Opposition Labor Leader Anthony Albanese Pledges Australian Integrity Watchdog If Elected

Anthony Albanese speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, on Jan. 25, 2022. (Rohan Thomson/Getty Images)

Australia’s opposition centre-left Labor party has announced it will legislate an anti-corruption commission by the end of 2022 if elected on May 21, but senior ministers of the incumbent centre-right Coalition government have warned against it becoming a weapon to destroy reputations.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese announced his pledge on April 15, the day before think-tank The Centre for Public Integrity published its analysis of $55 billion worth of government grants and called for greater scrutiny and administration.

The Centre for Public Integrity has laid out a proposed system for grants, with transparent criteria, quarterly reports by ministers justifying the spending of taxpayer money, and an independent oversight body.

“Labor will legislate a National Anti-Corruption Commission by the end of 2022. Time’s up for the Morrison Government. Labor will get it done,” Albanese said on Twitter.

If elected, Albanese pledged he would lead with integrity, treat people with respect, and “restore faith in our political system by ending the waste and rorts.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison had promised at the 2019 federal election to establish a national integrity commission, which was tabled in parliament but was not brought out for a vote. Morrison blamed Labor for not supporting the model.

Critics of that model have said it had no “teeth.”

“I’m very critical of some of the ICACs, particularly in New South Wales,” Morrison said on April 16, referring to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

“I don’t think that’s what we need,” he added.

Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison attends the state memorial service for former Australian cricketer Shane Warne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, on March 30, 2022. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

When asked about the anti-corruption commission while on the campaign trail earlier this week, Morrison said his focus is on jobs, as the country emerges from the pandemic with a stronger economy.

“I am not going to introduce a kangaroo court,” Morrison said on April 14.

Despite Morrison not committing to the national watchdog, senior ministers of his incumbent government have said they would support an anti-corruption commission if re-elected, but they do not want it to become a star chamber used to persecute political targets.

“We’re not going to legislate for the type of reputation-destroying, star chamber model we’ve seen in New South Wales,” Senator Simon Birmingham, the federal finance minister, told Sky News on April 15.

He was referring to former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian being dragged before the state’s watchdog over grants paid to a club in her secret lover’s electorate. The process led to her resignation last year.

Fellow frontbencher Stuart Robert also told Nine’s Today program in April that the Coalition would seek to set up the watchdog “through a bipartisan level.”

However, Albanese accused Morrison of delaying and obfuscating for three years, saying it is now clear he “has absolutely no intention of honouring his promise.”

“So the question for Mr. Morrison is, ‘Why do you fear an anti-corruption commission? What is it you’re afraid they will find?’” he said.

Both leaders will resume their pitch to voters on Saturday after honouring an election truce on Good Friday.

The campaign is expected to pause again on Easter Sunday.