Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ)
The Victorian government has introduced legislation expanding the jurisdiction of its anti-corruption commission, the Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC). This comes on the heels of the creation of a new Royal Commission that will investigate allegations of vast corruption in the construction sector.
The IBAC reforms are not perfect. They overly limit the ability of IBAC to investigate past conduct and do not expand IBAC’s power to hold hearings in public. Despite these issues, they are vital for fixing Victoria’s governance crisis.
Perfect must not be the enemy of good, and they must be passed.
Taken alongside the royal commission, they allow Victoria to begin to tackle one of the root problems in its failing governance culture: the blatant disregard for long-standing, Westminster conventions by premiers, ministers, and public servants.
These conventions are more than just relics of a bygone time. They are responsibilities of public office that underpin our democratic system by ensuring the people can hold their officials to account. They also help to safeguard good governance.
Victoria’s governance crisis
Few would argue Victoria is facing an integrity and governance crisis. This crisis stems from a culture of top-down governance in which leading public officials disregard key Westminster conventions on the basis of “”getting shit done”.
New Premier Ben Carroll has vowed to put an end to this, describing integrity as “non-negotiable”.
He has called a royal commission that will investigate allegations of corruption and government waste in the construction sector. He has also introduced legislation expanding IBAC’s jurisdiction.
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These reforms are an important first step. But both the royal commission and IBAC must now focus on more than just putting people behind bars. They also must work to re-establish two important conventions that underpin our parliamentary democracy.
First, premiers and powerful ministers now regularly ignore the convention of ministerial responsibility to parliament. This convention is not an outdated concept – it safeguards our democracy, allowing parliament and the people to hold their officials to account.
Second, top public servants are increasingly disregarding their responsibility to give frank and fearless advice. This convention ensures good governance, helping to ensure policies are implemented efficiently and in the public interest.
The royal commission and IBAC must use their new powers to restore these conventions to Victorian governance.
An effective royal commission
The Royal Commission into the Integrity of Major Public and Civil Infrastructure Construction Projects has broad terms of reference. Its success will now depend on how its royal commissioner, Christopher Kourakis, uses this broad discretion.
The commission must seek to uncover criminal wrongdoing on Victorian construction sector. But it also must spend sufficient time focusing on the role premiers, powerful ministers, and high ranking public servants played in overseeing the spending of public money on major construction projects.
These powerful officials were likely careful to avoid criminal conduct. But did they disregard ministerial responsibility in overseeing these massive public infrastructure project? And, if they did, how did this enable corruption and a lack of accountability on Victorian construction sites?
In doing this work, it has a good model to follow: the Robodebt Royal Commission. This commission recounted in painful detail the tragic consequences of the repeated failure by leading ministers and public servants to follow the convention of ministerial responsibility to parliament. The Kourakis royal commission must do the same.
Robust anti-corruption oversight
IBAC finally has the powers it has long asked for, bringing it in line with the powers of most of Australia’s anti-corruption commissions.
Its success now requires two things. First, it will require the government to adequately fund IBAC to use this new jurisdiction. IBAC has a very broad remit already, with responsibility not only over public administration but also police misconduct. It will require more resources to seriously use these powers.
Second, IBAC will soon have the power to call out as “corrupt conduct” the actions of high-ranking public officials that violate their codes of conduct. IBAC must use this power, linking the disregard for these norms with the misuse of public power and breaches of the public trust.
IBAC’s recent Operation Richmond report shows the consequences of disregarding these conventions. It uncovered clear evidence the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, tasked his special minister for state, Gavin Jennings, and a top public servant, Tony Bates, with negotiating a secret deal on employment agreements for Victorian firefighters.
IBAC found clear violations of ministerial responsibility and the duty to give frank, impartial, and fearless advice in this conduct. These violations contributed to the unfair and improper treatment of many of Victoria’s firefighters.
With its new powers, IBAC can and should label this conduct “corrupt”. Although top ranking officials will not be prosecuted for this type of conduct, they will now face political consequences for this kind of misconduct. The blatant disregard for rules ensuring ministerial responsibility in their codes of conduct suggest a contempt not just for the rules but also for constitutional democracy.
Stopping the rot
It is sometimes said “a fish rots from the head”. Victoria’s improved integrity system now has the chance to address the rotting head of Victorian governance by exposing the failure of our leading public officials to respect long-standing and important Westminster conventions of conduct in public office.
In doing so, they will not just help ensure democratic accountability. They can also restore good governance in Victoria.
William Partlett is the Stephen Charles Fellow at the Centre for Public Integrity.