by jmsthornton | Jun 12, 2016 | Election, Election 2016, Federal Government, News
The public office, public, trust principle Parties are like football clubs – no matter how much money they get, they will spend it and then want more. Former Victorian Premier, John Cain, Oct 2006 Australia’s federal electoral system has few constraints on donations...
by jmsthornton | Apr 10, 2016 | Corruption, Federal Government, Freedom of Information, Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Open Government Partnership (OGP)
The Open Government Partnership, an international effort to secure commitments from governments worldwide ” to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance” was signed up to by the Turnbull...
by jmsthornton | Apr 6, 2016 | Corruption, Federal Government
Neil Tiffen argues in “The Age” that corruption “is not just an issue for government – it applies to businesses, political parties, sports associations, charitable organisations and unions. It affects us all.” What we need is a “Federal...
by jmsthornton | Apr 4, 2016 | Corruption, Federal Government, Lobbying, Political Funding, Reforms
Colleen Lewis makes a new contribution to the debate on the conflict of interest inherent in political donations, especially when those donations are made by big corporations and effectively hidden from scrutiny. “Political funding is a fundamental public...
by jmsthornton | Mar 10, 2016 | Federal Government, Ombudsman, Submissions, Whistleblowing
Whistleblower protection in the Public Service is covered by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (PID Act). The PID Act came into operation in January 2014 to encourage public officials to disclose suspected wrongdoing in the Commonwealth public sector. The...
by jmsthornton | Jan 4, 2016 | Corruption, Federal Government, McMullan Principle, Ministerial Responsibility, News, Reforms, Rule of Law
A number of people are very concerned at the undermining of judicial independence that is the effect of the new terrorism laws, including Spencer Zifcak. Spencer Zifcak is a member of ART, as well as Allan Myers Professor of Law and Director of Research at the Academy...
