Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A message has been received from the House of Representatives forwarding a resolution agreed to by that House relating to the appointment of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

The House of Representatives message read as follows—

That in accordance with section 176 of the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 (the Act), matters relating to the powers and proceedings of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission shall be as follows:

(1) members appointed in accordance with subsection 172(3) of the Act be nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, or any minority group or independent Senator in the Senate and the Government Whip or Whips, Opposition Whip or Whips, or any minority group or independent Member in the House;

(2) every nomination of a member of the committee be notified in writing to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(3) in addition to the chair elected in accordance with subsection 173(1) of the Act, the committee elect a non-Government member as its deputy chair who shall act as chair of the committee at any time when the chair is not present at a meeting of the committee;

(4) at any time when the chair and deputy chair are not present at a meeting of the committee the members present shall elect another member to act as chair at that meeting;

(5) when acting as chair, the deputy chair or other member presiding at a meeting of the committee shall have a deliberative vote and, in the event of an equally divided vote, a casting vote;

(6) three members of the committee constitute a quorum of the committee, provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include one Government member of either House and one non-Government member of either House;

(7) the committee:

(a) have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of three or more of its members and to refer to any subcommittee any matter which the committee is empowered to examine; and

(b) appoint the chair of each subcommittee who shall have a deliberative vote and, in the event of an equally divided vote, a casting vote;

(8) at any time when the chair of a subcommittee is not present at a meeting of the subcommittee the members of the subcommittee present shall elect another member of that subcommittee to act as chair at that meeting;

(9) two members of a subcommittee constitute a quorum of that subcommittee, provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include one Government member of either House and one non-Government member of either House;

(10) members of the committee who are not members of a subcommittee may participate in the proceedings of that subcommittee but shall not vote, move any motion or be counted for the purpose of a quorum;

(11) the committee or any subcommittee have power to:

(a) call for witnesses to attend and for documents to be produced;

(b) conduct proceedings at any place it sees fit;

(c) sit in public or in private;

(d) report from time to time; and

(e) adjourn from time to time and to sit during any adjournment of the Senate or the House of Representatives;

(12) the committee or any subcommittee have power to consider and make use of the evidence and records of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (PJC-ACLEI) appointed during the current and previous Parliaments once PJC-ACLEI ceases to exist;

(13) in carrying out its duties, the committee or any subcommittee ensure that the operational methods and results of investigations of law enforcement, integrity and intelligence agencies, as far as possible, be protected from disclosure where that would be against the public interest; and

(14) the provisions of this resolution, so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders, have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders.

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate concurs with the resolution of the House of Representatives relating to the appointment of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

OEBRIDGE () (): On behalf of the Greens, I indicate that we broadly support the terms of reference that have been sent to us in the message from the other place. But there's one area where we'd seek to have some clarification from the government. The terms of reference permit the committee to appointment subcommittees to determine any aspect of the committee's jurisdiction. That's a fairly standard provision in committees, particularly joint committees that are established, and it allows the work of the committee to continue with smaller quorums—a quorum of two, for example, with a subcommittee. The concern that the Greens have, and which has been discussed with other parties in the chamber, is that it includes with this NACC oversight community the ability to establish a subcommittee to do some of the statutory functions of the NACC oversight committee. The function that gives us the greatest concern is the statutory power and function to concur with or to reject the proposed commissioners, deputy commissioners and inspectors of the committee.

Madam Acting Deputy President, you will recall there was much discussion in the course of the NACC debate about whether or not a non-government majority should have a say, and a determinative say, in agreeing or disagreeing with the government's nominee for the Commissioner of the NACC.

We eventually resolved that and supported the bill in its current form. But that was in circumstances where we had clear statements from government that the appointment of the NACC commissioner would be engaged in a good-faith process and that there would be the active seeking of consensus amongst the committee for the appointment of the NACC commissioner, deputy commissioners and the like. Unfortunately, the terms of reference, plainly read, permit that that function of the committee, for concurrence or otherwise with the government's proposed appointed commissioner, allows that concurrence to be delegated to a subcommittee of just three members. Therefore, that would remove the need for the political consensus amongst the committee that the government said—and I accept their good faith position—was implicit in their model for the oversight committee.

There are a number of ways this could have been resolved. One obvious way, of course, would have been to amend the terms of reference to expressly exclude that statutory function from the powers delegable to a subcommittee. This can probably be clarified by a brief statement from the government indicating they have no intention to do that and that it will be a function for the whole committee, and I look forward to hearing the minister's position on this.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Shoebridge for those extended remarks to assist the government in this instance. I can advise the chamber that it is the view of the government that the committee as a whole makes decisions and that it works very much like other committees do, where the committee members as a whole make decisions and those decisions are acted upon.

David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And especially on that point.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is on all points relating to the role of that committee.

Question agreed to.