Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has been challenged on whether Labor will weaken the new integrity watchdog in order to secure Coalition support. NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage
Camera IconAttorney-General Mark Dreyfus has been challenged on whether Labor will weaken the new integrity watchdog in order to secure Coalition support. NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage Credit: News Corp Australia

New federal integrity watchdog’s powers revealed in parliament

Catie McLeodNCA NewsWire

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has revealed more details of the federal integrity watchdog on the eve of Labor’s laws entering parliament.

Mr Dreyfus has said the national anti-corruption commission, or NACC, will be able to investigate “third parties” such as unions, businesses and lobbyists.

It will also have the power to scrutinise the allocation of federal government funds in instances which raise concerns about serious or systemic corruption in order to expose the worst cases of “pork barrelling”.

“The commission will be able to investigate a corruption issue that could involve serious or systemic conduct by any person that could adversely affect the honesty or impartiality of a public official’s conduct,” Mr Dreyfus told parliament on Monday.

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QUESTION TIME REPS
Camera IconAttorney-General Mark Dreyfus has disclosed more details of the NACC. NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage Credit: News Corp Australia

Mr Dreyfus said decisions about the allocation of public funds should be made in the public interest and the government would not instruct the NACC on what matters it could or couldn’t investigate.

“To be clear, if the commission considers that the administration of a particular discretionary grants program gives rise to a serious or systemic corruption issue, then the commissioner will have the ability to investigate that issue,” he said.

Mr Dreyfus also confirmed the NACC would have the power to hold public hearings in some circumstances.

“There must be the possibility of public hearings, and that’s what the parliament will see in the legislation that we bring to the parliament later this week,” he said.

Labor is in the final stage of negotiating on the laws to establish the commission, which it hopes it will pass through parliament by the end of the year, with the NACC up and running by mid-2023.

Mr Dreyfus has been seeking support from the Greens and crossbenchers at the same time as he is understood to have been discussing the laws with the Coalition in the hopes of striking an agreement in order to hedge his bets across the political aisle.

Amid concerns Labor could effectively shut-out the crossbench, Goldstein MP Zoe Daniel asked Mr Dreyfus during Question Time on Monday if the government would compromise the NACC to secure Coalition support.

Mr Dreyfus replied by saying he had consulted widely across the parliament and that the legislation reflected the principles Labor brought to the federal election.

“The Australian people believe in integrity. The Australian people voted for a government which will deliver a powerful, transparent and independent national anti-corruption commission,” he said.

QUESTION TIME
Camera IconGoldstein MP Zoe Daniel MP challenged Mr Dreyfus on the scope of the integrity watchdog during Question Time in parliament on Monday. NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia

Ms Daniel and 27 other crossbench MPs and senators earlier on Monday released a statement saying they wouldn’t “be rushed to vote in favour of a Bill that doesn’t make the grade”.

Labor’s Bill – which has not been made public – is expected to be introduced to parliament on Tuesday or Wednesday.

It is then expected to go to a committee for further examination before it eventually heads to the upper house in the final sitting fortnight of the year.

Labor can easily get legislation through the lower house, where it has a majority, but it needs the backing of The Greens and one crossbencher in the Senate without the Coalition’s support.

Independent senator David Pocock said on Saturday the government had consulted with the crossbench over design principles, “but not on the nitty-gritty detail of the Bill”.

“While appreciating the Attorney-General’s engagement, I don’t understand why an exposure draft of the legislation hasn’t been released, especially as this may help speed up its passage through the parliament,” he told NCA NewsWire.

“I think it is possible to both pass the bill this year and get the strongest possible legislation, but the priority definitely needs to be getting it right.”

Senator Pocock said the passing of the NACC legislation could be threatened if there were to be a “logjam” of legislation in the upper house.

Greens senator David Shoebridge said his party was committed to including in the legislation the requirement for the NACC to be independently funded regardless of the government of the day.

“We need to make sure that this integrity commission, when it goes through, cannot be strangled by either this government going forward or a future government on funding,” he told the ABC.