Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Birmingham is right about one thing: we did make a big issue about that in opposition, and there's a reason for that. Exhibit A is right there—Senator McKenzie. Exhibit B is right there—Senator Cash. When it came to avoiding questions at Senate estimates, we saw it all the time. They sat at the cabinet table with a former prime minister who appointed himself to five ministries.

So we absolutely made a big deal about this because the Australian people demanded we make a big deal about it because they were sick of it. They were absolutely sick of it and the way they were being treated by the previous government. Those opposite have come in here, and it was a fine performance from Senator Birmingham—but they have a record of being in government that we remember. The Australian people remember, more importantly, that we have a big task to overcome. That is why we absolutely highlighted this in opposition. We are proud of our record in government of actually turning this around. The Australian people know they can expect us to be transparent, honest and accountable with them on every occasion, unlike those opposite from what we've seen. The Albanese government are delivering a higher standard of integrity, transparency and accountability and we are upholding a standard the opposition never, ever did.

The Albanese government has reversed Australia's decade-long slide by lifting the country's ranking on Transparency International's annual Corruption Perception Index from 18 to 13.