Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus revealed the details on Tuesday after securing the approval of the Labor caucus for the National Anti-Corruption Commission before he puts the bill to parliament on Wednesday in the hope of passing the law by the end of this year.
Asked if the NACC had been given too wide a remit to decide whether to investigate decisions by federal ministers to allocate public cash through grant funding – a key issue with the “sports rorts” and car park spending programs – he said these decisions were up to the commission.
“People should be afraid if they’ve been engaged in corrupt activities,” he said.
“And I would want people to be afraid if they’ve engaged in corrupt activities.
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“But the question of how the commission decides which matters are to be investigated,how it will devote its resources – which are not limitless – that will be a matter for the commission to decide.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during the election campaign the watchdog would be able to look at the “sports rorts” affair and the money paid for land at Western Sydney Airport,but the details revealed this week show that it would have to raise concerns about “serious or systemic” corruption to justify an investigation.