Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

A few weeks ago I was fortunate to be invited by the Multicultural Society of Tasmania to discuss the role of the federal government and, more specifically, my role as the federal representative in our northern Tasmanian community. There were a lot of great questions asked; however, there was quite a focus on trust in government and trust in those elected to represent our constituents.

Trust in government is paramount. There is no better example of this than what we have seen this year with state and federal governments asking much of our communities in order to keep us all safe. We have asked for people to stay away from loved ones; to put a halt on activities, from sport to entertainment, that bring joy to so many; and to take on the extra responsibility of home-schooling while also working—all to keep our communities healthy. It was incredibly pleasing to see how communities listened and trusted the government's advice and adhered to these best practices, which has put our country in a situation that seems so different to what other Western countries are battling right now. We, as elected representatives, cannot take this trust for granted and nor should we be above reproach. Like the member for Indi, I do believe that establishing a robust federal integrity commission is essential to arresting the declining public trust in institutions and restoring Australians' faith in the democratic system.

Our government is committed to establishing a Commonwealth integrity commission to enhance accountability across the public sector. Earlier this month, the government released an exposure draft of the legislation to establish the CIC for extensive public consultation. The draft legislation is the result of detailed planning to ensure that the new body has both the resources and the powers it needs to investigate allegations of criminal corrupt conduct that could occur across the public sector. Proper and thorough consultation is essential to ensuring a robust commission. A thorough consultation process has been taken in the lead-up to the draft legislation, and the government has said it is committed to further national comprehensive consultation. As part of this, a series of consultation sessions is being arranged for the law enforcement and public sector groups that would be regulated under the legislation, as well as roundtable meetings with civil society representatives, academia and other stakeholder representatives from all states and territories.

I welcome the member for Indi's contribution to this debate and I appreciate her putting forward such a comprehensive proposal. It's important to point out that our government's proposed integrity commission has some broad consistency with many of the principles that inform the member for Indi's AFIC Bill. Specifically, the CIC will be an independent statutory agency with broad jurisdiction over the federal public service and members of parliament and their staff. It will have appropriate powers, with the CIC to be given powers greater than those of a royal commission. And it will provide expert capability to investigate allegations of corruption within the public sector, including conduct that occurred before the establishment of the CIC.

However, I note that it does depart from the member for Indi's approach in some critical areas, including on the issues of retrospectivity, how corrupt conduct is defined, and on the issue of public hearings. It's my hope that the government and the member for Indi can work together to find some common ground on these issues.

As I mentioned to audience members at the multicultural society last week, Australia has a solid anticorruption reputation. It is consistently ranked by Transparency International as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, including in the most recent Corruption Perceptions Index, where we're ranked equal 12th with Canada, the UK and Austria. However, despite the trust shown in our government during the global pandemic, we must continue to be accountable and transparent as elected representatives. The draft legislation is a step in the right direction, but I look forward to reviewing the appropriate changes and updates after further consultation with key stakeholders in 2021.

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