POLITICAL CORRUPTION – AUSTRALIA

Greens warn attorney general could weaponise and release secret reports of anti-corruption body

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 18-Oct-22

The joint select committee examining the National Anti-Corruption Commission legislation will begin four days of hearings on 18 October, at which transparency advocates will call for a lower threshold for public hearings by the NACC than is currently outlined in the legislation. The Coalition has called for greater safeguards before public hearings are to be considered, while the Greens have warned that giving the attorney-general of the day the discretion to publish secret NACC reports could allow that person to discredit political opponents.

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AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Nats upset by watchdog threat to grants fund

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Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 7 : 4-Oct-22

Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has suggested that the proposed National Anti-Corruption Commission could be given the power to investigate the targeting of seats through grant programs. However, Nationals leader David Littleproud says such programs are a mechanism for seeing that regional areas get their fair share of funding, and that they should not come under the remit of the NACC. Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce says it does not view ‘pork barrelling’ as corruption but as a way of taking care of regional towns. Meanwhile, the Coalition has called for a high-ranking judge to make the final decision on whether NACC hearings are held in public.

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Haines warns crossbench cuts could delay ICAC

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Original article by Michael Pelly
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 27-Jun-22

The former Coalition government allocated two advisers and two assistant advisers to crossbench MPs, on top of their four electoral staff. However, the Albanese government is planning to reduce the number of advisers that crossbench MPs get allocated from four to one. Helen Haines, who is the Independent MP for the Victorian seat of Indi, has warned that the proposal to reduce the number of advisers that crossbench MPs are allocated could lead to a delay in the passage of legislation to establish a federal anti-corruption commission.

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Push for national integrity commission to restart after Somyurek fall

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Original article by David Crowe
The Age – Page: Online : 17-Jun-20

Federal crossbench MPs say the branch-stacking scandal in Victoria has highlighted the need for a national anti-corruption commission. The federal government revealed plans to establish the Commonwealth Integrity Commission in 2018, although progress on the issue has since stalled amid claims that its powers would not be sufficient. Attorney-General Christian Porter has indicated that he will seek to resume negotiations with crossbenchers to establish the CIC.

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Australia among 21 nations where perceived corruption has worsened

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Original article by Christopher Knaus
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 24-Jan-20

Australia has received a rating of 77 out 100 in Transparency International’s latest corruption perceptions index. This is unchanged from 2019, although the nation has risen from 13th position to 12th in terms of the world’s least corrupt nations. Australia has also been identified as one of 21 countries in which perceived corruption has significantly declined since 2012. Transparency International Australia CEO Serena Lillywhite says the nation’s ranking and trust in the government will continue to decline unless a proposed federal anti-corruption agency is established.

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TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL, TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA

Trust in politicians plummets

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Original article by Chris Merritt
The Australian – Page: 5 : 20-Aug-18

Trust in the federal government is at its lowest point since 2008, according to a survey by Griffith University and Transparency Inter­national. The decline in trust is linked to an increased belief that some federal MPs are corrupt, with 67 per cent of those surveyed favouring the creation of a federal anti-corruption body. Attorney-General Christian Porter says the government is examining existing anti-corruption arrangements and whether there is scope for them to be improved.

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GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY, TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT