With this bill, the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill, the Albanese government is returning integrity, honesty and accountability to government. That is what the people of my electorate of Corangamite and people across our nation voted for, and I am so proud that in government we are now able to present this bill to you. And this bill is historic; it is the single biggest integrity reform this parliament has seen in decades.
I'd like to take the opportunity to recognise the Attorney-General and his team, who've worked tirelessly to bring this bill to the House. I'd also like to thank the Joint Select Committee on National Anti-Corruption Commission Legislation, who have worked on and scrutinised this bill, and many on the crossbench, who have fought for this bill as well.
For several years now I've moved around my electorate, and people are telling me that they are losing faith in governments. And it is no wonder. People have felt truly let down by the decisions of the former government. The National Audit Office found $100 million that went to sporting clubs in targeted electorates under the former Morrison government in the lead-up to the 2019 election were not awarded on merit. Fifty-one coloured spreadsheets revealed by the Auditor-General favoured many seats the former government needed to win or to retain at the election. We heard that Sport Australia had warned the government about the risk of politicisation of the grants. Communities whose grants were overlooked were justifiably angry. Applications did not get assessed on merit; rather they were assessed on which electorate they were within.
Then there was the instance of at least 20 marginal seats, a list compiled by the former Morrison government before allocating winning bids in the so-called car park rorts scandal. The controversial $660 million car parks fund came under scrutiny after a report from the National Audit Office found the process of choosing projects was not demonstrably merit based. In fact, a scathing report found that 77 per cent of the commuter car park sites selected were in coalition electorates rather than in areas of real need. And there were other classic instances of rorting under coalition governments. Remember the Auditor-General blasting mismanagement of the $220 million regional jobs and investment packages. No records were kept by ministers. They overturned departmental advice, including on a $5 million grant to a meat-processing business linked to a coalition donor. About 17 per cent of spending under the program went to projects not recommended by Commonwealth departments.
And who can forget the famous case of the North Sydney Olympic Pool, which received $10 million under a fund meant to go to regional projects. Since when did North Sydney become regional? It was a massive slap in the face to Australians living in the many rural and regional areas who were crying out for those types of facilities. It's this sort of behaviour under recent coalition governments that has undermined people's confidence in governments and eroded trust.
I'm certainly not suggesting this type of behaviour is only limited to one side of politics. We must all be accountable and act with the utmost integrity, and that's why it's time for a bipartisan approach to restore confidence in government. The former government promised a national integrity commission in December 2018, ahead of the 2019 election. The former Prime Minister was effectively embarrassed into making that promise after months of dismissing it as a fringe issue. After missing its own 2019 deadline for draft legislation, the coalition eventually unveiled its proposed anticorruption body in November 2020. But the legislation has never seen the light of day. It was never introduced into the parliament. Well, things have changed and the Albanese government is acting. The former Morrison government saw an integrity commission as a fringe issue. It's been proven that that is not the case, and that is partially the reason why the Albanese government was elected. And we see it as a crucial mainstream issue that must be urgently addressed.
Returning integrity, honesty and accountability to government must include a national anticorruption commission. The commission must have clear independence, broad scope and wide powers. The commission, as set out in this bill, will operate independently of government. It will have broad jurisdiction to investigate serious or systemic corrupt conduct across the Commonwealth public sector. It will have retrospective powers and will have the power to investigate ministers, parliamentarians and their staff, statutory office holders, employees of all government entities and contractors. It will have the discretion to inquire on its own initiative or in response to referrals from anyone, including members of the public and whistleblowers. It will be able to investigate both criminal and non-criminal corrupt conduct and conduct occurring before or after its establishment. It will have the power to hold public hearings in exceptional circumstances where it's in the public interest. It will also have a mandate to prevent corruption and to educate Australians about corruption. A parliamentary joint committee will oversee the commission. It will be empowered to require the commission to provide information about its performance.
