But as the article notes what the Liberal Party has designed is utter garbage insofar that it seems what is good for the goose is not good for the gander.
The Coalition’s proposal for a Commonwealth Integrity Commission (CIC) is divided into halves. The first strong half deals with law enforcement bodies such as the Federal Police and the Border Force.
It allows any whistleblower to complain to the CIC (even anonymously), the definition of “corruption” is broad, investigation hearings are usually public, and reports of investigations will be public and may include findings of corrupt conduct.
The much weaker half deals with the remaining public sector, including parliamentarians and their staff. Whistleblowers cannot complain directly to the CIC, the definition of “corruption” is highly restricted and requires reasonable suspicion of a criminal offence, there will be no public hearings at all, and any reports made by this half will usually not be made public, and must not include even an implied criticism of a parliamentarian or his staff.
There is no justification whatever for the almost total disablement of the CIC division dealing with parliamentarians; what this demonstrates is the Coalition’s strong opposition to transparency and accountability and that ministers’ actions are not to be exposed to public examination or criticism.
