Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A few weeks ago, Australians turned on their televisions and, in horror, learnt of allegations of millions of dollars' worth of water that had been stolen out of the Murray-Darling Basin—millions of litres of water that Australian taxpayers have paid for. That case, which allegedly involves corruption within the New South Wales government and private landholders, has been referred to the New South Wales ICAC, but it involves a federal scheme.

I believe that this one example, along with others, which I can cite, that clearly supports a case for the establishment of a federal anticorruption body—a federal ICAC, if you please. In Parliament House on Thursday, a conference will gather to lay out the case for why we need an anticorruption body at the federal level. I have mentioned the Murray-Darling Basin rorts. We have recently seen allegations of corruption in the Australian Border Force. We have also seen ASIO warnings about the danger of accepting donations from foreign donors. I think the case is compelling. There is no federal agency that has the scope or the powers of the state bodies like the New South Wales ICAC or the IBAC. Some say the media do the job. We cannot rely on the media alone. We need a federal anticorruption body here in Canberra.