Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission funding
Kim WELLS (Rowville) (09:56): Anti-corruption agencies perform an imperative role in the function of government, tasked with investigating public officials and public agencies and ensuring proper governance at the highest level. Here in Victoria this responsibility falls to the Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, and they have had their work cut out for them having to investigate the Premier on numerous occasions. It seems in retribution for the commission’s warranted investigations of the Labor government that the 2023–24 Labor budget has only awarded a 0.5 per cent increase in the IBAC budget, not even close to keeping up with the federal Labor government’s inflation rate of 7 per cent. A 0.5 per cent increase is just inadequate. Under this Labor government the number of cases investigated by the commission has skyrocketed. The target this financial year for complaints into public service corruption handled within 45 days was set at 85 per cent. The commission is expected to only achieve 51 per cent. Clearly this is not good enough. Instead of providing the funding the commission needs to stamp out corruption and achieve these performance targets, this Labor government has penalised IBAC.