Tuesday, 28 July 2026

 Tom McINTOSH (Eastern Victoria) (13:22): Pursuant to section 35 of the Parliamentary Committees Act 2003, I table a report on the inquiry into the review of the members code of conduct, including appendices, from the Parliamentary Ethics Committee. I move:

That the report be published.

Motion agreed to.

Tom McINTOSH: I move:

That the Council take note of the report.

I want to thank the secretariat, and I want to thank them for all their work, particularly in engaging with MPs right around the Parliament. I think the engagement, the surveys that were done – and when I say engagement, there was active engagement, stepping out, meeting with MPs, hearing what they thought. This has not been active in the Parliament for a long time, so a takeaway from the committee with the report is that we do need more time in operation. But one thing that was heard back clearly is that MPs were hungry to hear practical examples, and the secretariat for the committee did really good work to get information out and about, up on walls around Parliament, and through those one-on-one meetings to talk about practical examples of how the code works in practice.

Again, I will just thank the secretariat for all their work and thank all MPs around Parliament and all parties and independents who leaned in and got involved. And it will be ongoing work that as a committee and Parliament we are going to need to do in the future Parliament to ensure that all MPs and new MPs are aware of the code and how it will operate in practice. We look forward to going on doing that.

 Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (13:25): As a member of the committee as well, part of our role is to make sure that other members are aware of what the statement of values and the code of conduct say. So I will refer to them now:

Statement of Values

Members should demonstrate the following values in carrying out their public duties –

serving the public interest;

upholding democracy;

integrity;

accountability;

respect for the diversity of views and backgrounds within the Victorian community;

diligence;

leadership.

The code of conduct covers quite a few different aspects. It talks about conflicts of interest, outside employment, use of influence, use of public resources and personal conduct, but I think one of the key aspects it talks about is upholding democracy and respecting others regardless of background. Sometimes I think the public can look on this place, and certainly the chaos that we are seeing today, and be a bit disappointed. But I think it is important as members that we remember the values that we are here to represent.

Motion agreed to.