Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make my contribution on the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill 2022 and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2022. Labor took a set of bold and wide-ranging ideas that for most of a decade were put into the too-hard basket to this year's election. We have systematically and properly been preparing legislation to meet our commitments to the Australian people, and the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission is one of these. The idea was a policy platform that the previous coalition government promised in 2018 and did not deliver.

Around the world, political disengagement is at an all-time high. Here in Australia, enrolled voter turnout in the last decade has gone from 93.23 per cent in 2013 to 89.25 per cent this year. In today's enrolment numbers, that equates to a drop of around 685,000 voters. In total, 1.8 million enrolled voters decided not to vote this year. While not all these people are disengaged, clearly many are.

Australians have corruption fatigue. A paper published by the Australia Institute in 2018 asserted that political corruption costs around five per cent of GDP worldwide. In Australia, it's estimated to cost four per cent, or $53.2 billion, a year. This is an issue that's only getting worse without proper oversight and accountability. The corruption perceptions index, or CPI, has shown that since 2012 Australia has declined in terms of corruption levels. Ten years ago we had a score of 85 out of 100, and now it's 73 out of 100. To put that in perspective, we've gone from a score that would see us rank equal fourth best in the world to a ranking of 18th. That's lower than the UK, Germany, Canada or New Zealand. Aussies are sick of seeing people with power or influence use their status to funnel public moneys in a manner that suits them or their party political future. There is an essential central need for an anticorruption commission to call out these acts and restore faith in politics. If those that are in these positions of status and power fail to be held to account for their actions, then what results is just a mirage of the image we call democracy. Eventually, if nothing changes, this mirage will no longer resemble a democracy; it will start to reflect the image of something else.

While it's important to note that Australia has not descended to anything that resembles other regimes around the world, the very notion that our society moving by any measure in that direction is, I think, worrying and alarming. This is something that our state governments understand, having well-established anticorruption commissions of their own, and it's a system that has served us very well, particularly in New South Wales. There have been countless cases where individuals and organisations have been brought to justice, on both sides of the political divide, when they otherwise wouldn't have without the corruption commission and the hearings that came from it. We've learnt from them, drawing on the best elements of each state and territory anticorruption commission.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission will have the power to investigate ministers, parliamentarians, their staff, statutory officeholders, government contractors and all government employees. Labor has worked extensively with legal and integrity experts to ensure that the commission is designed to adequately investigate and uncover corruption. That includes a breach of trust, misuse of information, abuse of office or adversely affecting the honest and impartial exercise of the function of Commonwealth public officials. And its powers will be retrospective. Whether corruption occurred before or after the commission's establishment, it will have the jurisdiction to pursue and investigate.

The definition of corruption will be consistent with the existing state and territory definitions, as well as the Commonwealth Law Enforcement Integrity Commission Act 2006. The National Anti-Corruption Commission will be allowed to operate with independence and will be resourced to investigate serious and systemic corruption. Independence is crucial to ensure that Australians can trust that the commission is acting in the best interests of the country.

This legislation will ensure the commission can conduct investigations on its own initiative and that the commissioner will serve a single five-year term, with deputy commissioners allowed up to two terms. Both appointments will have tenure comparable to a federal judge. The independence of the commissioners and the deputy commissioners is important to ensure the institution itself remains impartial and independent.

A key principle of the commission will be transparency to ensure trust and accountability in this process. That's why there will be oversight by the joint parliamentary committee to review the commission's performance as well as appoint the commissioners and deputy commissioners. The commission will be subject to reporting requirements at the conclusion of an investigation and must prepare a report with its findings and recommendations. Those investigations that are held in the public domain and have public hearings will have their reports tabled in each house of this parliament. The commission will be proactive with corruption, prevention and education functions. It will have the power to educate and provide information to the public sector and conduct public inquiries to examine vulnerabilities.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission will be transparent, independent and have a broad jurisdiction in what and who it investigates. The legislation before the House strikes the right balance, creating a strong anticorruption commission while also ensuring there is procedural fairness and safeguards. There will be broader safeguards for journalists and their sources, with additional protections that will ensure that investigations do not cause unnecessary damage to the wellbeing or reputation of a person. Those subjected to investigations will be notified of the outcome whilst those subject to adverse findings will be able to seek a review. The Australian people voted for a commission that adheres to those principles, and that is what is being delivered with this legislation. We will have the commission up and running by mid-2023, so we can start investigations as soon as possible and provide the education that is needed.

The Labor Party, when someone is found to be corrupt, are happy to deal with it appropriately. We don't make excuses for them, cover up for them or defend them. We oust them from the party. It's time the entire political system worked in the same way. It's important that transparency is at the centre of the National Anti-Corruption Commission and that the commission can make public findings of corruption when in the public interest. The Australian people deserve to know when corruption has occurred. This legislation will put integrity back in politics and restore faith in our political system to the Australian public. This bill is another election promise delivered by our government for the Australian people, and I commend the bill to the House.

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