Scott Morrison has effectively ditched his commitment to establish a national anti-corruption watchdog even if re-elected, refusing to budge on any changes to his preferred model and trying to blame Labor for the delays.
The Prime Minister was hit with a barrage of questions on the future of his Commonwealth integrity commission (CIC) proposal on the campaign trail in northern Tasmania.
He was standing alongside Bridget Archer, the Liberal member for Bass who spectacularly crossed the floor to try to force parliamentary debate on a watchdog in November.
Mr Morrison pledged to set up the anti-corruption commission during the 2019 election, but it has not happened.
The Coalition's proposed model has been canned as overly secretive and lacking teeth, prompting accusations the government is shying away from strong action to tackle corruption at a federal level.
Mr Morrison is refusing to introduce the CIC legislation to parliament without the express support of Labor — despite bills routinely being introduced without bipartisan backing.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly said he has "tabled" the legislation in the House of Representatives, a process which merely puts it on the parliamentary record, rather than kickstarting debate on its merits.
"On many pieces of legislation, I don't go through theatrical exercises in the parliament," the Prime Minister said.
"What I do is I seek to have legislation passed, and where I believe legislation can be passed that is in the national interest, then I'd pursue that."
Anti-corruption commission not on list of priorities
When asked whether he would try to establish the CIC if he won the election, Mr Morrison said his priorities for his next term were clear.
"Jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs and jobs," he said.
Mr Morrison and his then attorney-general Christian Porter first raised the prospect of an anti-corruption commission in late 2018.
Feedback from the legal community and integrity experts warned the government's model would create the weakest integrity commission in the country, raising concerns about it not being able to launch its own investigations or hold public hearings.
A further consultation period was launched, and a tweaked model was expected. But the Coalition quickly turned, and said no changes would be made in February this year.
The Prime Minister has regularly railed against the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) model, likening it to a media circus or "kangaroo court", which ended the political career of former premier Gladys Berejiklian.
"We're not going to agree to changes which we think are not in the national interest," Mr Morrison said.
"We have put forward our proposal. Everyone knows what our proposal is. It is detailed legislation.
"Labor has a two-page fluff document. It is not a real policy."
Ms Archer was dragged into the questioning, with reporters asking whether she now backed the Prime Minister's position.
"I have spoken on this several times and made the view that all sides of politics agree that we should have some sort of national integrity body," she replied.
"The disagreement comes on what that should look like.
"The Prime Minister is quite right — nothing will move forward until the politics is taken out. I have said that all the way along."
She insisted that was not at odds with her previous position in parliament, where she demanded there be debate on a bill.
"I don't want the Labor model," she said.
Results from ABC Vote Compass showed only 1 per cent of Australians believe corruption isn’t a problem at all, while 85 per cent believe it is somewhat or very much a problem in the country.
Refusal to allow debate on bill labelled 'bizarre'
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese described Mr Morrison's refusal to even allow debate on his bill as "bizarre".
"The reason why this Prime Minister doesn't want an anti-corruption commission is sitting on his front bench," he told reporters while campaigning in the New South Wales Hunter Valley.
He cited the Leppington Triangle land deal, the so-called sports rorts scandal, and the saga engulfing Energy Minister Angus Taylor's office over a political attack on Sydney's Lord Mayor as examples of the government hiding from scrutiny.
"This is a Prime Minister who can't be trusted to deliver on his commitments next term because he has shown this term that he can't be trusted," Mr Albanese said.
