TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT – AUSTRALIA

‘More secretive than the Morrison government’: Labor accused of transparency failure

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Original article by Amy Remeikis
The Guardian – Page: Online : 18-Jun-24

When they were in opposition, Labor MPs were critical of the Morrison government over what they claimed was its secrecy and its failure to deal with issues of transparency issues. However, independent MPs, who were elected on a platform to boost transparency and restore trust in Australian democracy, claim that Labor is more secretive in government than the Morrison government was. Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who has been in federal parliament for 14 years, rates the Albanese government as a "a fail for transparency", while fellow independent MP Helen Haines contends the major parties only believe in transparency when they are in opposition.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Australian government paid millions for unusable Covid face masks from obscure online retailer

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Original article by David Conn, Christopher Knaus
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 8-Nov-23

The former Coalition government has come under renewed scrutiny over its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been revealed that the Department of Health awarded $100m worth of contracts to supply personal protective equipment to a small online retailer in April and June 2020. The contracts to supply 50 million face masks and four million isolation gowns were subsequently outsourced to two companies that are registered in Cyprus. However, some 46 million face masks were deemed to be unusable because they did not comply with quality standards. The Department of Health awarded the contracts via a limited tender.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH AND AGED CARE

Pezzullo faces Home Affairs axe

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 26-Sep-23

Former Australian Public Service commissioner Lynelle Briggs will undertake an independent review into the conduct of Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo. This follows revelations that Pezzullo had sent hundreds of encrypted text messages to Liberal Party powerbroker Scott Briggs over several years. The federal government has advised that Pezzullo has agreed to step aside pending the outcome of the review, and senior public service officials believe that he will not return to the role that has a remuneration package of up to $928,340. The Greens contend that Pezullo’s position is untenable and that he should resign.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

PM flies blind in Qatar storm

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Original article by Joe Kelly,Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 6-Sep-23

The Senate will hold an inquiry into the federal government’s decision to block Qatar Airways’ application for additional flights to Australia, which was made by Transport Minister Catherine King on 10 July. There have been allegations that the decision was aimed at protecting Qantas from competition. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament on Tuesday that he did not discuss the issue with outgoing Qantas CEO Alan Joyce before the decision was made. He conceded that he had discussed the application with Virgin Australia Jayne Hrdlick on 13 July, and stated that he had only been made aware of King’s decision on Tuesday. However, this had been widely reported on 18 July. Five women who are suing Qatar Airways for invasive physical searches were also told of the decision in a letter from King that was dated 10 July.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET,QATAR AIRWAYS,QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN,AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Calls to ban political donations from Australia’s big four consultancies after PwC scandal

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Original article by Henry Belot
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 5-Jul-23

Analysis by the Centre for Public Integrity shows that the four consultancy firms have donated $4.3m to Labor and the Coalition over the last decade. The value of government contracts held by these firms has increased by 400 per cent over the same period. James Guthrie of Macquarie University says major political parties should not accept donations from the "big four" firms in the wake of PwC’s tax leaks scandal, particularly if they have previously received large payments for public contracts. Greens senator Barbara Pocock has also called for large consultancy firms to be banned from making political donations.

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CENTRE FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Morrison government paid corrupt businessman millions for offshore processing on Nauru

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Original article by Ben Doherty, Rafqa Touma
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 25-May-23

The former Coalition government is under scrutiny over its awarding of contracts to provide offshore processing facilities for asylum-seekers on Nauru. The Senate estimates committee has queried why the Coalition had failed to disclose that it had renewed a contract with Mozammil Gulamabbas Bhojani’s Radiance International group after the businessman had been convicted of bribing two Nauru government officials. Radiance’s contract was worth $17.5m, and continued to be paid until May 2022, nearly two years after Bhojani was given a suspended jail sentence. Its initial contract in 2016 was worth $2.5m, and had been disclosed on the AusTender website.

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RADIANCE INTERNATIONAL

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

FOI documents show Dutton’s ‘captain’s call’ to make senior Liberal head of defence thinktank

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Original article by Tory Shepherd
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 10-Aug-22

The former Coalition government appointed Justin Bassi to succeed Peter Jennings as executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute shortly before it called the 21 May election. Bassi was the chief of staff to foreign affairs minister Marise Payne at the time; documents obtained via freedom of information show that former defence minister Peter Dutton selected Bassi for the role even though the ASPI itself preferred one of the other five candidates. The ASPI is partially funded by the Department of Defence, but its charter states that it is independent. Labor had warned Dutton against making a "political captain’s call" regarding the ASPI appointment.

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AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Australian Medical Association calls for overhaul of national cabinet secrecy rules

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian – Page: Online : 17-Jun-22

National cabinet will meet for the first time since Anthony Albanese became Prime Minister on 17 June. Albanese was critical of its secrecy prior to Labor’s election, while he also said that local government should be added to it. Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid says Australians have a right to know what is being discussed by national cabinet, and that he disagreed with the practice of the previous Coalition government of exempting national cabinet documents from freedom of information laws.

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AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

United Australia Party’s $80m-plus war chest sparks call to limit election spending

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Original article by Christopher Knaus
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 23-Feb-22

The Centre for Public Integrity has outlined a range of proposed measures aimed at removing the influence of money in federal politics. Amongst other things, it has proposed capping donations to political parties, reducing the disclosure threshold for campaign donations to $1,000 and strengthening the Australian Electoral Commission’s powers to enforce donation laws. The Centre’s reform blueprint follows the United Australia Party’s recent revelation that its campaign budget for the upcoming federal election will exceed the $80m it spent on the 2019 poll.

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CENTRE FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY, UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY