Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, I present the committee’s report entitled Examination of the annual report of the Integrity Commissioner 2009-2010, together with evidence received by the committee.

Ordered that the report be made a parliamentary paper.

by leave—I am very pleased to speak on the tabling of the Joint Standing Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity’s examination of the Integrity Commissioner’s annual report 2009-10. As a matter of process, I can say at the outset that the committee has found that the annual report is fully compliant with the Law Enforcement Integrity Act 2006 and regulations as well as with other relevant government requirements. This annual report is the fourth provided by the Integrity Commissioner and covers ACLEI’s third full year of operation.

The committee’s review of the annual report is one of its critical recurrent functions, and as the committee chair I am happy to say that the 2009-10 annual report demonstrates the further evolution of ACLEI, which in a short time has become an important part of Australia’s anti-corruption architecture.

As part of its review of the annual report, the committee has noted the changes that have been made to ACLEI’s reporting framework, in the form of a revised program statement whose first outcome is to provide independent assurance to the Australian government that Commonwealth law enforcement agencies and their staff act with integrity by detecting, investigating and preventing corruption. The second outcome is to detect, investigate and prevent corruption in prescribed law enforcement agencies and to assist those agencies to maintain and improve the integrity of their staff.

In terms of the substantial work and operations of ACLEI, it is pleasing to see reported that there has been an increased rate of referrals to the commission, indicating that it is becoming established as an effective and trusted recipient of matters which include integrity or corruption concerns. Indeed, as I have noted previously, ACLEI has experienced constant growth in potential corruption issues notified and referred since it commenced operations. It was therefore appropriate that the government announced an additional $1.6 million over four years in the 2010-11 budget. This additional funding has enlarged ACLEI’s capacity, and the corresponding expansion of its activity has been supported by a range of operational and resource improvements, namely: new funding for five staff; the near completion of a secure operations facility, which will help to ensure ACLEI’s functional independence from other agencies; and a new strategic approach to counter the possible relationship between corrupt law enforcement agency staff members and organised crime.

The committee is well aware that significant challenges lie ahead for ACLEI, notwithstanding its strong achievements to date, and particular consideration has been given to the opportunities and adjustments that are likely to flow from the expansion of ACLEI’s jurisdiction to cover the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, as of January this year.

ACLEI was created to detect, investigate and prevent integrity failures in law enforcement agencies. An important issue noted by the committee during its review of the annual report is the need for ACLEI to move towards its third objective, which is prevention measures, in addition to the work it is already doing in the areas of detection and investigation. Corruption prevention, by building and promoting cultures of integrity, ought to be a key activity of ACLEI in the future, and the committee will be working with the agency to explore how that role can be developed and resourced.

On receipt of the annual report, the committee commends the Integrity Commissioner and the staff of ACLEI for their essential contribution to Australia’s system of anti-corruption checks and measures.

Finally, I take this opportunity to thank all my fellow committee members including, of course, the deputy chair, Senator Ian Macdonald. I also thank the committee secretariat for their continued hard work in supporting us. I am very sorry to note that committee secretary Tim Watling will shortly be moving to another area, so I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his invaluable assistance and to wish him well.