Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I don't think that is how the public understands it. I think what the public understands is that, as a result of the change in government and with the support of the crossbench, we are going to have a national anticorruption commission for the first time in this country. That's what I think the country understands. I also think that the country understands that this commission will have the power to hold public hearings in exceptional circumstances. We think that's an appropriate threshold which reflects the significant nature of the power to compel a person to answer questions at a public hearing. It also reflects the sensitivities involved in holding public hearings—for example, the risk of prejudicing a future criminal investigation or trial and also the issues of reputational harm that may arise. But where the commission considers there are exceptional circumstances that justify having a public hearing, then it will be able to do that.