It is hardly surprising that the vast majority of Tasmanians believe Tasmanians want an Integrity Commission, that is a position shared by the Government and in fact why from Opposition we campaigned for one until Labor finally relented and introduced the Integrity Commission in 2009.
However, a number of other claims made today in relation to the Integrity Commission are wrong.
Claims that the Government wants to “strip” the Integrity Commission of its investigative powers are wrong. The Government has made clear that our position is the same as the Joint Standing Committee’s recommendation that “the question of the investigative powers and functions of the Integrity Commission should be considered as part of the five year review, and that until that review, the investigative functions and powers of the Integrity Commission should be retained.”
Suggestions that the parliamentary Joint Standing Committee recommended instituting an offence of Misconduct in Public Office are also wrong. The Committee report calls for a review and report on the Integrity Commission’s proposal.
Suggestions that the Integrity Commission would undertake more investigations if it had more resources are not supported by past evidence. The Integrity Commission commenced only one investigation arising from a complaint in both 2013-14 and 2014-15 and one ‘own motion’ investigation each year, and actually returned $300,000 in unspent budget to the Government in 2013-14.
As the CEO outlined in Budget Estimates this year, the savings which the Commission found to meet its budget allocation this year did not include a reduction in investigators, but items such as reduced car and travel costs, a media adviser position, and cheaper rent arrangements.
In this context we are confident that the Integrity Commission has the resources required to perform its functions, including carrying out surveys.