MARK DREYFUS
SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL
SHADOW MINISTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
MEMBER FOR ISAACS
TWO YEARS AND STILL NO INTEGRITY FOR MORRISON GOVERNMENT
It is now two years since the Prime Minister and Attorney-General announced they would establish a Commonwealth Integrity Commission.
But time and time again Scott Morrison and Christian Porter have shown they have no interest in tackling corruption and are too scared of what a powerful and independent integrity commission will do to their scandal-prone Government.
In the two years since that announcement was made, the need for an integrity commission has only grown stronger with sports rorts, Angus Taylor’s forged letters, the airport land scandal and the biggest spending Budget in history.
Instead, all we’ve seen is a draft bill for a weak, secretive and compromised commission that would cover up corruption, not expose it.
If adopted, this commission would be unable to instigate its own independent inquiries other than in very limited circumstances, it would be unable to hold public hearings when a corruption investigation related to politicians or public servants, and it may even be prevented from investigating any of the multiple past scandals of the Morrison Government.
It’s no wonder experts have slammed the Morrison Government for announcing, but not delivering, a strong anti-corruption body.
The Government’s model was described by the Centre for Public Integrity as ‘the weakest watchdog in the country’ and by Stephen Charles SC as ‘an attempt to protect ministers, politicians and senior public servants from investigations into serious corruption’.
Geoffrey Watson SC, former counsel assisting the NSW ICAC, describes the Porter/Morrison proposal as ‘designed to cover up corruption, not expose it’, while former Victorian Judge David Harper says it is a ‘toothless watchdog that fails to hold politicians to account and risks further eroding confidence in our political and democratic processes’.
The ever-growing list of scandals surrounding the Morrison Government shows why Australia needs a powerful and independent National Integrity Commission and why Mr Morrison and his colleagues will do everything in their power to block it.
SUNDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2020
