opinion
Paul Murray: Labor’s flagrant attack on Auditor General undermines integrity

Scott Morrison’s biggest mistake as prime minister might have been keeping the pandemic-inspired National Cabinet operating for way too long. For someone steeped in partisan politics, it was completely out of character that Morrison did not see he was empowering Labor State premiers by giving them a national stage on which to attack him when they disagreed — or even when they didn’t. And they had the numbers, which allowed them to make him look like an outsider. None was more emboldened than Victoria’s Daniel Andrews. “Dictator Dan” — as he is disparagingly referred to by his local critics — already had a totalitarian streak a mile wide from his Socialist Left factional culture, but the national spotlight seemed to broaden it. As his power deepened through the imposition of draconian pandemic measures, he became something of a model for other Labor leaders. Andrews’ domination ignored a track record of world-record lockdowns, the brutal use of police against any signs of dissent and 768 deaths from a botched hotel quarantine system for which a later “inquiry” could find no one culpable, further indicating how unaccountable his government had become. Now that Andrews has made a McGowan-like hasty exit from politics before the pandemic effect wore off his premiership, the media that greenlighted his dictatorial tenure are having second thoughts. In a sobering assessment last week, Melbourne’s left-leaning Age newspaper noted that “the integrity cloud hanging over this administration has only darkened.” The Age said Andrews resisted taking action on so-called “soft” or “grey” corruption. They’re terms used by the former head of Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, Robert Redlich, for things like the centralisation of executive power, the growing influence of advisers and staffers, and jobs for Labor mates. “At the November state poll, relations between Andrews and the main integrity agencies were deteriorating,” the Age reported. “That situation worsened with the emergence of a letter from (Redlich) to parliament claiming the then Labor-dominated Integrity and Oversight Committee had sought to undermine IBAC’s work and ‘dig up dirt’ on the agency. “Integrity experts were aghast at the lack of respect shown when Andrews said he would not respond to ‘someone who used to do a job (who has) written a letter that apparently says a whole bunch of stuff’. In fact, Redlich was the IBAC commissioner when he wrote the letter. “Deborah Glass, the Ombudsman, has also grown unpopular with Andrews and his team, especially after her December 2020 report into the government’s COVID-19 lockdown of North Melbourne and Flemington public housing towers.” Glass blasted Andrews’ integrity record, including the lack of action on key recommendations from her Operation Watts joint investigation with IBAC, which uncovered “egregious” and “extensive” misconduct by Victorian Labor MPs, including rampant nepotism, widespread misuse of public resources and a culture of branch stacking. Andrews agreed last year to implement the report’s 21 recommendations, but when he left office virtually nothing had been done. He also avoided accountability through the media, shunning Melbourne’s two leading public affairs radio interviewers and arrogantly dismissing journalists’ questions at press conferences. On the eve of his exit from politics, he grudgingly agreed to go on the ABC morning radio program he dodged for years and finally got grilled on integrity issues. Presenter Raf Epstein raised the criticisms of Redlich and Glass and got a succinct insight into Andrews’ attitude to the accountability agencies set up by parliament to monitor executive government. “They’re not in the cabinet room,” Andrews said. “If you want to get into the cabinet room, well you’ll need to go and get yourself elected.” Which brings us to WA. The comparisons are odious. With a lop-sided parliament providing little scrutiny or restraint on the executive and an anti-corruption agency tainted with unprecedented political interference by Labor in the selection of its commissioner, the current government has faced few impediments to its exercise of power. This week’s expose by The West of the WA Ombudsman’s jet-setting behaviour reinforces concerns that the agency established by the parliament to investigate and resolve complaints about government at all levels has lost its bite. One of our other integrity agencies meant to protect the robust independence of the bureaucracy, the Public Sector Commission, is little more than an arm of the executive in its current iteration. This leaves the Office of Auditor-General as the remaining standard-bearer for keeping the bastards honest in WA. So when the Auditor-General sounds the alarm that her agency is under threat from legislated attacks on her powers by Labor, we should take notice. This is just what Caroline Spencer did in her annual report tabled last week: “My Office has identified areas of concern with the Amendment Act, including provisions that are inconsistent with the existing statutory independence of the Auditor General.” In everyday language, she is saying her agency has been politically nobbled. Spencer noted that the Auditor General Amendment Act 2022, pushed by former Premier Mark McGowan, had not yet been proclaimed, putting full responsibility on his successor to be accountable for its outcomes. I have been kept apprised of this issue over the past year by regular anonymous emails from a well-positioned bureaucrat. This is a section of one from July: “The new amendments to the Act include some amazing evidence of the government trying to shut down criticism from accountability organisations. “Previously the Auditor General used to have to share her draft findings with the relevant agency to give them a chance to provide feedback . . . and defend their actions in relation to contentious findings. “Now those draft reports have to be given to the Treasurer. For what purpose is not clear other than allowing the government’s media machine to prepare for an adverse media event! “If there are OAG findings that arise from the use of parliamentary privileged material or other restricted material, such as cabinet-in-confidence, the Auditor General can no longer table those in parliament. They are instead sent to the Premier or DPC who must then decide what to do with them. “This emasculation of the Auditor General is a disgrace from the government that promised gold standard accountability. They don’t like the fact the Auditor General is continuing to find fault with the government’s actions so they are taking away her power. “You will remember the Commission on Government and its contributions on the subject of cabinet-in-confidence. COG recognised that too much skullduggery went on using the cover of cabinet-in-confidence. It’s happening again.” That the new law seeks to give an effective power of veto to the Treasurer — in this case Rita Saffioti, who is already in the compromised position of holding both that portfolio and big-spending Transport as well — is ample support for the Auditor General’s misgivings. Spencer makes it clear, very politely, that McGowan — who was Premier and Treasurer — wanted to limit her powers to investigate matters that went to Cabinet. “Concurrent with difficulties encountered in 2022 accessing certain contracts and supporting documents, where claims of Cabinet confidentiality were asserted by departmental officers, a process was initiated by the Office to seek legal advice and develop guidance for the public sector to clarify the Auditor General’s information access powers,” she reported. Difficulties? Think about what that means. Spencer says the Government’s response was to draft new legislation, claiming it would “enhance transparency, accountability and integrity across government by addressing longstanding concerns about information access.” In fact, it did the opposite. Spencer says many contents of the new Act are “novel, and consequently untested in any Australian jurisdiction so their full practical application and impact are not yet known.” She listed “problematic” areas, saying they: • diminish the discretion of the Auditor General to report in the public interest, which is inconsistent with the overarching independence provisions in the existing Act. • are ambiguous and wide-ranging in their drafting in determining material that should be afforded protection, creating uncertainty and increasing the risk of material being inappropriately protected, resulting in disputes that may need to be resolved in the courts • require the Treasurer of the day to be included in procedural fairness processes for all performance audit reports. Spencer also notes that this year her office made a confidential report to two parliamentary committees about sensitive issues raised in an audit of a government agency. That practice is outlawed by the new Act under which “confidential reports or relevant extracts could only be made to the executive government rather than relevant parliamentary oversight committees.” All MPs should be outraged by that undemocratic power grab. But not this rubber-stamp parliament. And Labor MPs should be shamed. No one should be in any doubt that this is a political nobble of the State’s best integrity agency which would make Dictator Dan proud. WA Labor should not be allowed to get away with it. Premier Roger Cook must be held fully responsible if the new Act is proclaimed in its current form.

opinionPaul Murray: Labor’s flagrant attack on Auditor General undermines integrity

opinion
Paul Murray: Labor’s flagrant attack on Auditor General undermines integrity