“It will have discretion to commence inquiries on its own initiative or in response to referrals from anyone,including members of the public and whistleblowers. Referrals can be anonymous.”
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Dutton made no criticism of any part of the draft bill revealed on Wednesday,including the power to examine events in the past including decisions by Coalition ministers in previous governments.
“If people have done something wrong,they should be held to account,I don’t care whether they are Liberal,Labor,teal or Green,if they’ve been involved in corrupt conduct,they are rightly captured,” he said.
“If it’s a show trial and witch-hunt and the process is being abused,and there are vexatious complaints,I have a problem with that.”
The details emerged when Dreyfus introducedthe bill to the House of Representatives,triggering the public release of the draft online after years of debate including three years in which the former government promised a national integrity commission but chose not to put a bill to parliament.
“It’s terrific that it’s happened and that it’s got a lot of teeth,” said former Queensland Court of Appeal and Supreme Court judge Margaret White,a member of the Australia Institute’s national integrity committee.
“But we wouldn’t like this positive move toward integrity in public life to be hamstrung by the ‘exceptional circumstances’ condition on the holding of public hearings.”
The rules on public hearings were also criticised by former Federal Court judge Michael Barker,KC,former Victorian Court of Appeal judge Stephen Charles,KC,former NSW Supreme Court judge Anthony Whealy,KC,and barrister Geoffrey Watson,SC,all members of the Centre for Public Integrity.
Transparency International Australia,a long-time advocate for the reform,welcomed the draft law but warned against a key part of the legislation that it said wouldrestrict public hearings.
“We are concerned the bar on public hearings is set too high,” said Clancy Moore,chief executive of Transparency International Australia.
“Public hearings are essential for detecting and preventing corruption The risk that some important examples of corruption will be dealt behind closed doors and in secrecy is a blow for transparency.”
Section 73 of the bill says the commission “must” hold its hearings in private unless the commissioner decides to hold one in public,saying this could be done if the commissioner is satisfied there are “exceptional circumstances” and it is in the public interest to do so.
The bill also sets out factors the commission “may have regard to” when deciding on a public hearing,such as whether evidence should be kept confidential,any damage to a person’s reputation,the risks to personal privacy and the merits of exposing corrupt conduct to the public.
But it also says this guidance “does not limit the matters to which the commissioner may have regard” and only stipulates a limited amount of evidence that has to be given in private,such as legal advice or material that is covered by legal privilege.
“Public hearings bring new information forward that can be key to investigations. Importantly they increase public trust and expose corruption,” said Watson,a former counsel assisting the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption.
“This bill limits public hearings to cases involving exceptional circumstances - a term which is not defined and will be hard to prove.”
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Independent MP Zali Steggall said those fears were a “shameful attack” by the Coalition on the proposal,adding there was a greater level of transparency in the NSW state anti-corruption commission because it held more public hearings than its Victorian counterpart.
Independent MP Sophie Scamps said the draft law should be changed to remove the ‘exceptional circumstances’ wording and ensure the oversight committee would have a non-government chair.
“It’s an integrity commission and both those issues go to the core of integrity,” she said.
The parliamentary inquiry into the NACC has been asked to deliver its report by November 10.
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