While a number of institutions exist to scrutinise federal government and MPs, calls for establishment of a federal corruption watchdog like the Independent Commission Against Corruption in New South Wales or the Criminal Justice Commission in Queensland have never been louder or more justified.
This situation is a serious indictment of a government that fails to provide ethical leadership. The Morrison Government has become expert at thwarting the efforts of bodies such as Senate committees, audit offices, semi-judicial agencies and investigative media. Surely the energy put into defending the ATs (Ministers Tudge and Taylor) and the Macs (McKenzie and McCormack) and the like would be better spent maintaining ethical standards. Such a process would, however, require first, locating an ethical conscience in leadership sufficient to establish durable standards and second, having the courage and skill to implement those standards.
There is nothing new about the perversion of public values to look after ‘mates’. It is a perennial blokey pursuit. Bridget McKenzie took the fall for the sports rorts affair only after continuous Opposition and media probing into who knew what when. The Prime Minister could have stood down Senator McKenzie pending inquiries. That would have indicated that he took such issues seriously. Perhaps she went in the end because women are still not mates of the wink-wink-nudge-nudge sort. Indeed, colleagues made disparaging comments about her organisational abilities while she was still a minister.
Morrison quickly condemned the woman at Australia Post who dared to implement the kind of incentives usually dear to Liberal hearts. Perhaps the head of a public company does not receive the same kind of support as does a Minister – bluff, denial, outrage, secrecy and justification.
For the brazen attitude to criticism, consider the cases of government ministers Taylor and Tudge. The use of fake documents to attack opponents should offend against any code of ministerial conduct. So too should a Minister shrink in shame when a member of the judiciary accuses him of actions bordering on the criminal. When the Prime Minister says that such Ministers have done nothing wrong, he means nothing illegal. This is doubtful in both cases but surely the behaviour of the two ATs is questionable ethically. The PM should be running the interrogation process, not trying to frustrate it.
Going through clippings recently, I found a cartoon that always produces a grim smile. A voter slips a ballot into a box while nearby a wealthy looking individual stuffs a brown paper bag into the adjoining box. The bag man asks the voter: ‘How naive are you?’ Sadly, as the public loses confidence in political processes, our leaders think that people will shrug their shoulders helplessly about this tawdry situation. When issues become overwhelmingly large they tend not to be factors in electoral choice.
Whether public funds are alienated through small sports grants, massive largesse towards companies guarding asylum seekers or tending the Great Barrier Reef or through obscenely inappropriate tenders or purchases of land as at Leppington, the appearance is that the Coalition expects something in return for its generosity. Lucrative positions and consultancies for retiring MPs? No worries. Donations during elections to enable your mates to get back in and further rort the public purse? Too easy. Adequate funding of services for the disabled and the elderly or university education. You are joking.
The Morrison Government is not the first to assume that what Australian people value most is money. But they are certainly expert at reducing everything to a monetary value. They want to import cheap labour to harvest fruit because they assume that we would not pay more for cherries even should that enable orchardists to pay wages generous enough to attract local workers. This is also their attitude to renewable energy sources. Ditto the payment of taxes to support the unemployed and students.
It is no coincidence that writings about political ethics emphasise trust. John Uhr in Terms of Trust and Raimond Gaita in Breach of Trust report on the damage that results when politicians fail to behave with integrity. MPs should be our watchdogs on executive government and failure to take this role seriously shows disdain and disrespect for constituents and creates public cynicism.
Aristotle is often acknowledged as the founder of political science. For him, engagement in politics represented the highest ethical life. People reach their full potential only in community service. What a perversion we see today when politicians are so careless of perceptions of cronyism.
The Australian public can have confidence in government only when corruption is minimised. There is a crisis in Australian democracy and it stems directly from denial of accountability. When the role of parliamentarians has become so perverted that they no longer keep governments responsible, it is time to hand that function to an institution that will perform its public role fearlessly.
Perhaps the interrogation of NSW Premier Berejiklian about her relationship with an apparently corrupt former MP suggests that the existence of an Independent Commission Against Corruption is not on its own a sufficient deterrent to dubious practices. It is however, one useful tool for ensuring scrutiny and public exposure. In the current milieu, establishment of a federal ICAC is long overdue.
