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.
Accountability in crisis – 2020 AGM Address by Chair, Fiona McLeod, AO SC
In the interests of transparency, I must begin with a disclosure. Before my engagement with the Open government partnership and ART (and for a time Transparency International Australia) I had very limited exposure - I thought – to issues of accountability, except that...
Witness K and Bernard Collaery: An Unjust Prosecution Gets Even Worse, Spencer Zifcak
The prosecution of former ACT Attorney-General, Bernard Collaery, and his client, Witness K, continues to play itself out before the ACT Supreme Court. This is a legal fiasco of the first order. The prosecution should never have commenced. This is Commonwealth...
Premier Berejiklian; ‘I don’t need to know’, not good enough
On ABC Radio National this morning ART Chair, Fiona McLeod SC, said: That statement - I don’t need to know - does suggest she [Gladys Berejiklian] is seeking to distance herself from information that might compromise her and the problem is that when politicians do...
Our AGM – 21 Oct
The Accountability Round Table will hold its AGM on Wednesday 21 October - 5 pm for ART members and 5.30 pm for those who would like to join for the address by ART Chair, Fiona McLeod SC AO. She will give us her insights on: Accountability in a time of crisis. The...
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 and Awards
Submissions
National Integrity Commission, OAIC, OGP