Gerard Rennick (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on behalf of Harrison Mather, a 17-year-old school senior and proud resident of Moncrieff in Queensland. He says:

What is democracy without integrity? Integrity is the core foundation of trust between the elected and the electors. A lack of integrity erodes the trust in our democratic institutions, and in the very principles our great nation was founded upon.

Public trust in our government is at an all-time low and falling. 85% of Australians believe federal politics is plagued with corruption (The Australia Institute). Whether or not this is the case, this level of public distrust is a critical issue which directly threatens our democracy and which must be resolved.

Parliamentary integrity should not be an oxymoron, but an assurance to the country. Australia needs an anti-corruption watchdog. We need a federal ICAC.

We're fortunate enough that the vast majority of our public servants are sincere and hard-working politicians, who have dedicated their lives to serving this country. Nonetheless, a federal ICAC would serve to protect integrity, preserve public trust and to weed out the small number of corrupt politicians.

I speak for myself, my friends and if not all young Australians when I say, we want to have faith in our governments. We want to have faith in our politicians. We want integrity to be reflected in the actions of our nation's leaders, not merely their words.

We need a federal ICAC.