Integrity experts, including former judges, ombudsmen and leading academics, have signed an open letter, coordinated by The Australia Institute and Fairer Future and published today in The Canberra Times, calling on the newly elected Parliament of Australia to address weaknesses in Australian political integrity.

The open letter warns that a decade of decline in agencies tasked with securing good governance has led to an integrity deficit in Australian politics and made it harder for Parliament to hold the executive government to account.

The signatories, including former IBAC Commissioner The Hon Robert Redlich AM KC, former Commonwealth Ombudsman Philippa Smith AM, and Geoffrey Watson SC, Director of the Centre for Public Integrity, call on the Parliament of Australia to recognise that the integrity arm of government deserves independence, resourcing and recognition:

1. Integrity agencies should be protected from government interference by making them officers of the Parliament. Democratically elected parliamentarians should take responsibility for appointments and oversight, as is already the case for some state integrity agencies where the head of the institution is an officer of the Parliament that reports to and is answerable to the Parliament.
2. Integrity agencies should have guaranteed, sustained resourcing to ensure they can hold governments to account, and are protected from retaliation.
3. A coordinating institution is needed to make integrity agencies work better with each other and the Australian public; to monitor accountability across government as a whole; and to promote more effective public participation in policy development and public administration.
4. Members of the Australian public are the clients of public-facing integrity agencies and all Australians benefit from the work of all integrity agencies. Therefore, the public should be consulted on the design, mandate, and function of integrity agencies.
5. Reform of the integrity arm of government should be a priority of the 48th Parliament in its first year.

“Australia faces an integrity crisis,” said Allan Asher, Chair of Fairer Future and former Commonwealth Ombudsman.

“What we’re seeing is the deliberate weakening of the very institutions designed to keep our democracy accountable. Without immediate reform, public trust in government will continue to erode, threatening the foundations of our democratic system.”

“Trust in government can be restored by recognising integrity bodies as a distinct arm of government, with a key role to play in safeguarding Australian democracy,” said Bill Browne, Director of The Australia Institute’s Democracy and Accountability Program.

“An effective integrity and accountability system is part of the rebalancing of influence on public policy making in favour of ordinary citizens against powerful special interests,” said Fairer Future Deputy Chair and former head of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia Robin Brown.

“A Whistleblower Protection Authority is the missing piece of Australia’s anti-corruption and transparency landscape. It has been over three decades since an authority was first recommended – it is well past time for the Australian government to establish a whistleblowing authority, fix our broken whistleblowing laws and stop prosecuting whistleblowers,” said Kieran Pender, Associate Legal Director, Human Rights Law Centre.