I tend to agree. In addition, there has been some media commentary connecting the approach to Gladys Berejiklian and the subsequent attack of NSW ICAC by Scott Morrison and a chorus of Ministers as more of a deflection by the LNP to shield the PM and his government from past indiscretions.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2021/12/08/michael-pascoe-attacking-icac-morrison-gladys/"... Funny thing about the federal government’s orchestrated multiple “Gladys for Warringah” media moments: They weren’t really about a former Liberal premier perhaps running for a former Liberal prime minister’s seat.
They were about lessening the damage Scott Morrison is suffering from telling lies and running what is arguably the most corrupt Commonwealth government in our 120 years of federation. ...
... Deflecting criticism of Mr Morrison’s broken promise of introducing a federal equivalent of the ICAC and the weakness of the model the government has allegedly been working on for nearly four years. ...
... It will be three years on Monday since Mr Morrison announced that “a new Commonwealth Integrity Commission will take the lead on detecting and stamping out any corrupt and criminal behaviour by Commonwealth employees”.
It hasn’t and it won’t.
Three years later, the Morrison government has refused the invitation to bring its proposed bill to the floor of the Parliament and was too scared to debate an independent proposal.
It will be four years next month since the Coalition “began carefully considering options for a national anti-corruption body”, Mr Morrison claimed, saying “we have taken the time to ensure this model fits into the existing system but avoids the worst aspects of some state anti-corruption bodies”.
Mr Morrison said his was “a serious new commission with teeth, resources and proper processes”.
It wasn’t, it isn’t, and there is no sign of it becoming one.
The Liberal Party is acutely aware that the stench of the Morrison government’s “integrity” jostles with climate change as the key driver of community independents candidates threatening safe Liberal seats.
In the same way that a vote for supposed Liberal “moderate” is a vote for Barnaby Joyce’s climate policy, a vote for Dave Sharma, Jason Falinski, Trent Zimmerman, Josh Frydenberg, Tim Wilson et al is a vote for #sportsrorts, #carpork and $4 billion worth of other raids on taxpayers’ funds for political purposes, rather than good government.
From the mere scores of millions of taxpayers’ dollars spent on political advertising of the Coalition’s dud climate policy and fake infrastructure boost to the multibillion-dollar Community Development Grants racket, it is spending former judges have no trouble describing as “corruption”.
What concerns the Morrison government about the ICAC’s inquiry is not what might or might not be found about what Ms Berejiklian should or should not have disclosed, but that it might lead to blowing the whistle on the sort of flagrant misuse of public funds that has become the Coalition’s hallmark.
With Commonwealth ministerial standards thoroughly trashed, the comparison with higher expected NSW standards is invidious. Best attempt to trash the body enforcing those NSW standards then – lie about it, mislead Parliament on the matters at stake, whatever. ..."
