Deputy Speaker,
Australia enjoys a strong international reputation as a country with robust institutions, rule of law, and integrity.
But, Deputy Speaker, we have been sliding down the rankings.
We see this in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, which measures trust in government.
That data showed that, between 2012 and 2018, Australia slid to 13th place in the index.
A 2018 Australia Institute report calculated that perceptions of growing corruption in Australia shaved 4% off our GDP due to the hit to business confidence.
That had a real cost to us of $72 billion.
Then there’s the enormous 5% of GDP that corruption is thought to cost the global economy in plundered wealth.
Between 2018 and 2021, Australia had dropped five more slots to reach 18th place in the Corruption Perception Index.
Deputy Speaker, Pope Francis said: “the corruption of the powerful ends up being paid for by the poor”.
$72 billion that is embezzled from, or not created in, Australia costs us.
It’s investment for roads or social housing needed by the many, that is squandered by the greed of the few.
But corruption is about more than dollar figures and our GDP.
Corruption is often compared to a social disease that aggressively spreads if it isn’t treated as early as possible.
As US President Joe Biden once said:
“Corruption is a cancer, a cancer that eats away at a citizen’s faith in democracy, diminishes the instinct for innovation and creativity.”
The rotting effect of corruption is to sink into the joints of our democracy and corrode from within.
Because, like it or not, even the unsubstantiated whiff of corruption is as good as proof of corruption in the minds of many citizens when the accusation trends on Twitter.
When a politician, regardless of party affiliation, subverts Commonwealth guidelines for allocating public money to advance a political or personal interest, that is corruption.
When an official bends the rules of a tender process to help a mate bidding for a government contract, that is corruption.
And when a minister steps down from office and monetises their wealth of inside information and contacts in a lucrative lobbying gig in the portfolio they formerly held, that is corruption.
Or at least, it could be.
Establishing a National Anti-Corruption Commission with the power to investigate such cases under the supervision of this Parliament is the most effective way to tackle corruption at a federal level.
We, Members and Senators, cannot afford to maintain the status quo.
The status quo is one where only 40% of the population is satisfied in our democracy, down from 85% in 2007.
That’s an appalling loss of faith.
It’s the result of a research project by the Museum of Australian Democracy.
It predicted that, on current trends, fewer than 10 percent of Australians would see this Parliament as legitimate by 2025.
Just think about what that would mean for a minute.
If, as the Museum of Australian Democracy project predicted, 90 percent of voters one day don’t believe democracy to be the best form of government, that’s a majority for change.
But what the world looks like when democrats become the minority is something history has rightly taught us to fear.
The 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer found that the bubble of trust in government, business, media, and NGOs recorded in 2021 has now burst.
Politics is now viewed as a dividing force.
This trust deficit is literally tearing our society apart.
61% of Australians responding to this study reported feeling unable to have civil debates about issues they disagree on.
And while trust in our political institutions is only one part of this larger national pattern, it is a very important part of it.
A federal anti-corruption body alone may not be able to reverse the tide of perceptions that took decades to set in.
But it is a formidable step towards restoring trust in our politics, in our democracy, and in our fellow Australians.
Trust is the living spirit of this institution.
Without it, this place is a cement and steel statue.
Beautiful but dead.
Our democracy has no future without the belief of most of our citizens that, despite its limitations, this is still the highest form of government.
That’s why the Albanese Labor Government takes our promise seriously to tackle corruption and restore trust, integrity, honesty, and accountability to federal politics.
This legislation gives effect to the principles we took to the election and that were endorsed by the Australian people.
It delivers on the commitment by the Albanese Government to legislate a powerful, transparent, and independent National Anti-Corruption Commission.
It also draws on the best elements of state and territory anti-corruption commissions and laws.
The Bill provides the Commission with broad jurisdiction to investigate serious or systemic corrupt conduct across the Commonwealth public sector.
The Commission will have the power to investigate ministers, parliamentarians and their staff, statutory office holders, employees of all government entities, and contractors.
It will have discretion to commence inquiries on its own initiative or in response to referrals from anyone.
It will be able to investigate both criminal and non-criminal corrupt conduct occurring before or after its establishment.
The Commission defines “corrupt conduct” as abuse of office, breach of public trust, and misuse of information by officials.
To stamp out this behaviour, the Commissioner will have a full suite of powers similar to those of a Royal Commission.
The Commissioner will be able to use these powers to undertake an investigation into a corruption issue.
They will be able to hold public hearings in exceptional circumstances where the judge believes it to be in the public interest.
The default position is that hearings will be held in private.
The Commissioner will be able to make findings of corrupt conduct, but not of criminal liability.
Criminal liability can only be determined by a court.
Importantly, anyone subject to a critical finding must be given a chance to respond out of procedural fairness.
The independence of the Commission is also enshrined.
The Commission will be able to conduct investigations on its own initiative or in response to allegations from any source.
The Commission will be overseen by a Parliamentary Joint Committee and an Inspector.
The Parliamentary Joint Committee will be made up of 12 members — 3 government, 2 opposition, 1 crossbench from each House, and a Government chair with a casting vote.
The Inspector will deal with any corruption issues arising in the Commission and complaints about the Commission.
The Commissioner’s investigation function will be balanced with strong safeguards to ensure that corruption investigations do not cause undue reputational damage.
And the legislation provides strong protections against criminal offences and immunities for whistleblowers.
The Bill also ensures that there are appropriate protections for journalists and their sources.
The Government has committed $262 million over four years for the establishment and operation of the Commission.
Deputy Speaker, the NACC is a nation-building reform that will hold us all up the high standard that our citizens expect and deserve.
And may it only be the start of the national task of stamping out corruption and restoring faith in our democracy.
Thanks Deputy Speaker.
