Thanks to Helen Haines MP and supporters of the legislation, we now have a National Anti-Corruption Commission - an achievement well marked by her being awarded the 2022 McKinnon emerging political leader of the year prize for her commitment to integrity in politics.
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The commission was overdue, there was a crying need for it and yet it is but a beginning.
There is significant work ahead for all parliamentarians in restoring trust in government and in making our elected representatives truly accountable to their electors, not just at election time, but with every decision made on our behalf between elections.
Loud drums beat along the path our legislators must follow. Less than one year after taking up the Commonwealth Freedom of Information Commissioner position, left vacant for seven years by the previous government, Leo Hardiman announced his resignation from his appointment, effective in May.
Unacceptable delays and the urgent need to speed public access to government information motivated his decision.
His resignation was a cry for help - he was doing his all but Parliament needs to do more to allow FOI to achieve its objectives - helping to ensure an apolitical public service and keeping government accountable among them.
The FOI Act's purity of purpose is unassailable; to promote "representative democracy", "public participation", "better-informed decision-making", "scrutiny, discussion, comment and review of the government's activities."
Yet Parliament needs to follow up with adequate machinery and enforced timelines and due dates to ensure that FOI is more than lip-service but the practical achievement of its stated outcome "to increase recognition that information held by the government is to be managed for public purposes, and is a national resource."
A few days after Hardiman's announcement, the robodebt royal commission completed hearings that brought to light breathtaking failings in government accountability.
Crucial documents withheld from the ombudsman claimed attention and underscored earlier concerns about the significantly diminished jurisdiction of the Commonwealth ombudsman's jurisdiction in any event.
As Anita Stuhmcke wrote back in September 2021, "[w]e have arrived near the point at which the Commonwealth ombudsman institution is transformed so much that it risks credibility in stating that its primary purpose is the protection of the interests and rights of an individual citizen.
"When evaluated against the office's original objectives of protecting an individual's rights of review of discretionary decision making, the Commonwealth ombudsman is failing the individuals for which it was established."
So, our Parliament must also turn its immediate attention to restoring the capacity of the ombudsman to fulfil its key part in maintaining trust in our institutions.
The Albanese government's move to abolish the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and replace it with a new federal administrative review body is a trust-restoring initiative following years of stacking the AAT with politically appointed members that undermined the impartiality of its decision-making.
Former High Court Justice Ian Callinan had directly censured the extent to which former politicians and staffers qualified largely by their Liberal Party connections were chosen as AAT members.
With that in mind, the government has committed itself to an appointment process which is merit-based and transparent.
It is a welcome step but one which needs broad-based application not just to the new AAT members, but indeed all statutory positions where government power is exercised.
It is here where we see a new member of Parliament, of a kind with Helen Haines, contributing to the important steps towards transparency and accountability for appointments to statutory bodies.
On March 6, 2023, Sophie Scamps introduced the Transparent and Quality Public Appointments Bill 2023 (Ending Jobs for Mates Bill) in the House of Representatives.
Drafted in partnership with The Centre for Public Integrity, and seconded by Helen Haines MP, it seeks to establish a Public Appointments Commissioner and departmental independent selection panels which will be overseen by a parliamentary joint-committee on appointments.
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"The government is 'talking the talk' about integrity, but this is actually gold standard," Dr Scamps said ahead of the bill's introduction.
"It will rebuild trust in our democratic system, in our political system."
While up to half the members of the committee on appointments can be drawn from the government, the chair, who will have a casting vote, will not be from the government of the day, ensuring its independence.
In summary, it's time to reinstate and bolster FOI legislation, ensure the AAT and other statutory appointments are independent, and resource and staff the ombudsman to fulfill its job - to guarantee parliamentarians and governments, through its public service, truly affirm the democratic culture necessary for a robust democracy.
As citizens we must continue to demand of our representatives that they hold power on trust for us, and that the health of our democratic nation is central to our stability and security, both internally and internationally.
Any delay in dealing with the demise of significant national democratic institutional structures is a continuing and pressing threat to our national safety and well-being.
- Kim Rubenstein is a professor in the Faculty of Business Government and Law at the University of Canberra and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and a Fellow of the Australian Social Sciences Academy.
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