Labor has already promised to lower that threshold to $1,000 and move to real-time disclosure. This includes greater parliamentary oversight of grant spending and a stricter requirement for Ministers to answer questions and produce documents.
![big clock hands big clock hands](http://www.clipartbest.com/cliparts/jRT/G8z/jRTG8z8iL.jpeg)
"There needs to be further checks and balances on ministerial conduct." "Parliamentary scrutiny needs to be increased and that goes across ministerial law-making and ministerial spending. "The Morrison scandal shows our current system allows power to be concentrated in the hands of one person and Parliament needs to re-assert its role as the primary decision-maker in the Constitution," says the Centre's Executive Director, Han Aulby. Specifically, for Parliament to re-assert its power and reverse the steady drift towards greater control by the Executive. The Centre for Public Integrity, an independent think-tank made up of retired judges and academic experts, wants the recent Morrison saga to be a catalyst for wider reform. So, will that be enough to ensure "absolute confidence" in the political system? Not according to those who've spent years advocating in this space. The government hopes to have the legislation passed by the end of the year and for the new body to be up and running by the mid-2023. There will be debate around the powers, jurisdiction, functions and resourcing of the new commission, but the support appears to be there in the House and the Senate for this to finally become a reality. He's set to introduce legislation when parliament resumes in a fortnight. Labor's most substantial plan to restore trust is by swiftly delivering its long-promised National Anti-Corruption Commission.Īttorney-General Mark Dreyfus has been consulting widely since the election on the design of the body, including with independents who campaigned strongly on the issue. Either way, it's going to take more than this inquiry to build "absolute confidence" in the political system. It won't help if it's seen purely as a political get square. The inquiry foreshadowed by Albanese may help restore some of that trust, if it genuinely uncovers important information and reminds all involved of the importance of transparency. Govt will launch inquiry into Morrison ministries How can trust be rebuilt? Just one in four of those surveyed said they had confidence in their political leaders and institutions.Īll of this was before we learned the former prime minister had secretly been sworn into five ministerial portfolios - revelations likely to have only further eroded trust in political leadership.
![big clock hands big clock hands](https://img0.etsystatic.com/063/2/8715089/il_570xN.750147316_fi69.jpg)
Then there's the Australian Election Study, conducted by the Australian National University after the 2019 election (the 2022 study is still being compiled), which found trust in government hitting its lowest level on record. Australia went from being in the top 10 for "clean" governance to 18th, its lowest score since the survey began a decade ago. That's 85 per cent of those surveyed who are worried.Ī few months earlier, Transparency International recorded a further drop in Australia's score on its Corruption Perceptions Index.
![big clock hands big clock hands](https://www.contemporaryheaven.co.uk/gfx/uploads/img4Contemporary-Heaven-CLOCKS-SKELETON-WALL-CLOCKS-Vintage-Big-Silver-Metal-Roman-Digit-Hand-Clock-4536roman-metal-digits-silver-situ.jpg)
A further 36 per cent felt it was "somewhat of a problem".
![big clock hands big clock hands](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iic0hc/images/stencil/380x380/products/43619/72655/oversized_clock_hands_74.1485photo2__00287.1477103857.jpg)
Before the May election, the ABC's Vote Compass, the largest survey of voter attitudes in the country, found 49 per cent of those who took part believe corruption is "very much a problem".