Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, Examination of the Annual Report of the Integrity Commissioner 2018-19, together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee. I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

On behalf of the committee I thank the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity for a comprehensive annual report and acknowledge the significant progress it has made in the last 12 months. The committee commends the commission for the efforts undertaken in the last 12 months to conclude or discontinue older investigations where it was appropriate to do so and to ensure that the focus of its efforts is on matters relating to serious or systemic corruption. This is in accordance with the commission's purpose under the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006. The committee noted that, of the 116 investigations concluded in 2018-19, 113 were discontinued under section 42 of the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act. That section provides a power for the commissioner to reconsider how a particular matter should be dealt with. To enhance the transparency of investigations that are discontinued under section 42 of the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act, the committee recommends that the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity consider how it can collect data on investigations that are discontinued, so that it is able to report at a high level the reasons why investigations are discontinued.

The committee is satisfied that ACLEI, as it's also known, performed strongly against its five key performance indicators and correlating targets for 2018-19. ACLEI delivered positive investigative and operational results including five prosecutions, all resulting in convictions. The committee particularly congratulates ACLEI on the successful work of the Visa Integrity Taskforce. The taskforce integrated corruption prevention into operational activities that provided timely advice on corruption risk to key stakeholders. It exemplified how working in partnership with other law enforcement and integrity agencies can build capability and capacity to combat corruption-enabled crime. This goes to the very heart of the purpose of the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.

In conclusion, I would like to thank all the staff of ACLEI for their great work over the last 12 months. The committee has been most impressed by the contribution made thus far by the new integrity commissioner, Ms Jaala Hinchcliffe, since her appointment in February. The committee notes the speed with which the integrity commissioner has familiarised herself with the key issues and taken steps to continue to improve ACLEI's efficiency and effectiveness.

I would like to thank the committee secretariat for their assistance in preparing this report, in particular Dr Sean Turner and Ms Emmie Shields. Last, but certainly not least, I'd like to thank all committee members for their contributions. In particular, as a new chair I could not hope to have a better deputy than Senator Bilyk, who, in the finest traditions of this place, has been collegiate, helpful and always constructive. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

I present the delegation report of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, Visit to New Zealand and Vanuatu, December 2019. I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted.

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I had the pleasure of leading the delegation of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity to New Zealand and Vanuatu. The delegation was primarily to support the committee's ongoing inquiry into the integrity of Australia's border arrangements. The committee also used the delegation as an opportunity to understand integrity frameworks more broadly in the two countries, and how individual initiatives or aspects of those frameworks might be relevant for Australia. There are emerging challenges for Australia's anticorruption, law enforcement and border agencies in ensuring our border arrangements are protected from transnational organised crime, changes in information and communications technology that can increase corruption vulnerability, criminal activities which seek to hide within legitimate movements across borders, and the potential for corruption in biosecurity and visa processing.

Of particular interest to the delegation was looking into anticorruption measures used by border agencies in nearby jurisdictions with which Australia has a close association as partners in addressing transnational crime and corruption. This was of particular importance as the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity has reported that a number of investigations now involve international operations.

The delegation would like to thank the Parliament of Vanuatu as well as many government agencies for their welcome to their beautiful country and their openness to our discussions. We reviewed a number of anticorruption and integrity programs being undertaken in Vanuatu, many of which are directly supported or funded by the Australian government. The delegation was very pleased to see the significantly more sophisticated approach that many Vanuatu agencies are taking towards these measures to improve the integrity of a broad range of law enforcement, parliamentary and civic functions. The government of Vanuatu and its people are to be commended for the great steps being taken to strengthen the functions that underpin their democracy. Australia is honoured to work in partnership with our Pacific neighbours in their endeavours.

On behalf of the delegation, I wish to thank the government of New Zealand—our cousins across the Tasman. We met with a range of law enforcement, anticorruption and integrity-monitoring organisations. The delegation left with a greater understanding of how well Australia and New Zealand work together on these initiatives and how closely tied are our futures.

One of the important lessons the delegation learned was the need to remain vigilant and clear-eyed about corruption and integrity risks. It's often said the greatest trick the devil pulled was convincing people he didn't exist. The same can be said of corruption. The greatest corruption driver of all is to think that corruption risk doesn't exist. Australian integrity and anticorruption frameworks have been clear-eyed in identifying that risk to Australian borders do not start at borders but can also be driven by weaknesses in regional trading partners. This delegation report outlines the work that some of Australia's trading partners have been doing to minimise those risks with the funding and the support of the Australian government, and we commend these programs.

Lastly, I would also like to thank my fellow delegates Mr Conaghan, Mr Laming and Mr Zappia for participating in the delegation. I would also like to thank the committee secretariat for their extensive work in organising the delegation—in particular, Ms Kate Gauthier, who accompanied us as the delegation secretary. Their support, as always, was invaluable.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.