2019-09-27
The Greens have welcomed the report from the ministerial integrity inquiry that recommends the re-investigation of Christopher Pyne and Julie Bishop’s conduct and highlights the weakness of current Ministerial Standards.
Greens Co-Deputy Leader and Democracy spokesperson Larissa Waters said the community was fed up with recent Ministerial conflict-of-interest scandals and the revolving door between Ministers, politicians and lobby groups, including mining and gambling interests.
“It’s about time the Prime Minister strengthened his standards for former Ministers, in line with community expectation for better transparency and accountability,” she said
“The Prime Minister should extend the ‘cooling off’ period for post-Ministerial lobbying and advocacy activities to at least five years.
“The Prime Minister should also slash parliamentary pensions for former Ministers who don’t comply.
“The risk of losing their parliamentary pension will have a remarkable impact on focusing ex-Ministers away from feathering their own nest and towards opportunities with less conflict-of-interest potential.
“The failure to act on recent scandals and numerous examples of the ‘revolving door’ between politics and lobbying interests shows the need for independent enforcement of strong standards for ex-Ministers.
“An overwhelming majority of Australians (85 per cent) believe most politicians are corrupt. The Prime Minister should take this opportunity to clean up politics,” Senator Waters said.
Inquiry into Compliance by former Ministers of State with the requirements of the Prime Minister's Statement of Ministerial Standards, full report here: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Finance_and_Public_Administration/MinisterialStandards/Report