Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When this government was elected, it promised the Australian people a national anticorruption commission—the NACC, as we call it in this place. 'Yay,' we all said. 'Finally we've got what we want. Beautiful.' Thank you to all those people in here and all those people out there who campaigned for this for a lot longer than I did—that's for sure.

For all Australians to have faith in our NACC, it is critical that the first person to lead our first National Anti-Corruption Commission be a person with a clean skin. Australians need to know that, when they come forward to blow the whistle, they are doing so to an organisation that is led by someone who is both beyond reproach and free of any real, apparent or potential conflicts of interest. Remember that: real, apparent or potential conflicts of interest.

The job ad for this role, which, by the way, pays about 730,000 bucks a year—beautiful; that's more than our top judges and almost double what our Prime Minister gets—said:

The Commission will be a central pillar in the Government's broader federal integrity framework and will work closely with heads of other integrity agencies across the Commonwealth to strengthen the integrity of the Commonwealth public sector

The ad also says:

During their term the Commissioner will be restricted from undertaking outside employment.

I'll come back to that.

What a lot of Australians may not know is that the new head of the NACC isn't a cleanskin. He is a judge and a general who has been the special investigator for the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force, and I found out today he's retaining his role as a general in the Army. Brereton will be conflicted on any defence related matter from day one. We've already seen it. We've seen it with the war crimes, and here we go again. We have ADF personnel right now who do not trust the Inspector-General of the ADF, the Afghanistan inquiry or the Office of the Special Investigator, and neither do I. I'll call it in that call. They have time and time again proved that they are not interested in pursuing senior commanders for their role or their lack of action in alleged wrongdoings. All they show interest in is throwing the book at diggers, without any consequences for senior command. The new head of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Justice Paul Brereton—who I remind you is also a major general—has been at the heart of both inquiries. How can he or the commission possibly consider any defence related referrals while he is on the ADF payroll?

I really have to ask the Attorney-General: what were you thinking, mate? Personally, I am so disappointed. I tell you I've been waiting and waiting. I'm just so disappointed. Seriously, maybe you just didn't read your own job ad. Have a look at it, because you didn't abide by it. How disappointing! How can Australians who have served in defence possibly be confident that this man will pursue the interests of justice and fairness, when he has failed them before? The Commonwealth Ombudsman, the person responsible for defence matters, listed real, apparent and potential conflicts of interest as having the capacity to influence a decision-maker. The guidelines say:

A conflict of interest exists when it appears likely that an employee could be influenced … by a personal interest in carrying out their duty.

Conflicts of interests may be real, apparent or potential …

Here is a little more from the Commonwealth Ombudsman that is especially for the Attorney-General and about conflicts of interests under section 13(7) of the Public Service Act 1999:

… an actual or apparent conflict of interest is a form of bias and can therefore breach one of the requirements of procedural fairness, affecting the lawfulness of any decision made.

I repeat: 'the lawfulness of any decision made'. Major General Brereton meets the criteria for a conflict of interest. Open your eyes, please, Attorney!

How can Australians be confident that this man can fulfil his role in a fair and balanced way? I can't. Isn't this a betrayal of all the people in this place and out there who fought for years for a national anti-corruption commission, only to have him put in that seat? It is the biggest shame of the Labor Party so far; I can assure you. This is a man who will decide if NACC hearings are held behind closed doors or in public. I bet I know where defence hearings are going to be, and they won't be out in the public! They're going right behind those closed doors, aren't they, Mr Brereton? I say that the Attorney-General needs to go back to the drawing board and find someone else—someone that is free from influence and conflict, that isn't on the payroll of the ADF and that does not carry the negative baggage that Brereton right now is carrying.