Media release – Joint statement on the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill 2022

As the NACC Bill returns to Parliament today, the country’s leading integrity organisations and experts are making a united call for the elimination of the ‘exceptional circumstances’ threshold for public hearings. The Centre for Public Integrity, Transparency International Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre, the Accountability Roundtable, the Ethics Centre, the Governance Institute and the… Read More

Media release – Public hearings lead to corruption findings

All public hearings by NSW ICAC in the last 10 years have made findings of corrupt conduct or wrongdoing, according to new research by the Centre for Public Integrity. Analysis of annual reports and investigation reports by NSW ICAC show that the claims of reputational damage are overstated, and that public hearingsexpose corruption. The analysis… Read More

Media Release – Corruption experts welcome corruption commission

Press conference 1.30pm at the Mural Hall with Stephen Charles AO KC, Michael Barker KC and Geoffrey Watson SC. The Centre for Public Integrity today welcomed the tabling of the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill (2022). The experts’ analysis of the bill found that it contains strong investigative powers and a broad jurisdiction, and is able… Read More

Media bite – ‘Any person’ could be probed by new corruption watchdog: Dreyfus

The Centre for Public Integrity’s chair, Anthony Whealy, has welcomed the government’s move to give the federal corruption watchdog the power to investigate anyone trying to induce public officials to engage in dishonest conduct, widening its scope to capture “third parties” in an effort to improve integrity in government. However, experts say the commission should… Read More

Crossbench concerns over narrow scope of national anti-corruption body

Days out from the likely release of the federal government’s anti-corruption bill, some key crossbenchers are raising concerns it might not be given the level of power they are looking for. Federal parliament will resume next week after a fortnight’s delay due to the death of the Queen, and the government will use the sitting… Read More

‘Unresolved’: Crossbenchers declare sticking points with Labor’s corruption watchdog

Crossbench MPs have declared there are still major sticking points with the federal government’s proposal for a national corruption watchdog as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tries to avoid breaking a key election promise to legislate the body by the end of the year. The crossbench MPs are worried Labor’s integrity commission will not be broad… Read More

Why Star will stay open despite Bell Review findings

The NSW government and the state’s gaming watchdog have little choice but to let Star Entertainment keep its Pyrmont casino open, corporate governance experts say, despite an inquiry hearing evidence of widespread failures at the group. Speaking ahead of the likely release of the Bell Review into Star on Tuesday, some experts believed there may… Read More

Albanese pushed to pass ‘urgent’ integrity reforms after Queen’s death delays

Independent MPs are urging Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to honour his election pledge to pass laws this year to create a national integrity commission amid growing fears he will miss the deadline and deliver a weaker watchdog than they want. Concern at the delay has spread among crossbench MPs after the government suspended Parliament to… Read More

‘Transparency has been killed by obstruction’ as officials flout FOI rules

Federal officials are flouting their own rules by rejecting fair requests to release documents and disclose the reasons for sweeping decisions, sparking a new warning about a “culture of secrecy” in politics and government. The decisions have created a “clogged and slow” system that drags out many of the 35,000 requests from Australians under the… Read More