Christopher Pyne: Corruption commissions are desperate to justify themselves

Hating politicians is a national sport, so it is easy for people to call for a federal anti-corruption body. But the idea has one fatal flaw, writes Christopher Pyne.

A national Independent Commission Against Corruption is a really bad idea.

It seems a rather superfluous point to make, but just in case you hadn’t noticed, politicians in Australia are not held in high regard.

When I was one of them, I used to say that even if Australian members of parliament rode a bicycle to Canberra, and stayed in a swag on the side of the road, there would still be pollie haters who said “that’s too good for ‘em”!

The fact is, plenty of Australians just loathe politicians. They can’t see any good in them. Even the most selfless and hardworking representatives just cannot win them over.

Christopher Pyne says a federal ICAC is a bad idea.

Yet, those same voters will often be the first to bemoan the state of politics, and wistfully wish for better politicians. Well, you don’t attract better politicians by daily pouring scorn on an entire group of people, and failing to ever give credit where credit is due.

The latest weapon being handed to the haters of politicians is the Australian Labor Party’s plan to introduce a national Independent Commission Against Corruption should they be elected at the coming federal election in May.

This is about the worst thing any Australian government could possibly do if they want to build the reputation of politicians rather than harm it.

The whole purpose of such a Commission will be to root out so-called corruption. It won’t be to take a look and say, “Actually, there’s nothing to see here, we are one of the least politically corrupt societies on the globe”.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese and Labor have proposed a federal ICAC. Picture: Getty Images

To justify their existence, they must find something. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

If Labor thinks it will restore trust in politicians, they are dead wrong. It will simply be another nail in the coffin of how voters think of their politicians.

Laws against official corruption, electoral fraud, bribery of public figures and donations to political candidates all exist right now in Australia. They are among the most stringent in the world. It is not accepted that there is widespread corruption of the political process or the public service in Australia.

There are avenues that exist right now for the Australian Federal Police or state and territory police forces to investigate allegations of corruption or fraud.

The police have all the communications tapping powers they need already and, if they didn’t think so, they could ask for more and they would most likely be granted by the parliaments.

The fundamental flaw of Independent Commissions Against Corruption is their need to justify their own existence.

Former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian resigned after an investigation by that state’s ICAC. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

There are countless examples of cases brought against public officials and others where the person facing allegations of wrong doing has been found to have no case to answer, yet their reputation is ruined simply by the slur.

Three NSW Premiers have lost their careers due to New South Wales ICAC investigations, so far. None of those three have been charged with any offence, yet their reputations were sullied simply by being caught up in the ICAC net.

To its credit, ICAC in NSW has brought corrupt people to justice, but who is to say that they would not have been nabbed by the long arm of the NSW police in any event? Was an ICAC necessary for justice to prevail?

If the motivation for a national ICAC is to restore faith in the political class it will fail. If the motivation is to catch corrupt individuals then leave it up to the Australian Federal Police to do their job. If necessary, give them more power to do so, although I remain to be convinced more powers are required.

The ICAC building in Sydney, which has claimed the careers of three Premiers.

A national ICAC sits in the same Pantheon of failed attempts by politicians to alter the voters’ perception of their integrity that I have witnessed over a quarter of a century in politics.

Remember these?

The Howard government banned MPs from having access to the Frequent Flyer Points they accumulated travelling back and forth from their home base to Canberra for work. The rest of the workforce didn’t.

On several occasions, and for periods exceeding a year, MPs had a wage freeze imposed on them by the Cabinet despite their remuneration being placed in the hands of the independent Remuneration Tribunal. The recommendations of the Remuneration Tribunal were ignored in a vain attempt to please the pollie loathers.

The Abbott government abolished the gold card for travelling ex politicians who had been in the parliament for more than 20 years. Whether the gold card was a good idea is debatable, but it is yet another thing that the politicians threw into the bonfire of the vanities.

Politicians are banned from accessing their frequent flyer miles accumulated flying from their homes to Canberra. Picture: Brendan Radke

None of those decisions made the slightest difference to the way MPs are thought of in Australia. Not one constituent ever came up to me and said, “Thank you for giving up such and such an emolument”. Criticising pollies is a national pastime as old as time. For politicians to think they can change that is quixotic at least and downright dumb at worst.

The latest addition to this list of self-harm is the policy of the ALP to establish a national Independent Commission Against Corruption.

The only way to build trust in the political system is through governments, oppositions and politicians doing their job in a conscientious way implementing sound policy that delivers the best outcomes possible for the many, not the few.