Four in five Australians support a Federal Integrity Commission and 76% agree it should have the ability to hold public hearings, according to new research from the Australia Institute.

The Australia Institute polled a nationally representative sample of 1,536 Australians about levels of trust in Federal Parliament, their support for a Federal Integrity Commission, and what powers it should have.

Key findings:

• Perceived trust in Australia’s Federal Parliament is low (67% low to very low trust), and has declined since 2017
• Four in five (80%) Australians support the establishment of a Federal Integrity Commission, only 6% oppose
• One Nation voters (89% total support, 44% strongly support) were the most supportive, followed by LNP voters (82% total support), ALP voters (80% total support), and Greens voters (76% total support).
• With regard to the Integrity body’s powers, there was very strong support (>75%) for every proposal; with more than three in four voters (76%) agreeing that a Commonwealth Integrity Commission should have the ability to hold public hearings, and 81% agreeing it should be able to receive and act on whistle-blower complaints

“A broad jurisdiction, strong investigative powers, and the ability to hold public hearings, is critical in ensuring a federal integrity commission is effective in exposing corruption,” said The Hon. Stephen Charles AO QC, Former Victorian Court of Appeal Judge and adviser on IBAC design.

“Integrity and accountability are critical features of democracy. Without a Federal Integrity Commission, public trust in our Federal Parliament has been eroding.

“The only outcome worse than a failure to establish a national anti-corruption body would be the creation of a toothless body with insufficient powers and no ability to hold public hearings.

“The establishment of a National Integrity Commission should be an urgent matter and we look forward to working with candidates and elected representatives from all parties to ensure Australia gets an anti-corruption body with the powers it needs to deliver.”

The Hon Stephen Charles AO QC  is a member of the Australia Institute’s National Integrity Committee which has established a benchmark for an effective federal anti-corruption body.

( see http://www.tai.org.au/content/national-integrity-commission-papers and http://www.tai.org.au/content/corruption-fighters-and-former-judges-design-national-corruption-watchdog )