Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for the contributions to this bill. I will just step through briefly the reasons that the government is bringing this bill forward. Hopefully, Senator Roberts, that will put you in one mind, but hopefully we will get the support of the chamber either way. The Albanese government is committed to ensuring integrity, honesty and accountability in government. The community expects public officials, especially those who are the subject of statutory appointments at senior levels, to perform their duties with the highest level of integrity.

The Commonwealth Entities Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 will ensure that, where statutory office holders engage in behaviour that breaches the APS Code of Conduct or amounts to discrimination, bullying, harassment or corruption in their workplace, they can be removed from office. The bill also ensures that statutory office holders are held accountable for their performance, with unsatisfactory performance being appropriately addressed. These are standards expected of most working Australians in their workplaces, and they should apply to statutory office holders too.

The Albanese government remains committed to the principles of regulatory independence, and the bill is sensitive to the independence of decision-making by statutory authorities. To this end, the amendments in this bill are designed not to fetter the independence or discretion of office holders but to ensure that they are accountable for their performance and conduct in the workplace. The bill will strengthen appointment safeguards for a range of statutory office holders, and the government will continue its focus on returning integrity, honesty and accountability to government, ensuring that we better reflect community expectations. Through these ongoing efforts, the government will continue to ensure that the Commonwealth is a model employer of the same standard that we expect of other employers.