Wednesday, 30 August 2023

Integrity and Oversight Committee

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

Jess WILSON (Kew) (10:11): I am pleased to rise to make a contribution today on the Independent Performance Audits of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and the Victorian Inspectorate report published in October 2022. In particular I want to draw the attention of the house to the work of my colleagues the members for Sandringham and Rowville in their minority report. IBAC and the Integrity and Oversight Committee are two key integrity and accountability functions that are critical in providing transparency and accountability for all Victorians. ‘Integrity’ is a word that we hear a lot these days, but it is not just a buzzword. Government integrity is key to ensuring trust in the institution of Parliament and indeed our system of representative democracy. So it should concern us all that according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, which is a key marker of those that see trust in institutions, the majority of Australians now believe that governments are now a dividing force in society and the majority view is symptomatic of a trust deficit when it comes to voters and those who represent us in this place.

The saga over the independent performance audits of October 2022 published by the IOC is a new low in the very sorry state of affairs that surround integrity and accountability under this state government. The minority report of the members for Sandringham and Rowville highlights some of the significant challenges throughout the performance audit process, particularly the evident inability of the auditor to actually perform the audit process they were engaged to perform. Looking through the minority report today, the email from the member of the government at the time requesting changes to the process or that audit would not be accepted by the committee is a clear example of that.

The minority report states that the auditors claim that they were not able to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence to conduct the audit. This is a real reflection on the auditors’ incapacity to undertake the work they were appointed to do by the committee. It is no doubt true, but according to the former IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich it is also evidence of the government’s attempt to discredit IBAC by instructing the audit consultants to dig up dirt on the organisation as part of the performance audit process. Now, this is a serious claim that has been made by an esteemed former commissioner, much as the Premier might like to paint him as just ‘some bloke’. As former Commissioner Redlich said at the time:

If we can’t say the integrity committee of the Victorian parliament is acting with integrity, we have a very, very serious problem.

Clearly the legislative framework surrounding the independent performance audit process needs to be much more robust so that the public can have confidence in the state’s integrity mechanisms. As the members for Sandringham and Rowville note in their minority report:

… the current legislative framework in the IBAC Act and the VI Act were found to be inadequate and failed to provide necessary clarity for the Committee.

This is a recommendation that should be acted upon immediately, but no doubt the government intends to just let the next performance audit period roll around without addressing the structural issues that contributed to the debacle of the last audit report. Again, I refer to the excellent work of my colleagues the members for Sandringham and Rowville, who highlighted in their minority report the critical need for the legislation to be updated to ensure that absolute independence of the auditor, free from political interference, is guaranteed during the audit process.

As I said earlier, it is imperative Victorians have confidence in the integrity and accountability mechanisms that exist in this state, and fixing the current legislative framework so that proper performance audits can be conducted and produced should be a government priority to help restore that confidence. Of course I will not be holding my breath, given that this government seems intent on doing the opposite when it comes to ensuring confidence in our state’s accountability mechanisms and this government has made it very, very clear that it has no desire to hold uphold integrity and accountability in government processes and decision-making. This is a government that is mired in corruption scandals, each one further undermining the Victorian people’s trust and respect for the institution of government.

If I can with the time I have left just recap a number of the investigations that have been undertaken by IBAC and the Ombudsman into this government: Operation Watts, Operation Daintree, Operation Sandon, Operation Clara, Operation Richmond, which is yet to be publicly released, and of course the Ombudsman’s investigation into the red shirts rorts and the Ombudsman’s investigation into the politicisation of the public service, just to name some of the investigations. I thank the members for Sandringham and Rowville for their minority report.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! It has come to my attention that the call was for the non-government side at the start of committee reports. I apologise for the error. If the member for Gippsland South would like the call now, he can take it, or otherwise –

Danny O’Brien: I am not quite ready.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: My apologies. The member for Laverton.