passed in this place for debate on another bill, the government has opposed it and then tried to point the finger at everybody else, who were actually arguing for a stronger anticorruption commission.

Let's make no mistake about why this government's in this position. We have had scandal after scandal, with ministers like Minister Taylor—remember the forged documents? Remember that old chestnut? Remember 'grassgate'? That was also in his portfolio. And we had 'watergate'. We've seen all these rorts and the funds that have been established, where the government doesn't even pretend that they're trying to do the right thing—billions of dollars hidden in the budget to splash out on seats they either need to hold or want to win. We know that in the last midyear update $16 billion of our money was hidden in the budget for more election gift-giving to certain seats. We've got a Treasurer in this country who appropriated money for all of us through the budget and then went and awarded himself, his own seat, four car parks; I don't think any of them have been built. That is the standard, by which the Treasurer, the Prime Minister—senior ministers—conduct themselves, without integrity, doing everything they can to resist the bringing on of debate for an anticorruption commission. The Senate should stand up and support the suspension of standing orders and the motion Senator Patrick has brought in today.