A last-minute deletion from the Albanese government’s signature anti-corruption bill has prompted a warning that misconduct like Scott Morrison’s secret assumption of ministerial powers won’t be investigated.
Crossbench MPs also expressed concerns on Wednesday that the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) would not be given adequate powers to investigate the use of public money for partisan purposes, or pork barrelling.
Before Wednesday’s debate, the government removed a “catch-all” clause from the bill, which would have allowed investigation of “any kind” of corruption not explicitly outlined in the legislation.
‘New ways to betray the public interest’
The Greens justice spokesman Senator David Shoebridge told The New Daily the clause was needed because developments such as the Morrison secret ministry affair showed the political class “keeps coming up with new ways to betray the public interest”.
“This section is designed to future-proof the NACC’s jurisdiction to catch changing and emerging activities that corrupt the federal government,” Senator Shoebridge said.
“The argument against keeping the provision is that it’s too broad.
“This misses the point that to be captured under this provision the conduct must be serious or systemic corruption, and that’s a pretty clear set of boundaries most people outside of Parliament can understand.
“If you told someone 12 months ago that the prime minister would grant himself a bunch of secret powers and ministries, they would have laughed. But politics keeps surprising us in new and novel ways and we need the NACC to have the jurisdiction to keep on top of this.”
The removal of the clause was recommended by a joint parliamentary committee composed of 12 senators and MPs, including Senator Shoebridge.
But the committee’s report noted that both he and independent MP Dr Helen Haines argued that there was “real merit” in keeping the clause in the legislation.
“Senator Shoebridge and Dr Haines considered that there should be no ambiguity that the NACC will have the power to investigate the allocation of public funds and resources to targeted electors or electorates for partisan purposes where it meets the threshold of serious or systemic corruption,” the report states.
Transparency International Australia CEO Clancy Moore also raised concerns about the government’s move to limit the definition of corruption in the bill, saying the decision should be reviewed in the Senate.
“It’s critically important for the commission to have a broad scope and definition of corruption to adequately investigate, prevent and stop corruption,” he told The New Daily.
According to a report published by the joint parliamentary committee, the Attorney-General’s Department could not provide any examples of conduct which would constitute “corruption of any other kind” not already set out in the legislation.
‘Deafening’ silence on pork barrelling
Other crossbench MPs have expressed concerns about an “exceptional circumstances” test that would limit the holding of public hearings and the absence of a clause explicitly targeting pork barrelling.
Dr Haines has moved an amendment to ensure the NACC has jurisdiction to investigate the partisan misuse of public money when it meets the threshold of serious and systemic corrupt conduct.
“The major parties’ silence when it comes to pork barrelling is deafening,” the Member for Indi told Parliament on Tuesday.
“Given the level of public concern regarding the alleged misuse of billions of dollars of public grant funds, there should be no ambiguity regarding the NACC’s ability to investigate this questionable practice.”
Fellow crossbencher Zoe Daniel said she would support the bill, but joined calls for an explicit pork barrelling test as the bill was debated in parliament on Wednesday.
“What it comes down to is using public money to benefit oneself or one’s party politically,” she said.
“This fails the integrity test and should also come under the gamut of the commission,” Ms Daniel said.
“Even many journalists have become desensitised to this. It is so ubiquitous that it attracts little more than a shrug and an eye roll in many quarters.”
Cross bench MPs are moving a raft of amendments including to introduce an independent whistleblower commissioner.
The shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser has argued that the definition of corruption needs greater clarity.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Parliament on Wednesday that the bill had received wide-ranging input from experts and MPs across the parliament.
“I’ve been asked a range of times, ‘Would your National Anti-Corruption Commission investigate A, B or C?’,” he said.
“That question misses the point. An independent body decides what they’ll investigate. That’s the whole point. That is what we have ensured can occur.”
