Labor renews corruption call
Labor is again pushing for a federal anti-corruption commission.
Details of a speech to be made by shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus on Tuesday have been released to the media.
Mr Dreyfus says the prime minister is trashing democracy in order to dodge accountability.
“We have seen a new contempt for parliamentary accountability mechanisms; a contempt that is deeply worrying for our national politics,” Mr Dreyfus’ speech says.
A study in 2018 found just 31 per cent of Australians trust the federal government, with younger people emerging as the most sceptical.
Mr Dreyfus’ speech will make reference to the recent sports rorts affair surrounding Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie.
Senator McKenzie has been found to have used a $100 million sports grants program to win favour in marginal seats.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison once echoed former-army chief Lieutenant General David Morrison’s warning that “the standard you walk past is the standard you accept”, but Mr Dreyfus say this is “a phrase that nobody will ever apply to Mr Morrison”.
The Senate passed a Greens-drafted version of a federal integrity commission bill in September, but it has not yet gained the support of the lower house.
The government is working on laws to set up a ‘Commonwealth Integrity Commission’, but serious doubts have been raised about the government’s ability and willingness to set up a corruption court that will punish its own members.