Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity on the examination of the annual report for 2010-11 of the Integrity Commissioner, together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee.

Ordered that the report be printed.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I have rushed down to the chamber to present this report from a little party we have been having upstairs. The party has been a celebration of the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity. Back on 30 December 2006, ACLEI—the acronym for the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity—was established. And, indeed, 26 February 2012 was the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the joint parliamentary committee.

Before speaking to the report, I congratulate the commissioner, Com­missioner Philip Moss, on the work that he and his staff have done since the establishment of the commission five years ago. Mr Moss was at the party I have just been to, with his executive director, Mr Stephen Hayward, a strategic support officer, Mr Nicholas Sellars, and Ms Sarah Baker-Goldsmith, the principal lawyer for the integrity commission. It was good to have them there and I congratulate the chair of our committee, Ms Melissa Parke, for initiating this little celebration of the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the commission and of the oversight committee.

It would be remiss of me if I did not also mention that, apart from the commissioner, Mr Moss, our own Senator Stephen Parry was there at day 1 of the establishment of the joint committee, and has made a very significant contribution to the work of the joint committee since that time. Senator Parry, as colleagues will know, had a role in that sort of area of occupation prior to his entering parliament, and his advice has been invaluable. This is a committee that works in a bipartisan way, and I congratulate the chair and, indeed, all of my fellow committee members for the way in which they have discharged their duties in overseeing the integrity commissioner.

The Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006 requires the committee to examine each annual report and each special report prepared by the commissioner, and to report to the parliament. There have been no special reports prepared by the integrity commissioner during 2010-11, and so the committee has focused its examination on ACLEI's fifth annual report: on ACLEI's achievements against the performance reporting framework, the direction of the commission and certain issues arising from the commission's reported performance in 2010-11.

ACLEI achieved the set performance targets in 2010-11, although the committee observed that the balance between ACLEI's load and resourcing will need to be monitored continually into the future. The most significant development in the past year has been the inclusion of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service within ACLEI's jurisdiction. The committee recommended that this occur in its interim report for the inquiry into the operation of the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006.

In 2010-11, the Attorney-General's Department engaged Mr Peter Hamburger to review ACLEI's capabilities, operating arrangements and resources. Mr Hamburger made three recommendations directed at establishing reporting arrangements on the timeliness of ACLEI's assessment processes and its coordination with law enforcement agencies; developing a memorandum of understanding between ACLEI and the three law enforcement agencies within its jurisdiction, under which ACLEI would be assured of an acceptable amount of physical surveillance capacity; and securing an agreement by which the law enforcement agencies would each transfer a small amount of funds to ACLEI to strengthen its capabilities in areas other than investigation, especially in relation to prevention activities.

The committee supports these three recommendations and will monitor their implementation. It is the committee's view that the most serious finding of the review was that ACLEI required greater access to high-end investigative capabilities, especially physical and technical surveillance, for which it had statutory authority but insufficient capability.

The committee congratulates ACLEI on another successful year of operation, and notes the significant challenges that remain. These include the ongoing integration of the customs and border protection work within the commission's body of work, improving the timeliness of assessments and investi­gations in the face of limited resources and further development of corruption prevention and education programs.

Again, I know that the committee wants to thank the commission management and staff for their cooperation and engagement during the year. I also just mention that on 13 December 2011, the then Minister for Home Affairs and Justice, the Hon. Brendan O'Connor, announced that the government will provide further funding to strengthen detection and investigative capabilities within the commission. The committee looks forward to further detail in upcoming budgets and annual reports.

The annual report also notes the establishment of the Community of Practice for Corruption Prevention to bring together practitioners from agencies under the commission's jurisdiction, and the formation of the Australian Anti-Corruption Com­missions Forum, comprising integrity agencies from around Australia. The committee is now focusing its attention on its inquiry into the integrity of overseas law enforcement operations. A key goal of this inquiry is to understand the increased or different corruption risks arising from overseas law enforcement operations, from operating in different cultures with different views on corruption to operating jointly with other nations who have different rules and measures for addressing corruption. The committee will look at the nature and effectiveness of the integrity measures, models and legislation adopted by Australia and foreign jurisdictions, including for international operations. The committee is not raising concerns about existing corruption in Australian law enforcement agencies but instead is looking to ensure that strong, preventative measures are in place. Law enforcement agencies take their governance and accountability very seriously. The committee will consider the corruption risks facing law enforcement officers overseas and the extent to which Commonwealth law enforcement agencies are able to prevent and investigate corruption in their international operations.

In concluding, I again note the great work done for the committee by the secretariat, led by Dr Jon Bell; Mr Bill Bannear, the senior research officer; and Ms Rosalind McMahon, the administrative officer. They have been a great team. The committee is disappointed to hear that Dr Bell is moving on but, as the chairman said in the course of our little celebration earlier today, we as a committee wish Dr Bell and his family all the very best for the future. With that, I commend the report to the parliament.

Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I concur with the remarks of the Deputy Chair of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, Senator Macdonald, regarding the work of both the secretariat and ACLEI. Since becoming a member of this committee in July last year, at the same time as Senator Wright, I have enjoyed my time on the committee. I have a great interest in the area of law enforcement integrity and especially the work we have been doing on the committee in the area of integrity testing. As Senator Macdonald noted, the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006 requires the committee to examine each annual report and each special report prepared by the Integrity Commissioner. In this case it is the annual report for 2010-11.

The most significant part of that report is the increase in jurisdiction for ACLEI with the addition of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, announced by the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, in July 2010. Since ACLEI's inception, its workload and resources have needed to expand and the federal government has responded with increased funding to ACLEI. When ACLEI started out, its jurisdiction was the Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Federal Police. It has grown since 2007, with now four annual reports.

Today we did note the work ACLEI has conducted over those five years by celebrating with the Integrity Commissioner and his team. I add my sincere appreciation for the approach that the Integrity Commissioner applies to all his work. I also note the significant challenges that remain for ACLEI. They include the addition of the Customs and Border Protection Service to ACLEI's body of work, the timeliness of its investigations, the balancing of resources, developments in the prevention of corruption and educational programs.

ACLEI'S fifth anniversary is a significant achievement. It is worth noting the commissioner's comments in the latest annual report that the best approach for an anticorruption agency such as ACLEI lies in bringing about and sustaining a culture that recognises, opposes and resists corrupt conduct. It is quite pertinent that the Integrity Commissioner refers to corruption as the 'invisible crime': it succeeds only so long as it remains undetected. That is a good example of the difficulty that any anticorruption agency faces in trying to identify that invisible crime. ACLEI's use of a multidimensional framework of detect, disrupt, deter is an efficient way in which to tackle these difficulties in those agencies that come under ACLEI'S jurisdiction.

Finally, I thank very much the secretariat for its work. The staff has been incredibly supportive of me and other members by ensuring the committee runs effectively, efficiently and has all the information it needs to hand. My sentiments go to Dr Jon Bell, who is moving on from the committee to take up a new position. Thank you, Dr Bell, for all of your work in ensuring the committee's work has been done to the best of its ability, which could not have been achieved without your support. I concur with Senator Macdonald on ACLEI's good work and its latest annual report. I seek to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.