Extract from ABC News
Analysis
Anthony Albanese succinctly identified the nub of the Scott Morrison hidden ministries saga this week.
It's "an issue of transparency and secrecy and accountability", he said.
The Prime Minister now wants an inquiry (the terms to be settled shortly) to "ensure there is absolute confidence in our political system and our political processes going forward". It's a worthy ambition. It's also a big call.
The Australian electorate is a very long way from having "absolute confidence in our political system". As important as an inquiry into the Morrison ministries may be, it will take more than this to restore trust, which has been in decline for years.
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". A further 36 per cent felt it was "somewhat of a problem". That's 85 per cent of those surveyed who are worried.
A few months earlier, Transparency International recorded a further drop in Australia's score on its Corruption Perceptions Index. Australia went from being in the top 10 for "clean" governance to 18th, its lowest score since the survey began a decade ago.
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. Just one in four of those surveyed said they had confidence in their political leaders and institutions.
All 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.
How can trust be rebuilt?
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.
It won't help if it's seen purely as a political get square. Either way, it's going to take more than this inquiry to build "absolute confidence" in the political system.
Labor's most substantial plan to restore trust is by swiftly delivering its long-promised National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Attorney-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. He's set to introduce legislation when parliament resumes in a fortnight.
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. 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.
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.
Power concentrated
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. Specifically, for Parliament to re-assert its power and reverse the steady drift towards greater control by the Executive.
"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.
"Parliamentary scrutiny needs to be increased and that goes across ministerial law-making and ministerial spending.
"There needs to be further checks and balances on ministerial conduct."
This includes greater parliamentary oversight of grant spending and a stricter requirement for Ministers to answer questions and produce documents.
Time to get cracking
Then there's the problem of money in politics. The Commonwealth has far weaker rules than most states on political donations, campaign spending and disclosure. For example, donations received by political parties in the lead-up to the May 2022 election won't be disclosed until February 2023. Donations under $14,500 don't have to be disclosed at all.
Labor has already promised to lower that threshold to $1,000 and move to real-time disclosure. It's also open to the idea of spending caps to end what's becoming a campaign arms race funded by billionaires.
The government has referred these reforms to parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters to consider, as part of its review of the 2022 election. There's already concern kicking this to the committee could drag out any change by another year or even two.
Albanese's commitments on an Anti-Corruption Commission, political donation reform and greater transparency around how taxpayer-funded grants are doled out all suggest he's serious about restoring trust and integrity.
He's also spoken often of his respect for the institution of Parliament, although that's certain to be tested now he's running the executive.
To deliver "absolute confidence" in our political system though, requires much to be done. The Prime Minister will need to get cracking with his promised integrity reforms and lead by example.
David Speers is the host of Insiders, which airs on ABC TV at 9am on Sunday or on iview.
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