Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator O'Neill for her question and for her interest in these matters, which are important to the nation and important to the government. They are important to the parliament. Today is an important day because we introduced into the House the first government bill to establish the National Anti-Corruption Commission. It is a bill which delivers on a key election commitment first made prior to the 2019 election to establish a powerful and independent anticorruption body at the federal level. It is a watchdog with teeth, and this is a commitment that we have consistently advocated for and today are delivering.

The former government, having made their own pledge to introduce a federal anticorruption body in December 2018, never even got to the stage of introducing a bill. The federal government is the last jurisdiction in this country not to have an anticorruption commission, and we all know it is past time for that to be fixed. Those of us on this side of the chamber are proud that the Albanese Labor government is doing just that.

Today's bill is a product of an extraordinary amount of work and it is being shaped by constructive consultation with experts and with members of the House and Senate. It aims to learn the lessons from existing anticorruption commissions across the nation, balancing the need for transparency with the need to prevent undue damage to reputation. The ultimate aim of this body, once established, is both to prevent and to expose corruption at the federal level. The Australian people sent a clear message at the last election that this is what they want. It is now incumbent upon this parliament to deliver.

Shortly after introducing the bill this morning, the Attorney-General moved to establish a select committee of both houses to scrutinise the bill. We welcome that scrutiny and the dialogue which will flow from it, reflecting the government's genuine desire for this bill to have support across the parliament. There is no more important task for those of us elected to this place than maintaining the trust placed in us by the Australian people, and today's bill is an important part of that task.