❓ Hon. Tjorn Sibma questions the Attorney General regarding consultation and instruction behind clause 6 of the Corruption, Crime and Misconduct Amendment Bill 2023, specifically concerning the appointment process of the Corruption and Crime Commissioner. The Attorney General's response defends the amendment as addressing a flaw susceptible to manipulation.
AnsweredQoN 641Legislative Council
Asked
15 June 2023
Member
Portfolio
parliamentary secretary representing the Attorney General
QuestionView source ↗
CORRUPTION, CRIME AND
MISCONDUCT AMENDMENT BILL 2023 —
CONSULTATION
641. Hon TJORN SIBMA to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Attorney General:
I refer to the Corruption, Crime
and Misconduct Amendment Bill 2023.
(1) With whom did
the drafters of the bill consult on the drafting of clause 6 of the bill, in
particular proposed section 9C, which will have the effect of avoiding the
previous safeguarding requirement for majority and bipartisan agreement among
the membership of the Joint Standing Committee on the Corruption and Crime
Commission to facilitate the appointment of a proposed Corruption and Crime
Commissioner?
(2) On whose instruction was this
proposed section drafted?
MISCONDUCT AMENDMENT BILL 2023 —
CONSULTATION
641. Hon TJORN SIBMA to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Attorney General:
I refer to the Corruption, Crime
and Misconduct Amendment Bill 2023.
(1) With whom did
the drafters of the bill consult on the drafting of clause 6 of the bill, in
particular proposed section 9C, which will have the effect of avoiding the
previous safeguarding requirement for majority and bipartisan agreement among
the membership of the Joint Standing Committee on the Corruption and Crime
Commission to facilitate the appointment of a proposed Corruption and Crime
Commissioner?
(2) On whose instruction was this
proposed section drafted?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice
of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by the Attorney General.
(1)–(2) As
the member will recall, an identified flaw in the current appointment process
is that it is susceptible to inappropriate
manipulation, as a single member of the Joint Standing Committee on the
Corruption and Crime Commission may
indefinitely block the appointment of a candidate recommended by the nominating committee chaired by the Honourable Chief Justice of Western Australia. The
government approved the drafting of a bill to address this flaw. The amendments
will preserve the standing committee's ability to robustly scrutinise proposed appointments and its
ability to prevent the appointment of an unsuitable p erson through the
exercise of a veto. An individual member will no longer be able to disrupt the
appointment process on his or her own by simply declining to provide support
for a proposed appointment. This approach is aligned with processes in New
South Wales and Victoria for the appointment of the heads of their equivalent
pre-eminent anti-corruption bodies.
Hon Nick Goiran interjected.
The PRESIDENT : Order! We do
not have supplementary questions, particularly from members who did not ask the
initial question.
of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by the Attorney General.
(1)–(2) As
the member will recall, an identified flaw in the current appointment process
is that it is susceptible to inappropriate
manipulation, as a single member of the Joint Standing Committee on the
Corruption and Crime Commission may
indefinitely block the appointment of a candidate recommended by the nominating committee chaired by the Honourable Chief Justice of Western Australia. The
government approved the drafting of a bill to address this flaw. The amendments
will preserve the standing committee's ability to robustly scrutinise proposed appointments and its
ability to prevent the appointment of an unsuitable p erson through the
exercise of a veto. An individual member will no longer be able to disrupt the
appointment process on his or her own by simply declining to provide support
for a proposed appointment. This approach is aligned with processes in New
South Wales and Victoria for the appointment of the heads of their equivalent
pre-eminent anti-corruption bodies.
Hon Nick Goiran interjected.
The PRESIDENT : Order! We do
not have supplementary questions, particularly from members who did not ask the
initial question.
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