When I was elected in 2019 I heard from the people of Indi that they wanted greater integrity in politics. Voters demanded politicians act in the best interests of those they represent.  

I fought tooth and nail to bring the standards of behaviour of my professional life as a nurse and midwife to the Federal Parliament. 

After years of hard work pushing the major parties, we finally legislated a National Anti-Corruption Commission and it started its important work on 1 July 2023. 

But my work to restore integrity in federal politics continues.

I promised the people of Indi I would fight for integrity and to improve the standards of behaviour in politics.  

From 1 July 2023 to 21 April 2024, the Commission received 2,829 referrals. 

I am proud that the National Anti-Corruption Commission is based on my Australian Federal Integrity Commission Bill, described by experts as a gold-standard model. I worked with former judges and integrity experts to develop this model, building on the work of the former Independent Member for Indi Cathy McGowan. 

As an Independent, I worked tirelessly with our community and other crossbench members to push the major parties to act on integrity. 

Securing a national anti-corruption body is a huge achievement that belongs to everyone who demanded better from their elected representatives, everyone who voted for integrity at the last election, and everyone who told me to not give up the fight. 

This reform is just the start of restoring public trust in federal politics. 

For too long the major parties have been misusing public money for their political benefit to secure votes, also referred to as pork-barrelling.  

Pork-barrelling is the promise of money for projects in marginal electorates where the major parties are competing for votes without regard to evidence of the project’s merit, and the merit of other similar projects in other electorates. 

Too often the projects don’t stack up resulting in delays and cost blowouts. At the same time, deserving community projects miss out on much-needed funding.    

Sports rorts and the commuter car park scandal were both misuses of taxpayer money through federal grants programs.   

And when an election is looming, funding promises escalate as the major parties compete to win votes.    

Volunteer organisations, not-for-profits, community groups and small businesses rely on grants and government funding. They expect and deserve a fair and transparent process for awarding money.    

Taxpayer dollars should be spent on community need, not major party greed.   

For corruption to end, it must first be exposed.   

As it stands, people who expose corrupt conduct can be prosecuted and jailed for their actions.   

The Government has proposed some modest reforms, however they are nowhere near sufficient on their own.   

We must continue to reform whistleblower protections and establish an independent Whistleblower Protection Commission, a body that can ensure international best practice protections for whistleblowers before and after they come forward.   

Whistleblowers are vital to the effectiveness of the National Anti-Corruption Commission. We should protect, not prosecute, the brave people who uncover and take a stand against corruption.