Establish an Anti-Corruption Commission

The majority voted against a motion that asked the Rudd Government to consider establishing a National Anti-Corruption and Integrity Commission, which means it failed.

The motion was introduced by Greens Senator Bob Brown.

Family First Senator Steve Fielding noted that there is already an Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, known as ACLEI. However Senator Brown responded that:

ACLEI does not cover the bureaucracy at large. It does not cover the parliament and it does not cover the matters that the public would want to see it cover. Part of our proposal is a request to the government to expand the functions of that organisation so it does cover the areas that, for example, the crime and anticorruption commissions in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia.

Read the whole debate for more details.

Wording of the motion

That the Senate calls on the Rudd Government to consider the establishment of a National Anti-Corruption and Integrity Commission which has the powers of a standing Royal Commission and the purview to detect, investigate and prevent corruption across all Commonwealth departments and agencies, the activities of Federal Parliament, Federal parliamentarians and Federal law enforcement agencies.