Dr Tony Smith is a former political science academic with interests in elections, parliament and political ethics.
Comments
10 responses to “There is a crisis in Australian democracy. Corruption is rampant.”
Oops, last comment too long 2dn & 3rd para = 96 words.
Great to see Pol Sc being used for more than a preliminary to study something else.
Any political system needs social cohesion around the merit of the system or a military alternative. If that cohesion includes the value of integrity in public office then those elected are perhaps less likely to suffer the creeping corruption that anyone who looks will see.
Last December the WA Labor Party (not yet the Gov’t) sought to explore how a State Gov’t could foster social cohesion around the bi-partisan ideals of our system of gov’t. The obvious place this can happen is in local governments where the rubber of developers meets the road to building approval.
Lots of people know our democracy is in trouble but remain disengaged because they cannot perceive a solution is possible. That needs fixing, and it’s why I put the motion to WA’s ALP State Executive, albeit I’m not entirely sure why they passed it. Thing is, it may well deliver what State or perhaps soon Federal corruption fighters inevitably cannot, viz combatting the disease at its source.
Like you, Gavin, i was nearly half a century younger when I worked in the public service. We were lucky. The politicians of the day valued advice from experienced civil servants. But there is more at play. Greed, now a virtue, was still frowned upon. There just wasn’t so much money around the place and conspicuous consumption was avoided by the establishment.
Where does James Paterson, staffer of the IPA, parachuted into parliament in his 20’s fit into this? Also Andrew Hastie?
Sadly, sadly all too accurate. Thank Dr Smith.
The puzzle is why the beneficiaries of this corruption get so much more lucre than they “give” in electoral donations to the LNP. These governments will shout down any and all opprobrium to cover their dubious conduct, I think because the background influence of the big banks (remember the key banking Commission recommendations are ignored), the media moguls and the mining industry make life easy for the LNP. Qantas and miners aimed at Gillard’s Prime Ministership, but, in comparison, watch Albanese’s efforts to join the LNP in effect. I don’t think the entire Federal opposition agree with his strategy however I can’t predict the next election outcome!
I can’t possibly disagree with this article except for the following:
“The Morrison Government is not the first to assume that what Australian people value most is money. But they are certainly expert at reducing everything to a monetary value. They want to import cheap labour to harvest fruit because they assume that we would not pay more for cherries even should that enable orchardists to pay wages generous enough to attract local workers. This is also their attitude to renewable energy sources. Ditto the payment of taxes to support the unemployed and students.”
If this is not true why do more than 50% of the voters continue to vote for the LNP? I figure that Morrison has correctly concluded that the hapless Australians keep voting for him as long as he offers “a fistful of dollars” (and stirs up some decent fear about foreigners and supposed cyber attacks.)
And would the Labor Party be any better? One can only hope so.
I remember when John Howard came to power in 1996. He upheld Ministerial accountability to the point where his party started bleeding talent, it was losing so many ministers. So Howard did the ethical thing and loosened those standards. Stability reigned, and corruption was swept under the carpet, yet again.
I wouldn’t expect Morrison to do anything like this as it doesn’t suit his business model (I don’t really think he is capable of much introspection anyway). It is clear from the examples of McKenzie, Taylor and now Tudge (not to mention the behaviour of Ley and others) that the Coalition loves nothing more than to thumb its nose at our institutions. How far this will go is a good guess, as no limits to its use have yet been shown.
I agree with you ‘Mercurial’ and Tony. The body politic in this country is reaching the low level one expects to see and accept as normal in a “banana republic”.At least in other parts of the world, without the levels of education we have achieved in this country, you would expect such a level of ethical behavior. I feel we can do a lot better if we as a people, insist on higher standards of ethical behavior from our leaders. Remember that we elect these people . Unfortunately the standards of public and corporate ethics have plummeted in the last few decades to a level I could not have imagined half a century ago when I commenced paid employment as a Public Servant.
On the plus side for Morrison, if he starts upholding ministerial accountability he won’t have to worry about his party bleeding talent.