John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you to the member for Indi for bringing forward this important and time-sensitive debate. You'll notice that I'm standing very close to the centre, where common sense dwells. I'd like to thank the member for bringing forward this debate in the name of the Menzies-Calwell group. For the uninitiated, the Menzies-Calwell group is a group of MPs who meet for lunch on Tuesdays to discuss in an open and bipartisan manner. We take our name and tradition from the group's namesakes, when they were Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition respectively—and respectfully. Every Friday, they would meet for lunch to discuss the affairs of the day to ensure that the two parties could work well together. They would listen to each other with respect and they would set politics aside. We'll be meeting again tomorrow in the Members' Dining Room, and all MPs and senators are welcome and encouraged to attend, on the condition that politics are left at the door. Politics is forbidden in the Menzies-Calwell group, but policy most certainly is not. We want to develop ideas, not just exercise our debating skills, for the betterment of our communities and all of Australia.

When meeting in the name of friendship—with colleagues regardless of party, or even if you don't have a party—and bipartisanship, integrity is the virtue we all hold dear. Integrity in parliament is something we all want to and need to improve upon. Polls always show that faith in politics and its institutions, but especially politics, is at an all-time low. Dwindling majorities for the main parties and the growth of minor parties demonstrate how people are turning their back on politics as it has been. They are turned off by the way we engage with each other and, through the game of politics, rarely make good progress. It is a stinging message that we all should hear.

Of course, it's not just politicians who need to be checked in on. One hat I wear is the Chair of the Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities. As such, the behaviour of public officials at Western Sydney Airport has come up before my recent inquiry. We have seen much about this on the news recently, but there is a broader undercurrent of fortunate speculators pocketing huge sums of taxpayer funds on the back of government infrastructure. There is a great need for a commission in the infrastructure planning space, and I'll be talking about that very soon. I'm not a lawyer, and while I'm very familiar with courts I prefer the outdoor type, with a bat and a ball! But there is no doubt that such an organisation is necessary for the proper functioning of government.

There are of course two integrity commissions in the mix right now. There is the one that we're discussing today, the Beechworth Principles, and as we all know the government has invested time in putting forward its own version of the CIC. The government's proposed CIC bill is similarly directed towards the objectives that Dr Haines has identified—an independent, effective anticorruption body with wide powers to properly investigate all complaints. The latter is going out to consideration where it will be examined by legal minds far greater than mine. This consultation will be critically important for a bill of this nature, where the broadest considerations must be listened to in order to ensure that any commission that is set up is fit for purpose and does not create any unexpected results. Critically, I would like to call on the government to listen closely to the results of the consultation. This must be an open, transparent and purposeful inquiry. Consultations where the government's suggestions are rubberstamped and recommendations are swept under the carpet would not only be counterproductive; they would be the embodiment of the problem that this sort of commission is trying to combat.

Before I finish I would like to congratulate the member for Indi for her incredible work on this commission. The effort to put together the foundations of an integrity commission at the same time as being an independent MP without the resources of a major party is an incredible feat. I congratulate you on the impressive fruits of your labours. This debate is important, and it must be open. I thank everyone for being part of this conversation. I hope that by working together in the spirit of Menzies and Calwell we will soon have an integrity commission that is fit for purpose.

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