Importantly, the commission will form just one element of Australia's broader integrity framework, as outlined by this government. This includes strengthening standards of integrity across the public sector. We've already established robust codes of conduct for ministers and ministerial staff and are working to implement all recommendation of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner's set the standard report. We are committed to improving the transparency and integrity of political donations.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission will be able to investigate serious or systemic corrupt conduct affecting any part of the federal public sector. Corrupt conduct includes conduct by a public official that involves an abuse of office, breach of public trust, misuse of information or corruption of any other kind. The commission will be led by a Commonwealth agency for the investigation of serious and systemic corruption, but it will work in partnership with the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Public Service Commission. The commission will also have the power to refer corruption issues to other Commonwealth, state and territory agencies. I'm pleased to say the commission will have powers similar to those of a royal commission.
The Albanese government believes there's no point setting up an integrity commission if it doesn't have the scope, ability and capability—the teeth—to fully investigate and take action. Importantly, the commission will be able to undertake preliminary inquiries using powers to compel the production of information. At the end of an investigation it will be required to produce a report and will be able to make findings of corrupt conduct but not of criminal guilt, which is, appropriately, a matter for the court. Reports will be published by the commissioner where it is in the public interest. Where a public hearing has been held a report will be tabled in parliament. I especially welcome the part of the legislation which allows the commissioner to educate and inform the public sector about corrupt conduct and preventing that conduct. The commission will also be able to undertake broader public education about its role, corruption risks and avenues to report corrupt conduct.
The independence of the commission is crucial. The legislation rightly safeguards this. The appointment of the commissioner and deputy commissioners will be approved by the parliamentary joint committee. The joint committee will be multipartisan. It will comprise 12 members—three government, two opposition and one crossbench member from each chamber. The committee will be able to review and report to both houses of parliament on adequacy of the commission's budget.
I'm pleased to confirm the legislation will include appropriate safeguards against undue reputational damage. It also provides strong protections for whistleblowers and journalists. As a former journalist myself, I'm very cognisant of the importance of those protections. The crucially important role the fourth estate plays in uncovering wrongdoing and corruption would be reduced and undermined without these protections. In fact, excellent investigative work of journalists has, in the past, shone a light on wrongdoing and corruption in the absence of an integrity commission. The creation of the commission should not, in my view, diminish the work of journalists in this area. Journalism and the commission can be complementary. The protection for journalists includes an exemption from answering questions or providing information that would expose the identity of a source.
The legislation also provides strong protections against adverse consequences for whistleblowers, including criminal offences and immunities. Public officials making disclosures to the commission will also be protected under the Public Interest Disclosure Act. Separate reforms to the act to improve whistleblower protections are planned to be in place when the commission begins its operation.
There has been much said about protecting reputations. In fact, reputation appears to be the major excuse as to why the previous government failed to even table an integrity commission bill. As this bill demonstrates, it is possible to have an integrity commission that inquires rigorously while also protecting an individual's reputation, and there will be an express ability for the commissioner to make public statements at any time, to avoid damage to a person's reputation. The commission will be able to clarify the capacity in which a witness is appearing at a public hearing. Reports on investigations will include statements that a person has not engaged in corrupt conduct, where that is appropriate, to avoid damage to that person's reputation. The commission is required to provide procedural fairness, allowing individuals or agencies a reasonable opportunity to respond.
Political parties and their activities are an important part of our democracy. This legislation recognises existing rules for political and parliamentary activities. The legislation makes it clear the use of public resources to conduct parliamentary business in accordance with the Parliamentary Business Resources Act or the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act is not within the commission's jurisdiction. The legislation also preserves the integrity of parliamentary privilege, ensuring that it does not affect the powers, privileges or immunities of each house of the parliament.
It's important the commission has the resources necessary to do its work, and that's why the Albanese government has committed substantial funding of $262 million over four years for the establishment and ongoing operation of the commission. The funding ensures the commission will have the staff and the capabilities to conduct investigations, corruption prevention work and educational activities, and this is so important.
This legislation has a spirit of cooperation. It has multipartisanship amongst many in this House, and that's how an important piece of legislation should be handled. We owe that to all Australians. This bill is about returning integrity, honesty and accountability in government. It's about returning faith to our democratic system and trust in government. If we are to protect our democracy and ensure trust in government, we need a strong National Anti-Corruption Commission. We need this bill to pass the House, and I commend it.