When I’m visiting the small and big towns of Indi—the farms, businesses and footy clubs—people tell me that the parliament and government must be stronger on integrity. Integrity in government and parliament is absolutely core to public confidence in our democracy. Integrity might sometimes feel like a vibe—something a government or member of parliament either has or doesn’t have. But there are clear markers against which I think we can grade the current Albanese government. There are clear criteria we can check and say, ‘You’re on the right path,’ or, ‘You have a lot work to do.’

So would we give this government a pass or a fail on integrity? Yes, this government was the government to finally establish a national anticorruption commission—without a doubt a significant achievement towards restoring public trust in government and parliament. But the NACC is only one pillar on which to build integrity in government. What of whistleblower protections, ending jobs for mates, getting big money and corporate influence out of politics, truth in political advertising, ending pork-barrelling, and accountability for bad behaviour by elected representatives? In some of these areas we have made no progress and in others we’re lost in delays of good intentions. This government has a long way to go before it’ll be known as the government of integrity. It can only ride on the coattails of the NACC for so long.

Let me outline issue by issue how this government has failed to achieve key integrity reforms and has let Australians down by not keeping its election promises on integrity. First up, whistleblower protections. In 2019 the then opposition leader, Mr Albanese, said:

Journalism is not a crime. It’s essential to preserving our democracy. We don’t need a culture of secrecy. We need a culture of disclosure.

… … …

Protect whistleblowers—expand their protections and the public interest test.

So where are we in 2024, with Mr Albanese now Prime Minister? We had some amendments to the Public Interest Disclosure Act so that the National Anti-Corruption Commission could commence, but experts have called these changes minor and technical. There have been some big wins; the government’s successful advocacy for Julian Assange and dropping of the case against Bernard Collaery were significant. At the same time, known whistleblowers, including war crimes whistleblower David McBride and tax whistleblower Richard Boyle, are either in prison or facing jail time because our whistleblower laws are completely inadequate. Instead, we have had a consultation paper on the reforms needed to protect such whistleblowers hidden in a departmental drawer for over eight months now. We have absolutely no changes in the Public Interest Disclosure Act that are even remotely in line with the Prime Minister’s past words—’promoting a culture of disclosure’ indeed! If this inaction by the Labor government continues, cultures of secrecy will continue. People will continue to stay silent, and injustices will inevitably flow.

The second integrity subject I will prosecute is electoral reform. This government talked a big game on electoral reform when in opposition, but we are staring down the barrel of the next election and we know we will not have better transparency around donations, fundraising and spending before we head to the polls. A 2023 Australia Institute poll found that nine in 10 Australians want truth-in-political-advertising laws in place before the next federal election. In this same poll, seven in 10 Australians agreed they were concerned about the lies and misinformation that circulated on social media during the referendum campaign. But even after a referendum full of misleading and deceptive information, it is now obvious we will not have protections against misinformation and lies in political advertising or against the dangers of artificial intelligence in our next election campaign.

The third integrity issue I grade the government on is ending pork-barrelling. After nine years of coalition government, we had more than enough evidence of government pork-barrelling. The Australian National Audit Office found that former government ministers made funding decisions across multiple grant programs where ‘there were indications of shortcomings in the assessment of the merit criterion’ and ‘where the program was ineffective and fell short of ethical requirements’. These grant programs are known as ‘sports rorts’, ‘car park rorts’ and ‘hospital rorts’—great big barrels of pork.

Members of this government like to frequently cite the coalition’s track record in pork-barrelling. They like to set themselves apart. When I’ve raised this issue in this place previously, the Minister for Financial Services has stated:

… the government is committed to increasing transparency and accountability for government decision-making.

I acknowledge that last month the government strengthened the Commonwealth grants framework. I note this includes quarterly reporting to parliament of when a minister has awarded grants in their own electorate and of any grants they have approved which officials recommended be rejected. That’s a good start. But I am yet to see movement on other necessary reforms to put an end to pork-barrelling set out in legislation, like requiring all grant programs to have merit based selection criteria and clear program guidelines—hardly radical! While this government may be quick to say they’ve enhanced accountability and transparency in grants administration, I continue to have real concerns about the current Labor government’s administration of so-called election commitments—not to mention their $22.7 billion Future Made in Australia plans.

The fourth integrity issue that has been seriously delayed under this government is an independent parliamentary standards commission. The Australian people desperately want to see better behaviour in this place and consequences for those whose conduct fails to measure up, especially after a 2021 independent inquiry called out parliament’s revolting and humiliating workplace culture in the Set the standard report. The author of that report, Kate Jenkins, recommended the establishment of an independent commission to investigate complaints against MPs, staff and other parliamentary workers and to determine punishments for serious breaches of workplace safety. But while work has happened behind the scenes, we are still waiting for legislation to be tabled. If we are truly to improve the culture in this place, to set the culture at a high standard that the public rightly expect of the workplace that is at the heart of Australia’s democracy, a robust, independent parliamentary standards commission must be implemented.

Finally, we need to grade the Labor government on a somewhat novel subject, a subject that I, personally, didn’t realise was an integrity issue until the 47th Parliament. I am talking about the government’s requirement for stakeholders to sign non-disclosure agreements to provide feedback on exposure draft legislation or draft policies. According to the Parliamentary Library, the Albanese government has used non-disclosure agreements on at least nine occasions in this parliament, on important laws dealing with the NDIS, the environment, gambling and religious discrimination. This means we don’t know which lobbyists or powerful cooperations are getting the inside word. It also means stakeholders are gagged when they have concerns on legislation, and this undoubtedly obstructs robust public debate. It means the laws that are introduced and passed in this place are not as good as they otherwise could be. They are incomplete at best and harmful at worst.

Not only is this government dragging its feet on key integrity reforms, it’s also creating a whole new area for voters to be worried about when it comes to integrity in government. Frankly, I don’t want to be any more worried. I may know better than most in this place that change is slow. The fight to establish the Anti-Corruption Commission took years of challenging, persistent conversations from many many people and much negotiation. It took courage to bring together an unlikely coalition of groups bold enough to demand better of government. But how much longer can voters be expected to wait to see major party promises realised, key promises like those I’ve listed tonight that have been made again and again with little to show for it. I haven’t even touched on other integrity issues like ending jobs for mates, much-needed lobbying reform and ensuring a robust freedom-of-information request system.

With an election less than 10 months away, I don’t want to see the government recycle their election promises because they haven’t delivered in their three years in power. It’s simply not good enough. I’m sure voters agree with me, so I urge this government: in the time you have remaining of the 47th Parliament, make good on your promises and get moving.