Albo’s national anti-corruption ICAC watchdog to be set up within months after passing parliament

A federal anti-corruption watchdog will be established within months after the government’s landmark legislation passed Parliament – even though critics say it contains ‘serious flaws’.

The Senate passed the National Anti-Corruption Commission legislation on Tuesday with amendments beefing up the powers of the inspector who provides oversight of the commission.

The final version of the bill was ticked off by the lower house on Wednesday with multi-party support, sparking applause, hugs and handshakes across both chambers.

However, despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hailing the legislation as a win for honesty, accountability, integrity and trust, the NACC won’t be able to hold a public hearing unless there are ‘exceptional circumstances’ and it’s ruled in the public interest.

The Australia Institute’s National Integrity Committee consisting of seven senior retired judges lamented about the lack of transparency of the ‘long overdue’ commission. 

‘While there is much in the legislation to be welcomed, it contains a serious flaw in relation to public hearings,’ its statement read.

‘It precludes the holding of a public hearing unless the Commissioner not only concludes that it would be in the public interest to do so but also that ‘exceptional circumstances’ apply. 

‘If it is in the public interest that a particular hearing be held in public, then it cannot be in the public interest to foreclose such a hearing because ‘exceptional circumstances’ do not exist.’

The committee, which has spent the last five years advocating for a national integrity commission called on parliament to revisit the legislation once the NACC is up and running.

Crossbenchers failed in their attempts to lower the threshold for public hearings to be held, arguing there needed to be transparency about what was being investigated.

But the Opposition and Labor government joined forces to keep the ‘exceptional circumstances’ test before a public hearing can be held.

‘Today we take an important step to rebuild trust in government, our public institutions and our democracy,’ Mr Albanese told parliament.

‘It represents an end to rorting and waste.’

He welcomed the fact the opposition, crossbench and government had worked closely to improve the bill and pass it on what Attorney general Mark Dreyfus hailed as a historic day.

‘The Parliament has just passed our legislation to establish a powerful, transparent and independent National Anti-Corruption Commission,’ he tweeted.