Labor’s core election commitment to legislate for a national integrity commission before the end of the year has been thrown in doubt by the suspension of parliament after the Queen’s death.
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, planned on introducing Labor’s anti-corruption commission bill to parliament on Wednesday, when it was to immediately be sent to a joint committee for review.
The government had set itself the ambitious target of having the legislation passed by the end of the year, with the commission itself to be in operation by mid-2023.
But the suspension of the parliament has halted those plans. Parliament won’t be recalled until after the national day of mourning on 22 September, and with upcoming school holidays and Anthony Albanese’s trip to Japan for Shinzo Abe’s funeral, it is unlikely to be held before October.
The prime minister has confirmed the house will make up the lost sitting days (the Senate has to agree separately), but with the committee review, the 25 October budget and a limited number of weeks until parliament rises for the year, passing the legislation this year as planned, may be impossible.
Labor will deliver a powerful, transparent and independent National Anti-Corruption Commission – one with teeth. And we'll do it this year. We need to restore faith in the political system. pic.twitter.com/bX9YZNWSIn
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) April 20, 2022
The anti-corruption legislation remains a priority, but a spokesperson for the attorney general said its passage would depend on the new sittings, which have not yet been announced.
If the legislation is unable to pass both houses by the end of the year, the soonest it could happen, given the traditional summer break, is February, which could also potentially delay when the watchdog comes into operation.
Its passage is unlikely to be seamless either, with members of the crossbench, who were elected on strong platforms of transparency, taking a keen interest in the bill.
Independent Wentworth MP Allegra Spender wants an “integrity commission that the Australian public can trust” and is pushing hard for the appointment of the commissioner to be independent, declaring the arm’s length from the government “crucial”.
“We cannot continue with the partisan appointments process of the past, where the prime minister’s ‘captain’s pick’ for commissioner can be rubber stamped by a parliamentary committee on which the government has an automatic majority,” she said.
“The crossbench has a vital role to play as part of the committee, ensuring that government appointees are not simply waved through without challenge, and equally that an obstructionist opposition cannot hold up the NACC’s [national anti-corruption commission] important work.”
Spender said she and other members of the crossbench had taken “a positive, collaborative approach” to the legislation and had been encouraged by Dreyfus’s response so far.
Helen Haines, who had introduced a bill for a federal Icac in 2020, had been hoping to be joint chair of the committee examining the bill, however the major parties will most likely hold those positions. It is expected, however, that the Indi MP will be a member of the committee.
Dreyfus has spent the months since the election consulting with “all sides of parliament” on the bill and has spoken extensively with members of the crossbench about what they wish to see included in the legislation.
Last week, Dreyfus announced the government was considering a whistleblower protection commissioner and was looking at amendments to the Public Disclosure Act recommended by Philip Moss, the former law enforcement integrity commissioner, in 2016.
The Moss review had been shelved by the Coalition government.
“I am hopeful of bringing to the parliament, in coming months, amendments to the Public Interest Disclosure Act which pick up, and will, almost certainly, need to update the recommendations that Mr Moss made in 2016,” Dreyfus said last week.
“Whether or not it goes to a whistleblower protection commissioner is something that the government is still considering.”
During the election, Labor had promised a federal integrity commission “with teeth” which would have broad jurisdiction to investigate corruption by ministers, members of parliament, government agencies, ministerial staff, public servants and statutory office holders.
It had also committed to giving a forthcoming national anti-corruption commission retrospective powers, which could investigate alleged misconduct as far back as 15 years and take referrals from whistleblowers and the public.
