The Accountability Round Table
The Accountability Round Table is dedicated to improving standards of accountability, transparency, ethical behaviour and democratic practice in Commonwealth and State parliaments and governments across Australia. More here.
Why no national integrity commission?
Stephen Charles, Director of ART The Coalition has been promising Australia a federal Integrity Commission for nearly three years, and Christian Porter (when Attorney-General) produced an Exposure Draft for an Integrity Commission over 12 months ago. Why do we not now...
When is a Cabinet not the Cabinet?
When the Prime Minister says that it is. Professor Spencer Zifcak Senator Rex Patrick has won the right to access documents from the National Cabinet. Scott Morrison should never have tried to keep them secret. The National Cabinet has been operating more or less...
The gaping hole in ministerial accountability – Julian Gardner AM
Both major parties decline to allow ministerial staff to be questioned by parliamentary committees. Who then holds these staffers to account? The Statement of Ministerial Standards states that ministers must accept responsibility for their staffers’ actions. But do...
Rorts, Porkies and Pork Barrelling with Stephen Charles and Anne Twomey
Join us for our next event in ART's discussion series 31 August 2021 - 5 pm to 7 pm. Have we developed a tolerance for politicians treating the public purse as a resource for maintaining their own party in power? Does no one mind that individual MPs benefit from using...
The reforms we want from the Federal Government
An Integrity System for Australia
The reforms in brief:
A National Integrity System that is proactive, preventive, coordinated and cooperative | A National Integrity Commission that is independent, has investigative powers, makes recommendations and findings of fact, can investigate the judiciary | Parliamentary Integrity Commissioner
Political donations regime & election funding
The reforms in brief:
Caps of ~$1,000 on donations | Real time disclosure | Limits on election campaign expenditure incl. third party entities | Sanctions for electoral breaches | An independent body for public funding | Laws that require truth in political advertising
Civil society engagement
The reforms in brief:
support civic participation in the OGP | value public participation in decisions and policy | recognise the benefits of public engagement, including that of women | make policy and decisions more transparent | allow NFPs freedom of expression, association and opinion | greater collaboration
see more here …
Data in politics & government
The reforms in brief:
Ban covert digital techniques of influence | remove electoral & privacy act exemptions | supervise government data collection | recognise that personal data cannot be de-identified | control profiling for political use | control government buying-in data | cover social media in advertising rules | ban government data on-selling | citizen opt-in rights
Policy on the big issues – global warming
The reforms in brief:
An evidence-based, whole of government approach to the environment | a transparent mechanism to drive down emissions | government role in decarbonizing solutions | cooling off period for public officers going into the private sector
Lobbyists
The reforms in brief:
In-house lobbyists incl. in Register | matters discussed disclosed | documents made public | funds, gifts & events declared | oversight of Code & Register by the National Integrity System | campaign donations & expenditure limits | more public engagement in decisions | Senate role in countering undue influence
Integrity Lecture, Awards
Submissions
National Integrity Commission, OAIC, OGP