MARK DREYFUS MP

This Sunday marks two years since the Prime Minister and his Attorney-General belatedly, grudgingly announced to Australians they would establish a national integrity commission.

The financial cost of Robodebt, as appalling as it is, pales next to the toll in human suffering this Government callously inflicted on the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Australians who received unlawful Robodebt debt notices. 

Like most of the great social reforms that have occurred in Australia—including Medicare, our world-leading superannuation system, the anti-discrimination law framework and the provision of free legal assistance services to Australians in need—the Family Court of Australia is a proud Labor legacy. Australians are used to the Liberal Party attacking and seeking to undermine these and other great social reforms introduced by Labor governments.

If Rotten Tomatoes reviewed anti-corruption bodies, the Morrison Government's integrity commission would be certified rotten, with a score of zero.

Yitzhak Rabin was one of Israel’s greatest Prime Ministers. He stands in the same company as renowned Labor leaders like David Ben Gurion and Golda Meir.  But not only that, Rabin’s courage and integrity in that role makes him stand out as one of the great global leaders of the past generation. 

The ever-growing list of scandals involving the Morrison Government shows why Australia urgently needs a powerful and independent national integrity commission.

The Intelligence and Security Committee has unanimously concluded that existing Australian law does not adequately protect freedom of the press, or the public's right to know, and significant reforms are needed.

It’s time that the Morrison Government started properly managing our international relations instead of chasing headlines.

Tackling corruption is not a priority for the Morrison Government.

The truth is: The government has known for years that the Prime Minister's Robodebt scheme was illegal. The truth is that the government has known for years that the Prime Minister's Robodebt scheme was harming Australians. They were told time and time and time again. They covered it up. And now they want everyone to move on. Well, Labor will not be moving on. We will hold this Prime Minister and his grubby government to account. Australian taxpayers will have to foot the bill for the Prime Minister's $1 billion extortion racket, but it is this Prime Minister and his government who will forever wear the shame. And, no matter how long it takes, they will be held accountable.