Page 4827 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 27 November 2018
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a central election commitment for the government. It is a core feature of the integrity and transparency package the government took to the community in the 2016 election. It is also an important commitment contained within the parliamentary agreement of the Ninth Legislative Assembly.
This bill is the result of a very extensive development and consultation process involving input from external experts, collaboration across government, and a select committee recommending and then reviewing the structure of proposed legislation. As a result, the government considers that the resulting legislation is best practice; incorporates the strongest aspects of legislation operating in other jurisdictions, including human rights compatibility; and will provide an effective and enduring way to deter, investigate and root out conduct that has no place in the ACT public sector.
As members are aware, on 31 October 2018 the Select Committee on an Independent Integrity Commission 2018 tabled its report. The committee recommended that the ACT government table a bill based on the Integrity Commission Bill 2018 exposure draft, incorporating amendments recommended in their report, and that the Assembly debate that bill. The committee also recommended that the Assembly not proceed with the private member’s Anti-corruption and Integrity Commission Bill.
The government welcomes these recommendations from the select committee and thanks the committee for its work over past few months. The government carefully considered each of the 57 new recommendations of the select committee report. The bill that I am introducing today incorporates 52 of the 57 recommendations. Only one recommendation, which did not relate to the substance of this bill, has been disagreed with, while four other recommendations relate to a non-legislative response or action and are matters, rightly, for the Assembly as a whole.
Recommendation 3 of the select committee’s report provided for a detailed process to enable the passage of the bill in this last sitting week of 2018. In order to meet this time frame, the government publicly released its response to the select committee report, along with a revised bill and an explanatory statement, on 16 November 2018. These documents were provided directly to members and the Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety in its scrutiny role.
I have appreciated the significant interest in and engagement on this piece of legislation from many members of this place and particularly the scrutiny committee. Constructive discussions have taken place over the last week with the Liberal and Greens parties to refine the bill. Some of the comments received during this time related to existing issues, while others were newly raised. Possible areas of amendment have been considered, and requests for further information responded to, with the aim to reduce the areas of difference. I am pleased to advise that the bill I am tabling today includes amendments made through these discussions, reflecting the good faith approach the government took to these talks, and our recognition—and this is an important recognition—that all parties should have ownership in the effectiveness of this new body.
Considerable time and effort has gone into considering and incorporating as many of these suggested amendments as possible while retaining the effectiveness and internal
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