Wednesday, 8 March 2023

Integrity and Oversight Committee

The Independent Performance Audits of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and the Victorian Inspectorate

Gary MAAS (Narre Warren South) (10:15): It too gives me great pleasure to rise to make a contribution on a committee report, and indeed it is the same committee report that the member for South-West Coast was just speaking on, that being The Independent Performance Audits of theIndependent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and the Victorian Inspectorate. The report is from October 2022 and was tabled towards the end of the 59th Parliament. I suspect over the coming sitting weeks it will be this report and another from the Integrity and Oversight Committee that will be spoken to, given that these are the only two reports that we have at this point to speak to.

In the report, in the chair’s foreword – and towards the end of the 59th Parliament that was me, and I must say I am very proud to have recently been elected the committee chair for the 60th Parliament –

James Newbury interjected.

Gary MAAS: The young fogey from Brighton, if he is going to continue –

Members interjecting.

Gary MAAS: Well, he is not an old fogey; he is a young fogey. The committee expressed –

Danny O’Brien: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, the member well knows the correct use of members’ titles, and I ask you to bring him to order.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER:The member should be using correct titles.

Gary MAAS: Thank you, Deputy Speaker. In the foreword of that report I did express disappointment that IBAC and the Victorian Inspectorate did not provide the information required in order for the independent auditor to conduct performance audits to the fullest extent possible. Parliament must remain supreme, and if it is to remain supreme, audits of our integrity agencies must also be held in high regard. To that extent the integrity agencies relied upon other acts and did not provide the information requested by the committee-appointed auditor, Callida.

There will always be a tension between parliamentarians and lawyers, and I understand that there might be one or two lawyers around this place who can wear both caps. Some will say the Parliament remains supreme – that this is the place where bills are initiated, committees are formed based on proportionality and then elections are held. Lawyers will always say that the law remains supreme. And between those two there remains a fabulous tension which gives us the great rule of law and also gives us this magnificent thing that we call ‘the separation of powers’.

I understand that in an Age article earlier this week some were saying that we should somehow overhaul this great tension that we have, which actually gives us the institutions of power which allow the fabulous democracy which occurs in the state of Victoria to continue to exist. Some, like the Greens – the Greens political party – are saying they are even going to put a bill forward to ensure that neither the chair nor more than half of the members of committees are from the governing party. So, yes, sure, let us just throw out hundreds of years of Westminster tradition so that you can do that – Westminster tradition which has held our communities in Victoria in really great stead. Think very carefully when you make these outrageous claims and outrageous statements. You are purportedly the conservatives of this place, who uphold this type of rule of law. The committee report is an excellent report, and I commend the report to the house.