David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move my amendment to the motion for the second reading of the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Bill 2023:

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) notes that Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) have been implemented in the United Kingdom and United States to help combat foreign bribery by incentivising companies to self-report; and

(b) is of the opinion that:

(i) establishing a DPA scheme in Australia is worthy of consideration,

(ii) such a scheme should not function as a 'get-out-of-jail-free card' and should prioritise transparency so as to avoid the creation of a two-tiered justice system where corporate criminals are able to secretly negotiate agreements related to wrongdoings while private individuals are subject to the full force of a court of law,

(iii) further reform is needed to abolish facilitation payments, and

(iv) further reform is needed to prevent companies convicted of foreign bribery from being awarded Australian government contracts, potentially through a whole-of-government debarment scheme".

Quorum formed.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Bill 2023. This is an integral piece of reform to tackle the issue of foreign bribery and what it does to our country and, in fact, to innocent people.

I first want to detail the lack of care which was the former government's approach to this issue of foreign bribery and the lack of seriousness with which the former government approached not only the question of foreign bribery but also looking into allegations of foreign bribery when they arose in this country and other countries. But were any of us really surprised? This was, after all, a coalition government. It was a coalition government of incompetence—10 years of waste and denial, with the prime minister of five portfolios trashing the principles of responsible Westminster government. But I guess that is just how the modern Liberal Party rolls: undermining our democracy at every turn, every chance they get.

The inept action of the former government means there is a lot for us to do in government, so the whole purpose of this bill is to strengthen the legal framework for prosecuting foreign bribery and to give effect to Australia's international obligations under the OECD antibribery convention. The Albanese government has no tolerance whatsoever for corruption of any kind, whether in the public sector and from those opposite or in the private sector. Foreign bribery is corruption. It hurts communities, halts economic development and undermines the rule of law. So, as I said from the outset, we are cleaning up the mess of the former government, and the measures in this bill are long overdue.

The measures in the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Bill 2023 address challenges with detecting, investigating and prosecuting foreign bribery in Australia. These measures build on our work as a government to date in tackling corruption. Undetected and unpunished bribery undermines the reputation of all Australian businesses and negatively impacts business and government relations. The Australian government has a zero-tolerance policy in relation to foreign bribery and supports ethical business practices. We have known how important it has been, since taking government, for the Albanese government, through the Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, to go around the globe, restoring the international reputation of this country because it was so damaged by the former government at all levels. So a great deal of time in the first six months of this new government was spent restoring the Australian reputation internationally.

The bill amends the current foreign bribery offence to replace the requirement that the advantage sought be 'not legitimately due' with the concept of 'improperly influencing a foreign public official', to capture bribes concealed as legitimate payments. The bill also broadens the scope of the offence to ensure that it keeps pace with the evolution of foreign bribery conduct. Ideally, the new offence will capture bribery conducted for personal advantage, not just as a business advantage. The bill also introduces a new offence for companies that fail to prevent foreign bribery by associates unless the company can show that it had adequate procedures in place to prevent foreign bribery. As per the bill, it will require the Attorney-General to publish guidance on the steps that a body corporate can take to prevent an associate from bribing foreign public officials.

When ordinary Australians commit crimes, they feel the full force of the law, as they should. However, under the deferred prosecution agreement scheme proposed by the former Liberal government, a company that engaged in serious corrupt crime, including foreign bribery, would have been able to negotiate a fine, agree to a set of conditions and have their case put in indefinite hold. That's not good policy. That's not good for Australia. Ordinary Australians get the full force of the law when they commit a crime, so why should this government fail to take the same action in cases of foreign bribery? As the Attorney-General said in the other place, the Albanese government will only entertain the introduction of such a scheme as a measure of last resort and, in any event, after the measures introduced by this bill have been implemented and given time to operate and work effectively to fight foreign bribery. We know that corruption is never acceptable, and this government's starting point is that, when companies engage in serious criminal wrongdoing like foreign bribery, they should feel the full force of the Australian law.

As I said at the outset, this bill enhances Australia's response to foreign bribery and supports our obligations under the OECD antibribery convention. As my learned colleague and former senator in this place—he went to the other place, but he's still a good guy—David Smith said:

What makes this bill particularly critical is recent reports of millions of taxpayer dollars allegedly being paid to foreign officials through suspicious contracts between private companies and subcontractors engaged by the Department of Home Affairs on Nauru and in Papua New Guinea.

I was in Senate estimates when much of this was exposed. Shame on the former government! If only Australians really knew the lengths they would go to to look after their mates.

In fact, these allegations of suspicious contracts are from the time when the now Leader of the Opposition, Mr Dutton, was the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection and the Minister for Home Affairs. Mr Dutton was the boss. He was the minister responsible at the time. He failed in his duty. He failed in his duty to protect the Australian taxpayer. He failed his government and he failed the Australian people. It is utterly shameful that the former government, over years and years, over two terms of parliament, failed to legislate to give effect to Australia's international obligations and failed to do what was right. Mr Dutton failed to act on foreign bribery. He was made aware countless times that he failed in his duty of care as the minister.

Since coming to government, we have sought to fix up the mess in so many areas across the responsibilities of federal parliament. There is nothing more important than to protect Australia from foreign bribery and the impact that that has on the Australian community, on the Australian economy and, just as importantly, on our reputation internationally. We are leaders in this part of the world, and we have a responsibility as a global citizen to ensure that we stamp out, never accept, never condone and never fail to act on foreign bribery.

The Albanese government is in charge and is committed to making our country a better place. We are committed to fighting crime wherever it may be found, and this includes bribery here and abroad. There is nothing more important than to secure the Australian community from acts of bribery and foreign interference. We've seen what that has done in other countries. This bill demonstrates our government's commitment to tackling corruption, and, in particular, to ensuring our laws are effective in detecting, investigating and prosecuting foreign bribery.

I know there are some people in this place, like the Greens, who are so critical of the ACIC, the AFP, AUSTRAC and other organisations because, in their utopia, these organisations don't do enough. I want to place on the record my appreciation for those organisations and the work they do. These sorts of investigations don't happen overnight. They don't even take weeks; they can take months and then take years. We have a responsibility in this place to ensure, when there is foreign bribery and foreign intervention in our country, that we act. It's the Commonwealth government's responsibility, and that is why the Albanese government will always do the right thing by the Australian people and will always be there to endeavour to make our country fairer and safer from criminal engagement in foreign and domestic bribery and any other organised crime. We are serious about protecting the Australian community because we understand what the economy means to all Australians and our responsibility as international good neighbours.

Sitting suspended from 10:10 to 11:15